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BLACKWELL, Miss Elizabeth
Elizabeth Blackwell, who was born in Bristol, England, on February 3, 1821, became one of the first women physicians in the United States. She persisted in applying to various medical schools as her applications were rejected because she was a woman.…
LAZARUS, Miss Emma
Emma Lazarus was born in New York, New York on July 22, 1849 and died there on November 19, 1887.Emma was inspired and mentored by Ralph Waldo Emerson. In 1868, she mailed her book to Ralph Waldo Emerson which resulted in a mentor-mentee…
BATES, Mrs. Clara Doty
Clara Doty Bates was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan on December 22, 1838. A writer from an early age, Clara attended private schools. She married Morgan Bates, a newspaperman, in 1876 and the couple moved to Chicago, Illinois.A well-known writer of…
WYLIE, Mrs. Lollie Belle
Lollie Belle Wylie was born in Bayou Coden, near Mobile, AL, on October 21, 1858. After growng up in Georgia, she married Hart Wylie at age seventeen.She published a book of poems while her husband was ill, and began writing for The Atlanta Journal…
WOOLSON, Abba Goold
Author Abba Louise Goold Woolson was born on her family compound in Windham, Maine, on April 30, 1838. She was the daughter of author and Maine historian William Goold. Her family had long-established roots in Maine and resided in Windham for several…
DALL, Mrs. Caroline Wells
Caroline Wells Dall was born in Boston, Massachusetts on June 22, 1822. Her parents, Mark Healey and Caroline Foster, provided her with an exclusive education, consisting of private tutoring and private schooling, until she was 15 years old. From…
GILES, Miss Ella A.
Ella A. Giles was born near Madison, Wisconsin, on February 2, 1851. Growing up in the home of a father who was a philanthropist and a mother who fostered Ella’s love of art and literature, she pursued interests in those areas throughout her life. As…
BAILEY, Mrs. Lepha Eliza
Author, lecturer, and reformer Lepha Eliza Bailey was born in Battle Creek, Michigan on January 21, 1841. She began her writing career by contributing to newspapers. Lepha married Lewis Bailey in 1873 and started a family. They lived in Battle Creek…
ALDRICH, Miss Susanna Valentine
Author Susanna Valentine Aldrich was born in Hopkinton, MA on November 14, 1828. She later lived in Roxbury, MA.
Having loved writing from an early age, Susanna became a contributor to periodicals and magazines. She also was a very talented hymn…
ACHESON, Mrs. Sarah C.
Temperance worker Sarah C. Acheson was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, on February 20, 1844.Sarah, sometimes known as Sadie, married Dr. Alexander Wilson Acheson and became the mother to several children. The family moved to Denison, Texas, in the…
VERY, Miss Lydia Louisa Anna
Lydia Louisa Anna Very was born on November 2, 1823, in Salem, Massachusetts, the youngest child of Jones and Lydia Very. Her father passed away when Lydia was just a year old.
In December of 1841, Lydia began teaching at Mason Street Public School…
McCULLOCH, Mrs. Catharine Waugh
Catharine Waugh McCulloch was born in Ransomville, New York, on June 4, 1862. She graduated from Rockford Female Seminary, earning both a bachelor's degree and master's degree, and attended Union College of Law.A temperance advocate from an early…
WEISS, Mrs. Susan Archer
Susan Archer Talley Weiss was born in Hanover County, VA on February 14. A Woman of the Century lists her birth year as 1835, but other sources list it as 1822. Her family moved to Richmond when Susan was eight, and she lost her ability to hear two…
MCKINNEY, Mrs. Kate Slaughter
Author and poet Kate Slaughter McKinney was born in London, Kentucky, on February 6, 1857. By 1870, her family lived in Kirksville, Kentucky. Interested in writing from an early age, she published her first work at fifteen in theLouisville…
ROHLFS, Mrs. Anna Katharine Green
Anna Katharine Green, Rohlfs was born in Brooklyn, NY to James Wilson Green and Catharine Ann Whitney on November 11, 1846. She attended Ripley Female College (now Green Mountain College) in Poultney, VT, graduated in 1866 and moved back to NY to…
DICKINSON, Mrs. Anna Elizabeth
Anna Elizabeth Dickinson was born on October 28, 1842 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father passed away in 1844, when Anna was two years old. She went to the Friends' Free School, studied hard, and read constantly.By the age of fifteen, Anna had…
BALLOU, Miss Ella Maria
Stenographer Ella Maria Ballou was born in Wallingford, VT on November 15, 1852. After attending Wallingford High School, Ella became a teacher.In 1885, she became the first female reporter for the Rutland County Court. Later, she added Addison…
BUTLER, Miss Clementina
Evangelist Clementina Butler was born in Bareilly, India on January 7, 1862. The daughter of Methodist Episcopal minister and evangelist Rev. William Butler and evangelist Clementina Rowe Butler, Clementina moved quite often during her childhood.…
HOLMES, Mrs. Mary Emma
Mary Emma Smith Holmes was born on a farm near Peoria, Illinois on August 3, 1839.A dedicated reformer, she was a member of the Equal Suffrage Association, and the National American Woman Suffrage Association. In addition, Mary Emma was a leader of…
MOTT, Mrs. Lucretia
Reformer Lucretia Coffin Mott was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on January 3, 1793. She was related to Nantucket natives Anna Gardnerm Rev. Phebe Anne Hanaford, and Juliet H. Severance, as well as to Benjamin Franklin.Lucretia's Quaker family…
OLMSTED, Mrs. Elizabeth Martha
Poet and lyricist Elizabeth Martha Allen Olmsted was born in Caledonia, New York, on December 31, 1825. She graduated from Ingham University in Le Roy, New York in 1847. Soon after graduation, her graduation poem was published inTheUnited States…
WINSLOW, Mrs. Celeste M.A.
Celeste M. A. Winslow was born in Charlemont, Massachusetts, on November 22, 1837.A prolific writer, Celeste penned articles for numerous periodicals. Her poem"Perplexed"appeared inThe Atlantic Monthlyin June 1876, while her poem"Ah, Dawn,…
BISHOP, Mrs. Mary Agnes Dalrymple
Mary Agnes Dalyrmple Bishop was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on August 12, 1857. Her family moved to Grafton, Massachusetts when she was less than two years old.Mary Agnes began writing for local papers at age eleven and was editor of The…
MILLER, Mrs. Emily Huntington
Emily Huntington Miller was born in Brooklyn, Connecticut, on October 22, 1833. She was a writer from a young age, and she graduated from Oberlin College.In 1860, Emily married John E. Miller, whose career achievements included being a principal, a…
SHEARDOWN, Mrs. Annie Fillmore
Annie Fillmore Sheardown, daughter of John and Olma J. Burdick, was born in Franklin, Connecticut on June 8, 1856, and spent her youth living in Franklin and Norwich, Connecticut. Passionate about music, she began lessons at a very early age. By…
GREW, Miss Mary
Anti-slavery agitator and preacher Mary Grew was born in Hartford, Connecticut on September 1, 1813. She later lived in Boston, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania.Mary was devoted to abolition, speaking on the topic and collaborating with…
BASCOM, Mrs. Emma Curtiss
Woman suffragist and reformer Emma Curtiss Bascom was born in Sheffield, Massachusetts, on April 20, 1828. Her older sisterSophia Curtiss Hoffmanis also inA Woman of the Century.After having attended Great Barrington Academy, Pittsfield Institute,…
WALLACE, Mrs. Susan Arnold Elston
Susan Arnold Elston Wallace was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, on December 25, 1830. After going to school in Quaker Hill, New York, Susan returned to Crawfordsville and later married Lew Wallace and became a mother.Since her husband's career took…
BREWSTER, Miss Cora Belle
Dr. Cora Belle Brewster was born in Almond, New York on September 6, 1859. She attended Alfred University and became a teacher in Smethport, Pennsylvania. Next, Cora Belle attended Northwestern University, where she decided to change career paths and…
COCHRANE, Miss Elizabeth
Author, journalist, and traveler Elizabeth Cochrane, better known as "Nellie Bly," was born in Cochrane Mills, PA on May 5, 1867. She later lived in Indiana, PA, Pittsburgh, PA, and New York, NYShe began her career as a writer forThe Pittsburgh…
ARMSTRONG, Miss Sarah B.
Sarah B. Armstrong was born in Newton, OH, on July 31, 1857. She grew up in Lebanon, OH and attended Lebanon University.While she began teaching art at Lebanon University, Sarah eventually pursued a career in Medicine. She moved to Ann Arbor, MI for…
HOOKER, Mrs. Isabella Beecher
Isabella Beecher Hooker, a member of the famous Beecher family, was born in Litchfield, CT on February 22, 1822. She was the youngest daughter of Lyman Beecher. Her family moved to Boston, MA and later to Cincinnati, OH.Isabella married John Hooker…
BRINTON, Mrs. Emma Southwick
Army nurse Emma Southwick Brinton was born in Peabody, Massachusetts on April 7, 1834. During the Civil War, she served as a nurse in Washington, D.C.; Petersburg, Virginia; the Sea Islands; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Later, Emma became a writer…
GREENE, Mrs. Louisa Morton
Louisa Morton Willard Greene was born in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, on May 23, 1819. She worked in a woolen mill in Dedham, Massachusetts, where she began writing, and later taught in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.After marrying businessman and…
ALDRICH, Mrs. Flora L.
Dr. Flora L. Aldrich was born in Westford, New York, on October 6, 1859. She married Dr. Alanson G. Aldrich in 1883 and pursued a medical career. Flora graduated from Minnesota Medical College and studied in Vienna, Austria, and in Germany.…
WALLACE, Mrs. Zerelda Gray
Zerelda Gray Wallace was born in Millersburg, Bourbon County, Kentucky on August 6, 1817. She was a temperance reformer, a woman suffragist, a public speaker, and an author.Zerelda spent her youth in Millersburg and her teenage years in New Castle,…
LEONARD, Mrs. Anna Byford
Anna Byford Leonard, a sanitary reformer, ceramic artist, art teacher, author, and missionary leader was born in Mount Vernon, Indiana on July 31, 1843. The daughter of William Heath Byford, a physician and surgeon who was the founder of Woman's…
THORPE, Mrs. Rose Hartwick
Rose Hartwick Thorpe was born in Mishawaka, Indiana on July 18, 1850, and she spent her teenage years in Litchfield, Michigan.She became famous for her poem "Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight," which was published in theDetroit Commercial Advertiser in…
BURNHAM, Mrs. Clara Louise
Clara Louise Burnham, born in Newton, Massachusetts,on May 25,1854, spent her early years in New York City. However, her family moved to Chicago when Clara Louise was a young girl, and she lived most of her life there. She was the daughter of Mary…
POST, Mrs. Caroline Lathrop
Caroline Lathrop Post was born in Ashford, Connecticut, on November 27, 1824, and began her writing career at an early age. Her family later moved to Hartford, Connecticut, and Pittsfield, Massachusetts.She married Abner L. Parsons on March 27, 1844,…
WELBY, Mrs. Amelia B. Coppuck
Amelia B. Coppuck Welby was born in St. Michael's, Maryland, on February 3, 1819. Best known by her pseudonym "Amelia," she was an author who spent most of her life in Louisville, Kentucky.Amelia's first contributions were toTheLouisville Journal.…
WRIGHT, Mrs. Julia McNair
Julia McNair Wright, an author, was born in Oswego, New York,on May 1, 1840.HerA Woman of the Centuryprofile notes: "She began her literary career at sixteen, by the publication of short stories" (804). Three years later, Julia contributed"The…
BEECHER, Miss Catharine Esther
Catharine Esther Beecher, a member of the famous Beecher family, was an educator and author. She was born in East Hampton, NY on September 6, 1800, and spent much of her childhood in Litchfield, Connecticut.Beecher began the Hartford Female Seminary…
AUSTIN, Jane Goodwin
Jane Goodwin Austin was born in Worcester, MA on February 25, 1831. She married Loring H. Austin in 1850 and became the mother of three children. A prolific writer, Jane was a frequent contributor toAtlantic Monthly,Galaxy,Harper’s Monthly,Peterson’s…
CHENEY, Mrs. Ednah Dow
Ednah Dow Cheney, the daughter of Sargent Smith Littlehale and Edna Parker Littlehale, was born in Boston, MA on June 27, 1824. She attended Mount Vernon School in Boston, but much of her literary education came through her participation in Margaret…
BAKER, Mrs. Harriette Newell Woods
Harriette Newell Woods Baker, an Andover, Massachusetts native, was born on August 19, 1815.Better known by her pseudonyms "Madeline Leslie" and "Aunt Hattie," Harriette was an author, editor, playwright and publisher. As herA Woman of the…
JACKSON, Mrs. Helen Maria Fiske
Helen Maria Fiske Jackson, better known as Helen Hunt Jackson, or "H. H.", was an extremely popular writer. She was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, on October 18, 1831.Jackson was a contributor toThe Atlantic Monthly,Galaxy,Hearth and Home,The…
COLMAN, Mrs. Lucy Newhall
Lucy Newhall Colman, an anti-slavery agitator and woman suffragist, was born in Sturbridge, Massachusetts on July 26, 1817. She married at eighteen and moved to Boston, but her husband died of consumption in 1841. She married again two years later…
BROWN, Mrs. Charlotte Emerson
Charlotte Emerson Brown, born in Andover, Massachusetts, on April 21, 1838, was an author, a businesswoman, a philanthropist, a suffragist, and a teacher.
As the leader of the General Federation of Women's Literary Clubs, Charlotte strove to expand…
MCAVOY, Miss Emma
Emma McAvoy was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 23, 1841. Author and lecturer are the occupations listed at the beginning of herA Woman of the Centuryprofile, but Miss McAvoy's career included other professions.Like many women of her time, this…
WEBSTER, Miss Helen L.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 1, 1853, Helen Livermore Webster grew up in Salem, Massachusetts. After having graduated from Salem Normal School, she taught high school in Lynn while continuing her own studies.Helen received her Ph.D. in…
ALDEN, Mrs. Isabella Macdonald
Isabella Macdonald Alden, born in Rochester, New York, on November 3, 1841, was involved in the fields of education, temperance, religion, missionary work, and authorship.After attending the Oneida Seminary, Isabella taught there. She married Rev. G.…
MOULTON, Mrs. Louise Chandler
Author Louise Chandler Moulton was born on April 5, 1835. A native of Pomfret, Connecticut, she left her hometown to attend Emma Willard'sTroy Female Seminary. Louise published her first works with Phillips, Sampson and Company and, as her…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…