Representative women of New England/Minnie L. Fenwick

by Mary H. Graves

MINNIE LOUISE FENWICK, of Chelsea, Mass., well known as an educator and for her connection with women's clubs and charitable organizations, was born in Baden-Baden, Germany, but was brought to this country by her parents, Dr. F. William and Louise (Brodtman) Mahl, in infancy. Her father, Dr. F. William Mahl, settled at Sabine, Tex. He died in New Orleans in 1857 of yellow fever, during the epidemic of that disease, he having gone there to the relief of resident physicians. Mrs. Mahl, after the death of her husband, made her home with her two children, William and Minnie Louise, in Louisville, Ky. She died there on Januarv 31, 1859. Mrs. Fenwick's brother, William Mahl, of New York, is now MINNIE LOUISE FENWICK

comptroller of the Southern Pacific Railroad and other consolidated lines, and is a recognized power in railroad circles all over the continent.

Mrs. Fenwick acquired her early education in Louisville, and completed her preparatory studies in Switzerland, where she was sent to attend school during the Civil War, when Kentucky was in an unsettled condition. In 1866 she was offered a position as teacher in one of the public schools of Louisville, and in the autunm she returned home to begin her duties. In 1871, after five years of teaching, she married Henderson Reno, of Louisville, Ky. He died in 1876, and in the fall of the same year she resumed work as teacher in the public schools of Louisville. She continued thus employed for nine years, and in that time she acquired a comprehensive knowledge of the entire system of school work. Appointed principal of one of the grammar schools in January, 1886, she occupied this position till the summer of 1891. She became the wife of Dr. Joseph Benson Fenwick, of Chelsea, Mass., in July immediately after the close of the school term, and has since made that city her home.

She was elected to the School Board of Chelsea in December, 1892, and has been re-elected after each expired term since. Intelligent and practical as an educator, conversant with the best methods of foreign and American pedagogy, her counsel ha.s been of inestimable value to the instructors and the students of the Chelsea schools.

She has served on all the important committees, such as Course of Study, Text- books, Supplies, High School (being chairman of the High School Conunittee for two years).

She has b(»en an active member of the Chelsea Woman's Club since its organization, and is a member of the Chelsea Fortnightly Club. She holds the office of secretary in the Associated Charities of Chelsea, and is a vice-president of the Rufus S. Frost Hospital Aid Association. Mrs. Fenwick is a delightful conversationalist, and her pleasing manners make her a social favorite in the city, which gratefully acknowledges her services.