Deyo Family Papers

Mary Deyo, who wrote or received most of the letters in this collection, was born on January 8th, in either 1857 or 1858. She lived with her mother Maria Deyo and her sister Maggie E. Deyo in Gardiner, Ulster County, New York.

Most of what is known about Mary Deyo and her family comes from the letters Mary sent to her mother Maria, while Mary served as a missionary in Japan. A member of the Reformed Church in America, Mary Deyo first went to Japan in 1889 to teach at the well known Ferris Seminary, a Christian school for Japanese girls located in Yokohama, in Kanagawa Prefecture. Mary Deyo worked at the Ferris Seminary for a period of five years, where she taught Bible studies, English language and grammar, and calisthenics.

Mary returned to New York in 1894, but then went back to Japan in 1895. This time, while still under the supervision of the Reformed Church, Mary worked as a missionary in Ueda, in Nagano Prefecture. Some of her duties there included supervising the development of a number of Sunday Schools and teaching Bible studies and English to men and women.

Mary Deyo again returned to New York in 1900, but then went back to Japan in 1902. This time, Mary was sent by the Church to Morioka, in Iwate Prefecture, where she carried on her missionary work of supervising Sunday Schools and teaching the Bible. Mary Deyo was also made president of a chapter of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and was active in organizing and running children's temperance societies.

Mary Deyo's mother Maria died in 1905, either in June or July. Mary Deyo continued to work in Morioka for a few more months, but then made plans to return home when she learned that her sister Maggie was seriously ill. Mary did go home to New York in 1906.

Mary’s sister passed away in 1906, but the cause of her death is unknown. The date and place of Mary Deyo's death has not been determined.

The exact number of siblings Mary Deyo had is not known, but she did have at least two brothers in addition to her sister Maggie. One of these brothers, Solomon Le Fevre Deyo, was chief engineer of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company of New York City, and worked on the original New York subway system.

Other relatives of Mary Deyo whose letters are in the collection include an uncle, Thomas Jessup, who lived in Newburgh, New York, and who died in 1891; a niece, Bertha Deyo, twenty years younger than Mary, who taught at Queens College in New York; Harriet Deyo, who might have been Solomon Deyo's daughter and another niece of Mary Deyo; and a Doctor A. Deyo, relationship unknown.

Mary Deyo's branch of the family was connected to the larger Deyo family, many of whom resided in New Paltz, New York, located less than ten miles from Gardiner, New York. Other families who resided in New Paltz and were related to the Deyos include the Le Fevres and the Hasbroucks.