Current Editor: Cindy Bertelsen Culinary History Collection

Mary J. Lincoln

By Ann Hertzler

Mary J. Lincoln (1844-1921) graduated from Wheaton seminary in Massachusetts in 1864. She married David Lincoln in 1865. Mary Lincoln was a noted writer and lecturer on household science and other highlight of her career include: 1879-1885 - principal Boston School of Cookery; 1893- 1903 - culinary editor for American Kitchen magazine. Mrs. Lincoln was an authority on food value and wrote for a large syndicate of newspapers.

Mary Johnson (Bailey) Lincoln was hired by Maria Parloa for the Boston Cooking School of the Woman's Education Association. She was the first to list ingredients and amounts at the head of the recipe and to designate level measurements. In addition to her many books and columns, Mrs. Lincoln was known for her teaching at the Boston Cooking School. She also traveled extensively and lectured on domestic science and home economics.

Examples from her cookbooks of pertinent "cooking" information:
The Boston Cook Book 1883;
The Boston Cooking School Cook Book 1884 (reprint with a new introduction by Janice Bluestein Longone*, 1996);
Peerless Cook Book 1886;
Carving and Serving 1886;
The Boston School Kitchen Text Book 1888;
What to Have for Luncheon 1904;
School Kitchen Text-Book 1915

Below are some examples of recipes and directions by Mary Lincoln:

• Angel Cake (before the advent of the mechanical or electrical mixer) Ð One cup of flour, measured after one sifting, and then mixed with one teaspoonful of cream of tartar and sifted four times. Beat the whites of eleven eggs, with a wire beater or perforated spoon, until stiff and flaky. Add one cup and a half of fine granulated sugar, and beat again; add one teaspoonful of vanilla or almond, then mix in the flour quickly and lightly. Line the bottom and funnel of a cake pan with paper not greased, pour in the mixture, and bake about forty minutes. When done, loosen the cake around the edge, and turn out at once. Some persons have been more successful with this cake by mixing the sugar with the flour and cream of tartar, and adding all at once to the beaten egg. (DuSablon, Mary Anna. America's Collectible Cookbooks, Ohio University Press, 1994.)
• Ham and Bacon Ham for broiling should be cut very thin, and bacon should not be more than one-fourth inch thick; better one-eighth. Cook in broiler, turning often. Or lay broiler over a pan and cook in oven. Or, cook bacon in a hot pan over the fire, turning often and serve when crisp. Drain well. Fried ham is improved by slow cooking, first, in water in the spider for half and hour, then let water boil out and the ham cook till fat is browned. (Home Helps - A Pure Food Cook Book - Recipes by Mrs. Mary J. Lincoln, Mrs. Sarah Tyson Rorer, Mrs. Helen Armstrong, Lida Ames Willis, Marion Harland, The N.K. Fairbank Company, 1910, p 34)

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