(March 22, 1850 - March 4, 1926)
Mary Caffrey Low was born in Waterville, Maine on March 22, 1850. She graduated from the Waterville Classical Institute in 1868 in the first class of the “Ladies Collegiate Course.” Since she was no stranger to being a trailblazer in education, it’s no surprise that in the Fall of 1871, when Colby College began to admit female students, Mary Caffrey Low was the first to seek admission.
Mary Low would write that it was a lonely and often perplexing time. Surrounded by men, she remained the only female student at the Colby for two years. Not to be deterred by adversity, and surely determined to be a credit to her sex, Mary Low competed successfully with her male classmates in these years. In fact, she graduated first in her class in 1875 - beating 19 male classmates for the honor. She was not only the first woman to graduate from Colby, but was in fact the first woman to graduate from any four-year college in all of New England! When Phi Beta Kappa honors society was established there in 1896, Mary Caffrey Low was the first woman on its roll.
Not content to let her hard won education go to waste, Mary began a career as a teacher after graduation - a vocation she continued until 1878, when she married Leonard D. Carver, a fellow Colby alum. A devoted mother to daughter Ruby Carver (Emerson), Mary Low Carver was not content with motherhood as her only occupation. At a time when most women of means quit working upon becoming wives and mothers, Mary Low Carver studied cataloging and indexing at the Maine State Library, where her husband was the State Librarian. She served as a cataloger for the State Library for 25 years. She also often gave educational public presentations on historical subjects.
Mary Low Carver was not forgotten by Colby College after her graduation. In 1916, the College presented her with the honorary Litt. D. degree. When Colby celebrated the 50th anniversary of the admission of women to the college in 1921, Mary delivered the principal address.
Carver has the honor of being the first name on the roll of Sigma Kappa and the first to preside over an initiation ceremony. Of course, her devotion to Sigma Kappa did not end with her graduation. Mary Low Carver gave the address at sorority’s the 25th anniversary in 1899 and she wrote the book for the beautiful pageant performed at the Golden Jubilee Convention in 1924. Mary’s daughter, Ruby Carver (Emerson), became Sigma Kappa’s first legacy when she joined Alpha chapter in 1900. She would later serve as National President from 1935-1936.
Mary Low Carver was known for being talented, gracious, and dignified. In her later years, her serenity and courage in the face of increasing deafness were admired by all who knew her. Having always been an avid learner, she learned to read lips quickly and many never knew how deaf she was. At the 1924 Golden Jubilee Convention she was heard to say, “Oh, if one could only hear, it would be heaven!” Mary Caffrey Low Carver died on March 4, 1926 at the age of 75. She is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in Waterville, Maine.
