She was the lead author of Mrs. John G. Carlisle's Kentucky Cook Book, published in 1893.

[1] Her stepfather, Major John Allen Goodson,[2] was a veteran of the War of 1812 who served several terms in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and was mayor of Covington for four years.

[1] On January 25, 1857, Mary Jane Goodson married John Griffin Carlisle, a politician from Kentucky who became well known on the national stage.

[1] Carlisle was popular in Washington, D.C. social circles, and greatly aided her husband's political career.

[5] Mary Jane Goodson Carlisle died at her summer home in Bay Shore, West Islip, Long Island, New York on August 4, 1905.