Browse Items (277 total)
Sort by:
DWYER, Miss Bessie Agnes
Bessie Agnes Dwyer, the youngest daughter of Judge Thomas A. Dwyer, was born on September 29, 1866, in Nueces County, Texas. The multi-talented Bessie became the first woman of Texas to earn a legal degree, the first woman to enter the library…
SPOFFORD, Mrs. Harriet Prescott
Harriet Prescott Spofford, born on April 3, 1835, was an author, biographer, novelist, and poet. A native of Calais, Maine, she attended Pinkerton Academy. Harriet became known in the literary world in 1859 when, asA Woman of the Centurynotes, "she…
SAWYER, Mrs. Lucy Sargent
Lucy Sargent Sawyer, born in Belfast, ME on April 3, 1840, was a missionary worker, philanthropist, and reformer.Devoted to the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which her husband was a pastor, Lucy became involved in activities such as the Woman's…
SHOAFF, Mrs. Carrie M.
Artist and inventor Carrie M. Shoaff was born in Huntington, IN on April 2, 1849. By 1880, she and her husband Urias Shoaff were living in Fort Wayne, IN. In 1884, she exhibited three of her paintings in Keil's bookstore in Fort Wayne. The Fort Wayne…
DELETOMBE, Miss Alice S.
Alice S. Deletombe, born in Gallipolis, OH on April 2, 1854, was a poet. Humble by nature, young Alice did not publicize her work and often wrote under a pseudonym.In 1891, The Magazine of Poetry published her image, some of her poems, and a…
WETHERALD, Miss Agnes Ethelwyn
Agnes Ethelwyn Wetherald, a Canadian poet, novelist, and journalist, was born in Rockwood, Ontario, on April 26, 1857. A Quaker, she came to the United States to attend the Friends Boarding School in Union Springs, New York. A writer from an early…
CAMERON, Mrs. Elizabeth
Elizabeth Millar Cameron, an editor, a publisher, and a temperance and women's rights reformer, was born in Niagara, Ontario, Canada on March 8, 1851, to Scottish parents. She married John Cameron and became the mother of five children. The Camerons…
BANTA, Mrs. Melissa Elizabeth Riddle
Melissa Elizabeth Riddle Banta, a native of Cheviot, Ohio, was born on March 27, 1834. She attended Wesleyan Female Institute in Cincinnati and Female Collegiate Institute in Covington, Kentucky. After teaching early in her career, Melissa focused on…
WAIT, Mrs. Anna C.
Born Anna A. Churchill, on March 26, 1837 in Medina County, Ohio, suffargist, orator, teacher and newspaper owner Mrs. Anna C. Wait was a notable woman. An early entrepreneur, from the age of eleven she prided herself in being…
DAUVRAY, Helen
Actress Helen Dauvray was born in San Francisco, California, on Valentine's Day in 1859. She made her acting debut in the same city, just five years later."Little Nell, the California Diamond," as she was known, had a very successful career in New…
PARKHURST, Mrs. Emelie Tracy Y. Swett
Emelie Tracy Y. Swett Parkhurst was born in San Francisco, California, on March 9, 1863.During her career, Emelie was an author, a biographer, a poet, a music teacher, and a playwright. She created the Pacific Coast Literary Bureau and was a founder…
BAYLOR, Miss Frances Courtenay
Author, novelist, and playwright Frances Courtenay Baylor, who was born on January 20, 1848, hailed from Fayetteville, Arkansas. During her lifetime, she also called San Antonio, Texas, England, and Winchester, Virginia, home.She wrote pieces such as…
DYER, Mrs. Clara L. Brown
Clara L. Brown Dyer, who was born in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, on March 13, 1849, came from a family with a long history in New England. Her relatives served in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. One ancestor (Job Tyler) was…
AMES, Miss Lucia True
Lucia True Ames, from Boscawen, New Hampshire, wasborn on May 5, 1856. She wasan author, teacher, suffragist, and pacifist who lived in Boston during her adult years.Lucia's"The Home in the Tenement-House,"published inThe New England Magazinein 1893,…
CUMMINGS, Mrs. Alma Carrie
Alma Carrie Cummings was born in Columbia, New Hampshire on March 21, 1857. She married Edwin S. Cummings when she was seventeen. They started a family, and he worked as a newspaper owner. As herA Woman of the Centuryprofileexplains, once Edwin was…
CHARLES, Mrs. Emily Thornton
Mrs. Emily Thornton Charles was a prodigious author, poet, journalist and editor. Emily, born in Lafayette, Indiana on March 21st, 1845, liked to write in rhyme as a child and was recognized for her writing skills and her ease at expressing herself.…
MATHER, Mrs. Sarah Ann
Sarah Ann Mather was born in Chester, MA on March 20, 1820. She attended Wesleyan Academy in Wilbraham, MA and became involved in the field of education. Sarah taught art at New England Conference Seminary in East Greenwich, RI and was both an…
HENRY, Mrs. Josephine Kirby Williamson
In the 1800s, Josephine Kirby Henry went outside the boundaries of a typical woman during that time by being a women’s rights leader, writer, and political activist. Josephine was born on February 22, 1843, into the wealthy Williamson family in…
WILLARD, Miss Frances Elizabeth
Frances Elizabeth Willard, whose lengthy biographical sketch lists her as an "educator, reformer and philanthropist," was one of the editors of A Woman of the Century. She was born on September 28, 1839, in Churchville, New York. Frances graduated…
PEEKE, Mrs. Margaret Bloodgood
Author Margaret Bloodgood Peeke was born near Saratoga Springs, New York, on April 8, 1838. She married Rev. George H. Peeke and became the mother of six children.Margaret wrote for several periodicals, includingArena,Chicago Alliance,Detroit Free…
SIGOURNEY, Mrs. Lydia Huntley
Lydia Huntley Sigourney, one of the most famous female writers of the nineteenth century, was born in Norwich, Connecticut on September 1, 1791. As a young woman, Lydia taught in her hometown. In 1819, she married Charles Sigourney and became the…
HANAFORD, Rev. Phebe Anne
Phebe Anne Hanaford, a Nantucket, MA native who was bornon May 6, 1829, wrote her own collective biography of women, Women of the Century. In addition to writing this book and many others, and editing two periodicals, Phebe was a well known…
BRADWELL, Mrs. Myra
Myra Bradwell, a native of Manchester, Vermont, who was born on February 12, 1831, was one the most well-known female lawyers of the nineteenth century. As a pioneer in the field, she created and argued for important legal rights, including "the law…
HIGGINSON, Mrs. Ella Rhoads
Poet and author Ella Rhoads Higginson was born in Council Grove, Kansas, on January 28, 1862. Her family moved to Portland, Oregon, when she was a child, and they later lived in Oregon City, Oregon.Ella married Russell C. Higginson in 1886, and the…
BENEDICT, Miss Emma Lee
Emma Lee Benedict, born on November 16, 1857, was a native of Clifton Park, New York. She was an editor, educator, author, public speaker, and temperance reformer. Passionate about education from a young age, Emma was a graduate of the State Normal…
FIELD, Mrs. Martha R.
Martha Reinhard Smallwood Field, known as "Mattie," was born in Lexington, MO, but she spent most of her life in New Orleans, LA. "She was the first woman journalist to draw a salary in that city," according to her profile in A Woman of the Century…
COOLBRITH, Mrs. Ina Donna
Ina Donna Coolbrith, who was born in Nauvoo, Illinois, on March 10, 1841, grew up in California and became its Poet Laureate.During her prolific writing career, Ina contributed toOverland Monthlyand later ran it with Bret Harte and Charles Warren…
LOUGHEAD, Mrs. Flora Haines
Author Flora Haines Loughead was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 12, 1855. By 1870, her family had moved to West Lincoln, Ilinois. Flora graduated from Lincoln University in 1872. She married Charles E. Apponyi in Sacramento in August of 1875.…
DODGE, Miss Hannah Perkins
Hannah Perkins Dodge was born in North Littleton, Massachusetts, on February 16, 1821. She dedicated her life to the education of young people, especially young women, and to philanthropic causes. Hannah taught as a young woman and attended Lawrence…
DORR, Mrs. Julia C. R.
Julia Caroline Ripley Dorr was born on February 13, 1825, in Charleston, South Carolina. She was the daughter of William Young Ripley and Zulma DeLacy Thomas. When Julia was a young girl, her father moved the family to his native Vermont, where he…
DABBS, Mrs. Ellen Lawson
Ellen Lawson Dabbs, M.D. knew frompersonal experiencehow important it was for women to get an education and have a profession, so she accepted leadership positions in various organizations, knowing that her voice would be heard on women's rights and…
FRISSELL, Miss Seraph
Physician Seraph Frissell was born in Peru, Massachusetts on August 20, 1840. She attendedMount Holyoke Seminary,while also teaching, and graduated in 1869. Seraph continued teaching until 1872, when she began her medical training at the University…
CARSE, Mrs. Matilda B.
Matilda B. Carse, a Belfast, Ireland native, was born on November 19, 1835. Shebecame involved with the temperance cause after the tragic death of her young son due to a drunken wagon driver. For the rest of her life, this philanthropist toiled for…
PLUMB, Levancia Holcomb
Levancia Holcomb Plumb was born in Sand Lake, NY on June 23, 1841. but she lived in Illinois for most of her life. She attended Oberlin College, graduating in 1861. On December 6, 1866, Levancia married Samuel H. Plumb in Lorain, OH. They became the…
AMES, Miss Julia A.
Julia A. Ames, a gifted editor, orator, and temperance reformer, was born in Odell, Illinois, on October 14, 1860. She graduated from Streator High School, Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, and the Chicago School of Oratory.Julia spent…
CRABTREE, Miss Lotta
Born in New York Cityon November 7, 1847, Charlotte Crabtree, known as Lotta, spent her childhood in California. She began singing, dancing, and acting at a young age, going on tour in California while she was a teenager. Lotta's debut in the city of…
BLACKWELL, Miss Alice Stone
Alice Stone Blackwell was born in Orange, New Jersey on September 14, 1857. She was a graduate of Boston University.During her career, Alice was a journalist, editor, and suffragist. She editedWoman's Column and, like her mother, Lucy Stone, she…
STONE, Mrs. Lucy
Reformer Lucy Stone was born near West Brookfield, Massachusetts on August 13, 1818. She graduated from Oberlin College in 1847, with honors. Early in her career, she was an Antislavery lecturer, but Lucy's lifelong passion was advocating for…
AIKENS, Mrs. Amanda L.
Amanda L. Aikens was born in North Adams, Massachusetts on May 12, 1833, and later lived in Pittsfield. She met Andrew J. Aikens, editor of a weekly North Adams newspaper, and the couple moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin after their 1854 marriage. Amanda…
AGASSIZ, Mrs. Elizabeth Cabot
Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, one of the founders of Radcliffe College and its first president, was born in Boston, MA on December 5, 1822. The Atlantic Monthly,which putblished her"An Amazonian Picnic"in March 1866,is one periodical which included pieces…
ALCOTT, Miss Louisa May
Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women and several other books, was born in Germantown, PA on November 29, 1832, but she spent most of her life in Concord, MA. Alcott lived in Boston with her family during her youth and moved with them to Harvard…
DIAZ, Mrs. Abby Morton
Abby Morton Diaz was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on November 22, 1821. During the 1840s, Abby and some of her family members spent time at Brook Farm, the Uptopian community in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. Recalling her friends hip with Abby…
CASSEDAY, Miss Jennie
Jennie Casseday, who was born in Louisville, Kentucky on June 9, 1840, was injured as a young woman. As a result, she was bedridden for most of her life. Determined to brighten the lives of others in her situation, she created the Louisville Flower…
CHILD, Mrs. Lydia Maria
Lydia Maria Childwas born on February 11, 1802, in Medford, Massachusetts. She gained early readers through her fiction, her biographies, and her periodical,Juvenile Miscellany.She bravely risked her established reputation in support of the…
MOWRY, Miss Martha H.
Physician, professor, and lecturer Martha H. Mowry hailed from Providence, Rhode Island. Martha lost her mother when she was an infant, and she was devoted to her father throughout her life. She attended a variety of schools, including the Green…
CHACE, Mrs. Elizabeth Buffum
Elizabeth Buffum Chace, who toiled for the Anti-slavery and women's suffrage causes, hailed from Providence Rhode Island. She was born in Providence, RI on December 9, 1806. Elizabeth married Samuel Buffington Chace in 1828 and the couple were…
BURLINGAME, Mrs. Emeline S
Emeline S. Burlingame, an editor and evangelist, was born in Smithfield, Rhode Island on September 22, 1836. She grew up in Rhode Island and attended Providence High School and Rhode Island Normal School. Emeline married Luther Rawson Burlingame on…
BATTEY, Mrs. Emily Verdery
Emily Verdery Battey, anative of Belair GA, was bornon November 18, 1826. Awell known journalist, Emily reported for The Sun, a New York newspaper for many years, beginning in 1868. She also contributed to The Evening Telegram, Harper's Magazine,…
BAKER, Mrs. Charlotte Johnson
Charlotte Johnson Baker, who was born on March 30, 1855, in Newburyport, MA, was educated in her town high school and Vassar College. Later, she earned her medical degree at the University of Michigan.She and her husband, also a doctor, moved to San…
Independent
Periodical founded in New York, NY in 1848
WOODBRIDGE, Mrs. Mary A. Brayton
Mary A. Brayton Woodbridge, born in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on April 21, 1830, was a temperance reformer. She married Frederick Wells Woodbridge when she was seventeen years old, and the couple settled in Cleveland, Ohio. Mary became a mother, and…
LIPPINCOTT, Mrs. Sara Jane
Sara Jane Lippincott, an author and journalist, was born in Pompey, New York on September 23, 1823. She grew up in Rochester, New York and lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after her 1853 marriage to Leander K. Lippincott. Later, she lived in…
BROWN, Miss Emma Elizabeth
Author Emma Elizabeth Brownwas born onOctober 18, 1847. Emma's literary career began in her native town, Concord, New Hampshire, when she submitted a poem to theConcord Monitor.
Once she moved to Boston, Emma wrote a book of poems and contributed to…
BROTHERTON, Mrs. Alice Williams
Alice Williams Brotherton was born in Cambridge, Indiana on April 4, 1848. HerA Woman of the Centuryprofile notes the important roles that being raised in a home with books and a mother who encouraged writing played in setting Alice on the road to a…
NICHOLLS, Mrs. Rhoda Holmes
Rhoda Holmes Nicholls was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England. on March 28, 1854. She was educated in the Bloomsbury School of Art and became an artist, an art teacher, and an author.Contemporaries thought highly of Rhoda. William Dean Howells…
Sorosis
Organization of literary and professional women.
Founded in 1868
Founded in 1868
Academy of Music (New York, N.Y.)
Opera House
ROSEWALD, Mrs. Julie
Vocalist Julie Rosewald was a member of the talented musical family called Eichberg. She was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on March 7, 1850. Her studies began at the conservatory there and continued at the exclusive Royal Theater School in Stuttgart,…
HOFFMAN, Mrs. Sophia Curtiss
Philanthropist and women's rights advocate Sophia Curtiss Hoffman was born in Sheffield, Massachusetts, on November 24, 1825. Emma Curtiss Bascom, her younger sister, is also inA Woman of the Century.Sophia married George Hoffman and moved to New…
ABBOTT, Emma
Prima Donna Emma Abbott was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 9, 1850. Sophia Curtiss Hoffman, Clara Louise Kellogg, andDr. Edwin Hubbell Chapinwere early supporters of Emma's career. She trained in Europe and later became wealthy by touring…
GORTON, Mrs. Cynthia M. R.
Cynthia M. Roberts Gorton was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on February 27, 1826. While attending Troy Female Seminary, she began to lose her sight. After Cynthia married Frederick Gorton, she became totally blind. However, this determined…
STONE, Miss Martha Elvira
Martha Elvira Stone was born in North Oxford, Massachusetts on September 13, 1816. She attended Oxford Classical School and Leicester Academy and then taught for many years. Martha and her cousinClara Barton, another North Oxford native, were…
ABBATT, Miss Agnes Dean
Agnes Dean Abbatt was born on June 23, 1847 in New York City. Educated at both the art school of theCooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Artand theNational Academy of Design, Agnes was successful as both an art teacher and an artist. She…
BARTON, Miss Clara
Clara Barton, a native of North Oxford, MA, is best known as the founder of the American Red Cross. She was born on December 25, 1821, the youngest child of Stephen and Sara Stone Barton. Clara grew up in North Oxford and lived near her cousin,Martha…
