Mary Elizabeth Parkman

Mary Elizabeth Peabody (née Mary Elizabeth Parkman; July 24, 1891—February 6, 1981) was an American civil-rights and anti-war activist in the 1960's. She is best known for her participation in a sit-in protest in St. Augustine, Florida, which was orchestrated by prominent members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. As an elderly white woman, Peabody's role in the protest was to draw attention to the protest and the civil rights movement as a whole. Her white skin and elderly position enabled her to protest while remaining safe. Personal life Mary Peabody (née Parkman) was born in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, on July 24, 1891. She was the daughter of Henry Parkman, a businessman, and Frances Parker Parkman, both of whom came from affluent families. In her early years she attended Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut. She met Rev. Malcolm E. Peabody, who was then serving as a missionary in the Philippines, on a cruise following her graduation. They were married in 1916. The couple had two children. Their first child was Endicott Peabody, who later become the Governor of Massachusetts, and the second was Marietta Tree, who served as the United States delegate to the United Nations Trusteeship Council in 1964 and 1965. Peabody's granddaughter is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Frances FitzGerald. Malcolm E. Peabody died in the late 1950s. Since then, Mary Peabody had lived alone in Cambridge.