Career
She is known for writing a collection of 66 poems, entitled Magnolia Leaves, that offers a presentation of African-American families following the American Civil War. The introduction to the book is written by Booker T. Washington, in which he reflects on his concerns for African-American families. Mary Weston Fordham was born in 1844 in Charleston, South Carolina.
Her parents and extended family were skilled and land owners.
She was a poet and an educator. She ran a school for African-American children during the Civil War.
After the war, she worked as a teacher for the American Missionary Association.