Mary Matteson Wilbur, 1872-1957

Mary Matteson Wilbur (1872-1957) was born in Seville, Ohio, to Horace Elias Matteson and Mary (Hulburt) Matteson. She grew up with one sister, Ida, and five brothers: Charles Freemont, Claude Lorraine, Clifford Virgil, Halsey Hulburt "Burt," and David Maydole "Dick." Mary graduated from Seville High School in 1888 and in 1890 attended the Spencerian College of Stenography in Cleveland, Ohio. Between 1891 and 1893, she worked as a secretary at an insane asylum outside of Cleveland, Ohio. After leaving the asylum, Mary studied voice and music at Ohio Wesleyan University, but with the encouragement of friends, she moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to study voice, and lived there on and off between 1894 and 1897. She eventually obtained a position as a voice instructor at Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, teaching there for three years. Mary continued her interest in music throughout her life.

In 1901, Mary and Hollis Adelbert Wilbur married in Seville, Ohio. Hollis (1874-1964) was born in Honeoye, New York, to Dr. Leonidas Franklin Wilbur (graduated Harvard Medical School, 1856) and Caroline Frances Martin. Hollis worked his way up in the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), becoming general secretary of the Dayton (Ohio) YMCA, during which time its membership doubled. The young couple spent the early part of their marriage in Dayton, Ohio, then in 1909 moved to Japan, where Hollis became general secretary of the Kobe YMCA. Mary and Hollis had five children, three of whom lived to adulthood: Elizabeth (1904-2001), C. (Clarence) Martin (1908-1997), and Halsey (1912-2000); Hollis Jr. lived 7 months and Rosemary lived three weeks.

In 1913, the Wilbur family moved to Shanghai, China, where Hollis served as executive secretary of the city division for the YMCA until 1923. Mary's social world in Kobe and Shanghai was made up almost entirely of Western community activities and clubs, including the American Women's Club, American Association of University Women, Union Church Ladies Society, and a current events club. She eventually became the State Regent of the China Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Mary and Hollis were also devout Christians, with many missionary friends in Japan and China. Mary attended weekly prayer meetings with other "Y" wives and the family frequently socialized with other "Y" families. Mary also had a keen interest in studying Chinese art and language, and wrote articles and lectured to women's groups abroad and back in the United States.

In 1923, the family briefly moved back to Dayton, Ohio. After a year with friends and family, the Wilburs returned to Shanghai and Kobe. In 1931, Mary and Hollis moved to Seoul, Korea, where they spent the next four years. During 1935 and 1936, Mary and Hollis were in San Francisco, California, before one last stint in China, which they left permanently in 1938. Hollis retired from the YMCA in 1941. Mary and Hollis settled in Pasadena, California, to live out the rest of their lives.

For further information, see the following books: Memories of Mary Hulburt Matteson: With Lineages of Mary Hulburt and Horace Matteson (by Mary Wilbur based on her mother's life and research on the Matteson family), 1938; In Her Own Words: Mary Matteson Wilbur in Bygone America, Japan, China, and Korea, 1872-1957 (Martin Wilbur privately published a 1995 book, based on his mother Mary's diaries and correspondence); and My Life in Christian Service in America, Japan, China, and Korea (by Hollis Wilbur, with the assistance of Martin Wilbur and Elizabeth Wilbur Cressey, also published in 1995). Biographical files on Hollis Wilbur can be found in the Kautz Family YMCA archives, located at the University of Minnesota Elmer L. Anderson Library. Elizabeth Wilbur Cressey's college scrapbooks and notebooks are housed at the Denison University library in Granville, Ohio and the letters between Elizabeth and her husband Paul Cressey (1933-1960s) are in the family's possession but will eventually be donated to the Wheaton College archives.