Cushing, Anna Quincy Thaxter, 1825-1900.

Anna Quincy Thaxter Cushing (1825-1900), the daughter of Edward Thaxter (1784-1841) and Susan Joy (Thaxter) Thaxter (1791-1837), was born on 24 October 1825 in Hingham, Massachusetts. Both Anna's family and that of her husband's, Dr. Benjamin Cushing (1822-1895), son of Jerom Cushing (1780-1824) and Mary (Thaxter) Cushing (1784-1867), were among the first settlers of the town of Hingham.

After the untimely death of her parents, Anna left Hingham to attend school in Cambridge, Mass. and shortly thereafter she settled in Dorchester, Mass. As the eldest child Anna became responsible for the care of her sister, Susan Barker Thaxter (1827-1849), and her brother, Edward Thomas Thaxter (1832-1859). Susan married Henry Hunter Peters (1825-1877) in 1848, and died soon after giving birth to Edward Dyer Peters in 1849.

Anna married her cousin, Benjamin Cushing, on 5 January 1848. He had received his education in the Derby Academy (Hingham, Mass.), Harvard College, class of 1842, and Harvard Medical School, class of 1846. He studied in Paris for a year following graduation. Except for the period during the Civil War in which he served as a volunteer surgeon at Fortress Munroe (Hampton, Virginia), he lived and practiced in Dorchester.

The Cushing's four children were all born in Dorchester. They were Mary (1848- ), who married Joseph Richmond Churchill (1845- ) in 1871; Edward Thaxter (1851- ); Annie Quincy (1857- ), who married her cousin, Edward Dyer Peters (1849-1917) in 1881; and Susan Thaxter (1863- ).

The First Church (Unitarian) in Dorchester, was a center of Anna's many activities. She belonged to its various sewing groups formed to aid the needy or benefit a cause and was also a member of its choir. Music was one of Anna's passions and indeed of the entire Cushing family.

Nearer home, Anna's charitable instincts benefited the young Irish women--nearly all of whom were named Mary--who came to work for her. Her kindness resulted in friendships, which in the cases of Mary Desmond, Mary Gately, and Margaret Gately lasted for years.

Anna died in Dorchester on 13 March 1900.

From the description of Papers, 1816-1918. (American Antiquarian Society). WorldCat record id: 191259276