Mary Jane Katzmann (also known as, Mrs. William Lawson; sobriquet, M. J. K. and later, M. J. K. L.; January 15, 1828 – March 23, 1890) was a Canadian writer, editor, historian, and poet.

She preserved to the end of her life that love for literary work which she had early displayed, and any event of interest in the community was sure to call forth sympathetic lines which were now signed with the initials M. J. K. L. In 1887, she obtained the Akins Historical Prize of King's College, Windsor, for her History of the, Townxhi* of Dartmouth, Preston, and Lawrencetown.

The format and printing were superior, and the quality of the contributions was commendable.... Katzmann tailored her publication to attract a wide audience, both male and female; she also strove to include articles of regional origin rather than selected reprints.

Lawson worked a series she had written in the Provincial, "Tales of Our Village,"[5] into the book, History of the Townships of Dartmouth, Preston and Lawrencetown, Halifax County, N.S., for which she won the Akins Historical Prize from King's College in 1887.

[4] Her two books, Frankincense and Myrrh (a collection of her poetry) and History of the Townships of Dartmouth, Preston, and Lawrencetown, Halifax County, N.S.," were published posthumously in 1893, edited by poet Constance Fairbanks and historian Harry Piers.

Although it relies heavily on description and anecdote, and reads much like a Victorian travelogue, the book nevertheless reveals a fine sense of historical detail and comprehension."

As well, "although it can in no way be compared to a modern sociological study, it does convey, in a fashion which many early regional histories lack, a colourful sense of the people and the times.

"[3] The DCBO says of Katzmann's career: "In an age when women accomplished little beyond the circle of home and charity, her success, although limited to the provincial sphere, was threefold: as the capable and youthful editor of a successful, if short-lived, periodical, as an able businesswoman in a circle dominated by male initiative, and as one of the first native Nova Scotian women to achieve literary recognition, and certainly the first to make an enduring impression.