Mary Atherton Richards

Mary Atherton Richards
Mary Atherton Richards in her youth
Born
Mary Cushing Atherton

April 21, 1869
Honolulu, Hawai'i, U.S.
DiedApril 18, 1951 (age 81)
Honolulu, Hawai'i, U.S.
OccupationsEducator, clubwoman, philanthropist
FatherJoseph Ballard Atherton
RelativesAmos Starr Cooke (grandfather)
Juliette Montague Cooke (grandmother)
Frank E. Midkiff (son-in-law)
Charles Montague Cooke (uncle)

Mary Cushing Atherton Richards (April 21, 1869 – April 18, 1951) was an American educator, clubwoman, and philanthropist, based in Honolulu.

Early life and education

Richards was born in Honolulu, the daughter of Joseph Ballard Atherton and Juliette Montague Cooke Atherton.[1] Her maternal grandparents were missionary teachers Amos Starr Cooke and Juliette Montague Cooke.[2][3] Her father was president of Castle & Cooke Ltd., and involved in banking, telephones, railroads, and schools in Hawaii.[4]

Career

Richards was founder and leader of the Morning Music Club of Honolulu,[4] and active with the Women's Board of Missions for the Pacific Islands, especially on temperance, infant health, and school health programs.[5] She was president of the Free Kindergarten and Children's Aid Association of Honolulu.[6] She served on commissions of the Hawaii Department of Public Education and helped establish the first high schools on Kaua'i and Maui, and the Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind.[2] She and her husband donated buildings to the YMCA[7] and the Punahou School, and established a YWCA retreat center on Oahu named Kokokahi.[8] She was a member of the Daughters of Hawaii, the Daughters of the American Revolution,[9] and the Punahou Parent-Teacher Association.[2] She was president of the J. B. Atherton Estate, Ltd.[4] In 1945, a scholarship was established to honor her and her husband's work in education,[10] and a chapel was dedicated in their memory in 1960.[11]

Publications

  • The Hawaiian Chiefs' Children's School, 1839–1850 (1937)[12]

Personal life and legacy

In 1892, Mary Atherton married New Jersey-born educator and missionary Theodore Richards.[13] They had five children: Ruth, Joseph Atherton,[14][15] Muriel, Herbert, and Mary Theodora (Polly).[2][9] Her husband died in 1948, and she died in 1951, at the age of 81,[4] in Honolulu.[2]

Richards left a quarter of her estate to fund the Friend Peace Scholarship Fund.[16][17] The Theodore Richards Papers are in the Kamehameha Schools Archives. In 2021, the Mary Atherton Richards House on the campus of the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa was demolished for a new facility.[18][19]

References

  1. ^ "Will Give to Charity; Mr. J. B. Atherton's Will Filed for Probate". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 1903-04-28. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-09-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Mary Atherton Richards". Hawaiian Mission Houses Digital Archive. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  3. ^ "History of the Atherton Family" Archived 2025-04-25 at the Wayback Machine Atherton Family Foundation.
  4. ^ a b c d Warinner, Emily V. (1949-04-22). "Friends Honor Mary A. RIchards on 80th Birthday; Life of Service". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-09-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Woman's Board Celebrates Jubilee". The Friend. 90 (6): 131. June 1921.
  6. ^ Hawaii Legislature, Senate (1911). Journal. p. 700.
  7. ^ Historic American Buildings Survey. "Mary Atherton Richards House, 1820 University Ave, Honolulu, Honolulu County, HI". www.loc.gov. Archived from the original on 2025-05-21. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  8. ^ "Kokokahi". Images of Old Hawaiʻi. 2024-04-20. Archived from the original on 2025-06-24. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  9. ^ a b "Mrs. Richards Honored on 80th Birthday". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 1949-04-23. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-09-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Mau, Y. K. (1945-11-25). "Fund Established to Honor Dr., Mrs. Theodore Richards". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-09-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Richards Memorial Chapel to be Unveiled Sunday". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1960-06-15. p. 32. Retrieved 2025-09-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Cooke, Amos Starr; Richards, Mary Atherton (1937). The Chiefs' Children's School: A Record Compiled from the Diary and Letters of Amos Starr Cooke and Juliette Montague Cooke. Privately printed.
  13. ^ Siddall, John William (1921). Men of Hawaii: Being a Biographical Reference Library, Complete and Authentic, of the Men of Note and Substantial Achievement in the Hawaiian Islands : Volume 1. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 335.
  14. ^ Melrose, Maile (May 1998). "Kahua Ranch". Waimea Gazette. Archived from the original on 2025-01-23. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  15. ^ Yerton, Stewart (2018-04-25). "A 'Descendants'-Style Land Feud Breaks Out On The Big Island". Honolulu Civil Beat. Archived from the original on 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  16. ^ "The Friend Peace Scholarship Fund". Graduate Theological Union, Guide to Outside Resources. Archived from the original on 2025-04-17. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  17. ^ The Friend Peace Scholarship Fund Archived 2024-07-06 at the Wayback Machine, Hawai'i Conference, United Church of Christ.
  18. ^ "Demolition of Mary Atherton Richards House starts in July to make way for new UH building" Archived 2025-10-10 at the Wayback Machine KHON2 News (June 27, 2021).
  19. ^ "Old Atherton house near UH razed to make way for new student facility". Hawaii News Now. 2021-09-29. Archived from the original on 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
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