In 1876, at the age of 70 years old, a woman named Mary Tyler (previously Mary Sawyer) emerged to claim that she was the "Mary" from the poem.
As a young girl, Mary Sawyer (later Mary Tyler) kept a pet lamb that she took to school one day at the suggestion of her brother.
A commotion naturally ensued.
Mary recalled: "Visiting school that morning was a young man by the name of John Roulstone, a nephew of the Reverend Lemuel Capen, who was then settled in Sterling.
It was the custom then for students to prepare for college with ministers, and for this purpose Roulstone was studying with his uncle.
The young man was very much pleased with the incident of the lamb; and the next day he rode across the fields on horseback to the little old schoolhouse and handed me a slip of paper which had written upon it the three original stanzas of the poem ..." This account, however, is not supported by evidence beyond Mary's memory—the "slip of paper" has never been produced as evidence.
The earliest existing evidence of the poem's publication is Sarah Josepha Hale's 1830 collection of poems, supporting her complete authorship of the poem.

Even though this claim lives on unsupported by evidence, multiple sites in the town of Sterling, Massachusetts, perpetuate the claim.
A 2-foot-tall statue and historical marker representing Mary's Little Lamb stands in the town center.
The Redstone School, where Mary Sawyer attended school and purports the incident takes place, was built in 1798, was purchased by Henry Ford and relocated to a churchyard on the property of Longfellow's Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts.
Mary Sawyer's house, located in Sterling, Massachusetts, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, but was destroyed by arson on August 12, 2007.
In 1876, at the age of 70 years old, a woman named Mary Tyler (previously Mary Sawyer) emerged to claim that she was the "Mary" from the poem. As a young girl, Mary Sawyer (later Mary Tyler) kept a pet lamb that she took to school one day at the suggestion of her brother. A commotion naturally ensued. Mary recalled: "Visiting school that morning was a young man by the name of John Roulstone, a nephew of the Reverend Lemuel Capen, who was then settled in Sterling. It was the custom then for students to prepare for college with ministers, and for this purpose Roulstone was studying with his uncle. The young man was very much pleased with the incident of the lamb; and the next day he rode across the fields on horseback to the little old schoolhouse and handed me a slip of paper which had written upon it the three original stanzas of the poem ..." This account, however, is not supported by evidence beyond Mary's memory—the "slip of paper" has never been produced as evidence. The earliest existing evidence of the poem's publication is Sarah Josepha Hale's 1830 collection of poems, supporting her complete authorship of the poem.
Even though this claim lives on unsupported by evidence, multiple sites in the town of Sterling, Massachusetts, perpetuate the claim. A 2-foot-tall statue and historical marker representing Mary's Little Lamb stands in the town center. The Redstone School, where Mary Sawyer attended school and purports the incident takes place, was built in 1798, was purchased by Henry Ford and relocated to a churchyard on the property of Longfellow's Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts. Mary Sawyer's house, located in Sterling, Massachusetts, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, but was destroyed by arson on August 12, 2007.
Mary Had a Little Lamb