Mary Elizabeth Wieting Johnson
Born on February 12, 1843, Mary Elizabeth Wieting Johnson was from English ancestry, whose granddaughter Col. William Coley, came to America as a boy and served with distinction in the Revolutionary War. She was the youngest daughter of a lawyer, New York State legislator, and Pitcher, NY Postmaster Samuel, and his wife Mary Ann Coley Plumb. The Plumb family moved to Homer when Mrs. Johnson was a girl and she was graduated from the Homer Academy with highest honors in 1860.
Mary Elizabeth’s passion were education and the arts, specifically drama and poetry.
She was also a public speaker, artist, author, and poet. She was married Dr. John Wieting, known for building the Wieting Block, which included Wieting Opera House – a theater that played hosted many …show more content…
Wieting in 1864, they traveled abroad extensively and Mary lectured prolifically on her travels. Aside from delivering moving lectures, she was an author, poet, and artist poems and sketches were featured in newspapers and magazines.
Upon Mr. Wieting’s death in 1887, his will to be completely divided among his chosen charities, was declared invalid due to legal issues, leaving Mary to inherit his ample estate. With those funds, Mary became a businesswoman, successfully able almost single-handedly manage Wieting Block.
With her intrepid head for business, Mary employed a teenage Sam Shubert as treasurer of the theatre -- which eventually became one of the largest theatrical enterprise of its day.
In 1896, the theater burned down for a 3rd time. Mary took that opportunity to rebuild the theatre bigger, better, and the grandest theatre in Syracuse, New York.
Mrs. Johnson was an active member of the Onondaga Historical Society, a director from 1893 to 1901 and treasurer in 1893 and 1900. In 1900, she married Melville Augustus Johnson and moved away from her beloved Syracuse for a few years. But upon her her husband’s death, she moved back to
Born on February 12, 1843, Mary Elizabeth Wieting Johnson was from English ancestry, whose granddaughter Col. William Coley, came to America as a boy and served with distinction in the Revolutionary War. She was the youngest daughter of a lawyer, New York State legislator, and Pitcher, NY Postmaster Samuel, and his wife Mary Ann Coley Plumb. The Plumb family moved to Homer when Mrs. Johnson was a girl and she was graduated from the Homer Academy with highest honors in 1860.
Mary Elizabeth’s passion were education and the arts, specifically drama and poetry.
She was also a public speaker, artist, author, and poet. She was married Dr. John Wieting, known for building the Wieting Block, which included Wieting Opera House – a theater that played hosted many …show more content…
Wieting in 1864, they traveled abroad extensively and Mary lectured prolifically on her travels. Aside from delivering moving lectures, she was an author, poet, and artist poems and sketches were featured in newspapers and magazines.
Upon Mr. Wieting’s death in 1887, his will to be completely divided among his chosen charities, was declared invalid due to legal issues, leaving Mary to inherit his ample estate. With those funds, Mary became a businesswoman, successfully able almost single-handedly manage Wieting Block.
With her intrepid head for business, Mary employed a teenage Sam Shubert as treasurer of the theatre -- which eventually became one of the largest theatrical enterprise of its day.
In 1896, the theater burned down for a 3rd time. Mary took that opportunity to rebuild the theatre bigger, better, and the grandest theatre in Syracuse, New York.
Mrs. Johnson was an active member of the Onondaga Historical Society, a director from 1893 to 1901 and treasurer in 1893 and 1900. In 1900, she married Melville Augustus Johnson and moved away from her beloved Syracuse for a few years. But upon her her husband’s death, she moved back to