Mary Elizabeth (Jones) Beard (1862 - 1940)

Born Jan 1862 in Wales, United Kingdom

Wife of John Andrew Beard — married 1898 in Multnomah, Oregon, United States

Died 19 Aug 1940 at age 78 in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Chrissy Locke [send private message]

Biography

Elizabeth’s main claim to fame is that she gave birth to one of the greatest American culinarians – James Beard (food writer & critic, cookbook author, culinary educator and authority on food).

She was born Elizabeth Jones in the countryside of Wiltshire around 1868, and was adopted by a childless aunt and uncle who lived in London. At sixteen she was eager to see the world, jumping at the opportunity to tour the U.S. as a governess for a Canadian family. At the end of two years, they happened to be in Portland, Oregon when the family was suddenly called back to Toronto. Elizabeth decided to remain in Portland, found a job, saved her money and went to live in New York where she made lifelong friends. She moved back to Portland and continued to travel now and then.

She was married twice. Her first husband, John Brennan, a builder and sometime engineer, died after only a year of marriage. Her second marriage to John Beard (James’ father) was in 1899. According to Beard, she was a great businesswoman, gourmand and connoisseur. She owned and successfully ran a hotel called the “Gladstone” in downtown Portland.

James Beard said of his mother, “Mother had an uncanny sense of food and the talent to show others how to prepare it. She loved to cook, eat and talk food more than almost anyone else I have known. At the turn of the century she had an international approach to food that would have been considered revolutionary in the last ten years. When women were still subordinate and modest, Mother was forceful and fearless. She swept through a room or down a street with an air of determination and authority, and she met men on their own terms.”

She passed away in 1940.

Sources

• Find A Grave: Memorial #27565482
• Jones, Evan. Epicurean Delight: The Life and Times of James Beard. New York: Knopf, 1990. Pages 5-10.
• Reichl, Ruth. Endless Feasts: Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet. New York: Modern Library, 2003.
• Beard, James, and Rick Rodgers. The Essential James Beard Cookbook: 450 Recipes That Shaped the Tradition of American Cooking. , 2012.