Editing Marjorie Main (section)

==Early life==
Mary Tomlinson was born on February 24, 1890, near [[Acton, Indiana|Acton]], in rural [[Marion County, Indiana]]. She was the second daughter of Reverend Samuel J. Tomlinson, a [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)|Disciples of Christ]] minister, and Jennie L. (McGaughey) Tomlinson. Mary's maternal grandfather, Doctor Samuel McGaughey, was the Acton physician who delivered her.<ref name=Banta111>{{cite book | author=Ray Banta | title =Indiana's Laughmakers: The Story of over 400 Hoosiers, Actors, Cartoonists, Writers, and Others | publisher =PennUltimate Press | year =1990 | location =Indianapolis, Indiana | page=111 | isbn =0929808002}}</ref><ref>According to author Ray Banta, birth records on file at [[Franklin, Indiana]], indicate that Mary Tomlinson was born in Clark Township, [[Johnson County, Indiana]], on February 28, 1890. See Banta, p. 111. Other sources report that she was born at a home her grandfather owned in Acton. Main also stated in a letter to a fan that she was born in Acton. See: {{cite book|author=Nelson Price |title=Indiana Legends: Famous Hoosiers from Johnny Appleseed to David Letterman|publisher=Emmis Books |year=1997 |edition=3rd|page=130 |isbn=1-57860-006-5}} See also: {{cite journal| author=Sylva C. Henricks| title =Marjorie Main: 'Good for a Lot of Laughs' | journal =Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History | volume =12 | issue =1 | pages =34 | publisher =Indiana Historical Society | location =Indianapolis | date =Winter 2000| url =http://cdm16797.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16797coll39/id/5763| access-date =July 9, 2018}}</ref>

At the age of three, Tomlinson moved with her family to [[Indianapolis]], Indiana, where her father was pastor of Hillside Christian Church. Four years later, they moved to [[Goshen, Indiana|Goshen]] and then [[Elkhart, Indiana]]. In the early 1900s, the Tomlinson family settled on a farm near [[Fairland, Indiana]].<ref name=Henricks34>{{cite journal| author= Henricks, Sylva C. | title =Marjorie Main: 'Good for a Lot of Laughs' | journal =Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History | volume =12 | issue =1 | pages =33–40 | publisher =Indiana Historical Society | location =Indianapolis | date =Winter 2000| url =http://cdm16797.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16797coll39/id/5763
| access-date =July 9, 2018}} p. 34.</ref>

After attending public schools in Fairland and [[Shelbyville, Indiana|Shelbyville]], Tomlinson spent a year (1905–06) at [[Franklin College (Indiana)|Franklin College]] in Franklin, Indiana, where she was a charter member of what became the present-day [[Delta Delta Delta]] sorority, before transferring to the Hamilton School of Dramatic Expression in [[Lexington, Kentucky]]. She completed a three-year course of study in 1909 at the age of 19. After graduation, Tomlinson took a job as a dramatics instructor at Bourbon College in [[Paris, Kentucky]], but stayed only a year. Tomlinson later claimed that she was fired from the position after asking for a salary increase.<ref name=Smith167>{{cite book | author=David L. Smith | title =Hoosiers in Hollywood | publisher =Indiana Historical Society | year =2006 | location =Indianapolis | pages =167 | isbn =9780871951946}}</ref><ref name=Price>{{cite book|last=Price|first=Nelson |title=Indiana Legends: Famous Hoosiers from Johnny Appleseed to David Letterman|publisher=Emmis Books |year=1997 |edition=3rd|isbn=1-57860-006-5}}, p. 130.</ref>

After Tomlinson left Kentucky, she spent the next several years studying dramatic arts in [[Chicago]] and New York City, despite her father's disapproval of her career choice. Tomlinson adopted the stage name of Marjorie Main during her early acting career to avoid embarrassing her family.<ref>{{cite book|last=Price|first=Nelson |title=Indiana Legends: Famous Hoosiers from Johnny Appleseed to David Letterman|publisher=Emmis Books |year=1997 |edition=3rd|isbn=1-57860-006-5}}, pp. 167–68.</ref><ref name=INPerspective>{{cite journal| title =Marjorie Main: From Farm Girl to Film Star | journal =INPerspective | volume =24 | issue =1 | pages= 8–9| publisher =Indiana Historical Society | location =Indianapolis | date = January 2018}}</ref>