Mary W. Chapin was born in 1820, in Somers, Connecticut. She graduated from the Seminary in 1843, where she taught for six years before she was appointed Acting Principal in 1850 and Principal in 1852. Under her direction, the course of study was expanded form three to four years and she initiated a more rigorous physical science curriculum. She also oversaw major additions to the Seminary building. She resigned in 1852 to marry Claudius B. Pearce but continued her association with the Seminary by cataloguing the records of the early alumnae in the "Memorandum Society," of which she was President. She died in 1889. An auditorium was later named Chapin Hall in her honor.
The records of Mary W. Chapin contain both personal and professional information which consists of correspondence, including letters written by Chapin from 1851-1883 and written to her from 1850-1887; a notebook of poetry, 1852-1865; religious writings dated 1862-1864?; biographical material (1852- ); and photographs. The materials record her interactions with students, alumnae and colleagues and detail her service to the Seminary.
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Office of the President, Mary Williams Chapin Records, Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections, South Hadley, MA.