Biography
Mary Rogers Cabot compiled and edited The Annals of Brattleboro, a two-volume history of the town that became a standard reference for local historians. The oldest of four children of Norman Franklin Cabot and Lucy T. Brooks, she remained single and lived all her life at her family's home in Brattleboro though she traveled extensively. Her wealthy and prominent father served as treasurer of the Vermont Savings Bank for twenty-nine years.
In 1907, Cabot helped organize the Brattleboro Mutual Aid Association (BMAA), an innovative visiting nurse program sponsored by the Thomas Thompson Trust. Dedicated to employing poor women as domestic helpers and serving needy residents during illness, the Association developed a training program for nurse attendants which set new standards for nurse training in Vermont and nationally. In 1917, the Association collaborated in the establishment of the Thompson School of Nursing, whose graduates were eventually qualified as licensed practical nurses. Cabot and other leaders of the BMAA developed a number of health-related social welfare programs for Brattleboro, including tuberculosis and maternity care, child health and dental clinics, and school nursing.
Cabot also participated in other voluntary associations, including the Daughters of the American Revolution and Colonial Dames. Prior to the U.S. entry into World War I, she became a Director of the Vermont Peace Society and in 1919 was listed as a member of the Vermont Equal Suffrage Association. She was most renowned, however, for her local history work. Published in 1921, "The Annals of Brattleboro" was highly regarded as a local history reference by prominent members of the business community, who consulted Cabot as a resident expert on the town's past.Occupation
Historical writer
Social welfare activist
Director, Vermont Peace Society