Mary Quincy Brown was born on April 29, 1828, and was a member of the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary Class of 1849. After graduating, she taught at the Seminary from 1849-1852. Her sister Susan Brown (Class of 1851) also taught from 1851-1852. Brown was originally from Newburyport, Massachusetts but during her lifetime lived in New York State, Indiana and Ohio. Brown also took care of her aged parents and worked to help immigrants and the poor. She died in 1920.