In 1830, Sarah Hale of Boston wrote the most popular four-line verse in the English language. Who was the original Mary? Mary Sawyer believed she and her lamb made history the day they arrived at the Old Redstone Schoolhouse in Massachusetts. She even convinced Henry Ford, who restored her schoolhouse and put up a memorial plaque. But was she pulling the wool over his eyes? Several other Marys soon materialized and made similar claims. Apparently, in those days a lot of lambs were seeking higher education.

On October 6, 1997, MLRosebud wrote:

Just to let you know that Mary Sawyer is the Mary of that rhyme. How do I know? She was born in the same town as I was (Sterling, MA )and her relatives still live in this town. After the lamb died she knitted the wool into mittens and stockings. When the Civil War broke out she unraveled the wool and sold it off to help raise money the war.

On April 29, 1999, Adrianna Alty wrote:

Mary Sawyer is, indeed, the Mary from the rhyme written by Sarah Hale. I also grew up in Sterling, Massachusetts albeit a bit later than Ms. Sawyer. The Sawyers’ relatives still live in Sterling and Roy Sawyer, a descendent of Mary’s, was our mail man until he retired in the early 70s. I am sure that The Sterling Historical Society could be of some help to you with regard to verifying these facts. I also include a couple of interesting links (www.wayside.org:80/research.html and soccerpatch.com/MA/P_SterlingMA.html).

There is a statue of The Lamb in the town common. (In fact, The Lamb was replaced in the 80s from a cast concrete version to one made of bronze.) The schoolhouse that Mary Sawyer attended was bought by some institution or historical society, dismantled and taken away, I’m not sure when. I believe the structure is in Sudbury, MA now.

Anyway, I essentially grew up “knowing” that Mary was a real person and be assumed that everyone else knew this too. It was not until college when I first began to tell the “where are you from” story to incredulous classmates that I realized this is not common knowledge. At a dinner party last night, I was reminded yet again that many people believe the story of Mary and her lamb to be a made up nursery rhyme. Sorry, I can’t tell you more...hope this helps.

On September 3, 2000, James Follett wrote:

A comment on mary had a little lamb...

FYI I am a descendant of Mary, her mother’s brother’s great grandson. Although the name was changed from Sawyer to Follett from her mom’s brother, we have had a ongoing family heirloom of tradition that we are decendants of Mary. And we do know for sure that she did go to school that day and a classmate wrote the forever famous poem.

On April 7, 2001, Kevin Zangarine wrote:

I grew up in Sterling, MA and now reside in neighboring Lancaster. My parents and two siblings still live down the street from Mary’s house, which unfortunately has stood empty for years and is need of repair. Eleanor Sawyer lived there when I grew up. A descendent of Mary’s, she lived in the house alone with her cats. Other relatives lived nearby as well. Those of us who grew up in Sterling know that Mary’s lamb, who was born in a barn that was burned down in the 1980’s, followed her to school one day. And Mary and the lamb whose fleece was white as snow were immortalized in a children’s rhyme.

On February 25, 2002, Nicholas Binion wrote:

While a student at the Westminster School in the mid nineteen sixties I was privileged to know Martha Hale whom I knew to be a descendant of Sarah Hale, I believe a grandchild. Martha was a student at the Ethel Walker School. It was interesting learning about Mary Sawyer from your pages. Most folks are bound to figure this poem was written by “anon” because of it familiarity.

But as you know it is based on actual events in actual places.

If Martha Hale (who I knew as Marty) isn’t married with children, I'd be greatly surprised. She was cute as a button, and as bright as she was beautiful. Do you know anything of the living Hales? I'd be tickled to learn any news.

Sincerely,

Nick Binion
Berkeley

On February 27, 2002, KristineLeigh wrote:

My name is Kristine Herold and Mary Sawyer was my great-great-great-great grandmother on my mother’s father's side. I have been tracing this lineage since high school. I know the year she died (1824), but do not have her birthdate. Any information would be very helpful, as I am currently working on this again for a college class. Thank you!

On August 30, 2002, Paul Taylor wrote:

This has nothing to do with any Mary in Massachusetts. The rhyme dates back well before there was a Massachusetts.

On April 15, 2002, Karen Rossman wrote:

I agree with Paul Taylor. This nursery rhyme dates back to old England. It is my understanding that at the time when this was written, law forbad the telling of Bible stories. Therefore, mothers would make up stories to tell their children. They would tell “Bible stories” disguised as nursery rhymes. The way I heard it went like this.

Mary (the mother of Jesus) had a little Lamb (Jesus is the Lamb of God) whose  fleece was white as snow (Jesus knew no sin, therefore being white as snow — according to the Bible) and everywhere that Mary went the Lamb was sure to go (Jesus is with us no matter where we go).

Somehow, I like the story, as it was told to me, much better than the Mass. version.  Although, I suppose there could have been a girl in Mass. named Mary who had a white lamb that did follow her to school as well.

On November 6, 2003, Greg Powers wrote:

Nope, the rhyme doesn’t date back to England. I am also from Sterling, Massachusetts, too. There was a Mary Sawyer and her lamb. The poem was written by her schooteacher around the 1820s, a young man who died young of consumption. Henry Ford carted off the schoolhouse from Redstone Hill to Dearborn, Michigan. Attached is an early 20th Cent. postcard with a photo of Mary in old age around the late 1880s and her family home, which still stands today (2003).

Greg Powers
Wichita, Kansas
(but always a New Englander)

On October 18, 2004, Rebekah Maxner wrote:

I am very interested in the correct origins of these nursery rhymes because I am setting the music within a piano program for children and want to educate them not only how to play the music, but also where the music comes from. If Mary Sawyer was a real person, how could her death date be 1824, yet is thought by others that Mary was a school girl in the 1820s whose female teacher wrote the poem? Then a woman by the name of Mary Sawyer was an old woman in the 1880s, whose poetic teacher had been a young man? It seems like there is no hard evidence to prove any of these claims. Is there an original manuscript?

On April 5, 2006, Sally Liebermann wrote:

Hello,
Yes Mary was real and she loved her little lamb! Mary Sawyer was born in Sterling Mass in 1804. I don't know how old she was when the lamb followed her to school but she was in her elementary years. A young man by the name of John Raulston was visiting the school that day and wrote the beginning lines of the poem. He returned to his native Somerville and died before his twentieth birthday. My family history says that Sara Josepha Hale from Newport, N.H. added lines to the poem. I do not know when Mary died but can find out when I get to the old family bible in the care of my aunt. I do know that she lived to be an old woman and believe that she too lived in Somerville later in life. She did not have children. The photo on the postcard is authentic according to my family history. I grew up seeing that photo in various places and homes.
Sally Liebermann (great grand daughter of Henry Sawyer of Sterling, MA-somehow related Mary)