Hastings, Ruth Newcomb, b. 1831

Ruth and Mary Anne Hastings devoted their lives to each other and to the education of young women. Proud graduates of Emma Willard's Troy Female Seminary, the sisters struggled throughout their lives with ill health and limited finances, but never surrendered the ideal of providing a challenging, intellectually stimulating curriculum for young women.

Mary, the elder of the two, was born August 1, 1822, in Cambridgeport, Mass., the first child of John Hastings, Jr. (d. 1862) and Ruth Washburn Newcomb (d. 1861). While still in her infancy, Mary and her family moved to South Shaftesbury, Vt., and four years later to West Troy, N.Y., where she was enrolled at the Troy Female Seminary in the autumn of 1843. A superior student, Mary graduated with the class of 1845, and although she immediately found employment at Miss Shaw's select school in Hudson, N.Y., she was soon recalled to Troy to teach mathematics and science. Industrious and an innovator, Hastings became one of the first women in America to offer laboratory lectures with experiments, and in 1852, she assumed responsibilities in teaching English literature. For 13 years, Mary was a stalwart of the faculty at the Seminary, and was one of its more popular instructors.

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