Mary C. Jacobs
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February 1, 1828
Mary C. Jacobs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Mary Catherine Goslin February 1, 1828 |
| Died | November 14, 1909 (aged 81) |
| Other names | M. C. Jacobs |
| Occupations | farmer, author |
| Known for | The Pony Engine |
| Spouses | Alanson Dickerson
(m. 1846; died 1851)Nathaniel Ross Jacobs
(m. 1855; died 1870)T. K. Jacobs
(m. 1881; died 1884) |
| Children | 4 |
Mary Catherine Goslin Jacobs (February 1, 1828 – November 14, 1909) was an American horticulturalist and author, known for her story The Pony Engine, an early published version of The Little Engine that Could.
Mary Catherine Goslin was born on February 1, 1828, to John Hester Goslin (née Cannon), at Cannon's Ferry in Woodland, Delaware.[1] The family moved to Bridgeville, Delaware when she was twelve.[1]
Jacobs was married three times, first to Alanson Dickerson (1811–1851) in 1846 and then later to Nathaniel Ross Jacobs (1822–1870) in 1855.[2] She had four children, two from her first marriage and two, Gertrude and Lily, from her second marriage.[3] When Jacobs died when she was forty-two, he left her deeply in debt.[1] She was allowed to keep one-third of the family's land and thirty dollars (approximately $600 in 2021). She died on November 14, 1909, aged 81.
The Pony Engine
The Pony Engine was a short story that appeared in the periodical Kindergarten Review in 1910.[4] Jacobs' story had a footnote claiming "an illustration given in a lecture served as a basis for this little story."[5] It was circulated widely in newspapers of the time, and versions of her story were performed in school performances.[6][7][8]
In 1956 Arnold Munk, a New York publisher, offered prizes for people who could help him trace the origins of The Little Engine That Could.[9] Arnold Munk was better known as Watty Piper who wrote the best-known version of the story. Mrs. Ruth L. Arthur, a school librarian from Philadelphia, won first prize for sending in a copy of Mrs. Jacobs' published version of the story.[9][10]
