Mabel Cushman Stevens (Jan 29, 1867 - Jan 25, 1917) worked as one of the Women Astronomical Computers at the Harvard College Observatory from 1888 to 1906.
While at the Harvard College Observatory, Stevens was responsible for assisting with the classification of the spectra of faint stars for the Henry Draper Catalogue’s southern sky sections. The classification work, specifically for the Southern Sky-section of the Catalogue, involved examining plates from Observatories in the southern hemisphere. Stevens worked with Edith and Mabel Gill, as well as Williamina Fleming, Louisa Wells, and Evelyn Leland.1 Stevens is mentioned several times in Mrs. Fleming’s journal, and on one occasion they ascertained the position of an object which turned out to be a minor planet, or asteroid.2 She also features in several famous photographs taken of the women at the Observatory, in 1891.
After leaving the Observatory, Stevens moved to Chicago where she became the private secretary for the President of the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank, John J. Mitchell, and close friends with him and his wife, as well as others in the Chicago, and Lake Geneva areas.3
Mabel C. Stevens was born in Cambridge on January 29, 1867 to Abel and Sarah Ann Stevens (neé Metcalf). She was the youngest of four living children. Her older sister Harriet worked with her at the Observatory from when Harriet started in 1891, until Mabel left in 1906. A passport issued to Stevens in 1909 listed her height as 5’3”, and her hair at age 42 as brown and gray.4 She lived in the Chicago area the remained her of her life. Stevens passed away rather suddenly from pneumonia, contracted while visiting her older brother in Lexington MA. She was 51. She is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge Massachusetts.5
Written by Samantha Notick, May 2023
Mabel Stevens utilized three titles to describe her work at the Observatory. On City directories between 1888 and 1892, she used “Computer”. In 1893 and 1896, she used “Assistant”. On the 1900 Federal Census she listed “Star Cataloguer” under profession.
For questions on any particular Women Astronomical Computer’s titles please consult their bio page. If no terminology information is listed, feel free to email us!
Citations:
1-Dava Sobel, The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took Measure of the Stars (New York: Viking, 2016), 91.↩2-Journal of Williamina Fleming, Harvard University Archives, 7 March 1900.↩
3-“Miss Mabel C. Stevens Dead.” The Boston Globe. January 26, 1917. Accessed May 3, 2023. ; “MISS MABEL STEVENS DIES IN LEXINGTON”. The Boston Post. January 26, 1917. Accessed May 3, 2023.↩
4-National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; NARA Series: Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925; Roll #: 89; Volume #: Roll 0089 - Certificates: 8814-9957, 14 June 1909-24 June 1909. Accessed via Ancestrylibrary.com, May 3, 2023.↩
5-U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current. Find a Grave. Accessed via Ancestrylibrary.com, May 3, 2023.↩
