Ester Howland

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In: 19th Century Women, Business, Daily Life

“…this is the day on which those charming little missives, ycelped* Valentines, cross and inter-cross at every street and turning. The weary and all forespent twopenny postman sinks below a load of delicate embarrassments, not his own.” Valentine’s Day in Essays of Elia by Charles Lamb 1860 (*called) Valentine’s Day was a well-established holiday by the 1860’s, dating back to, it is attributed, the ancient Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, and to St. Valentine who, it is said, sent the first valentine to the girl who had visited him in prison, signed “From Your Valentine.”  However, it is clear that by the 1860s the religious aspect of the day had been putRead More →

Harriet Tubman

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In: 19th Century Women, Abolition, Civil War, News, Writing

Harriet Tubman (1822-1913) was recognized as a hero in her own day. An escaped slave, she repeatedly went back to the south and led other slaves to freedom, saving thousands. Outspoken and fearless, she was a passionate and influential speaker in both the abolitionist movement and in the fight for women’s rights. It is very hard to know for sure if the words attributed to Harriet Tubman are truly hers. Dr. Sernett, author of Harriet Tubman: Myth, Memory, and History (Duke University Press, 2007) says, “Because she was illiterate, we have mediated histories of her — stories always told by others — that leave it open toRead More →

Sara Josepha Hale

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In: 19th Century Women, Authors, Literature

If you enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday, you can thank Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1877). Hale, the first woman magazine editor in the United States, petitioned Presidents for 17 years until Abraham Lincoln established the day in 1863. Hale believed in educating girls  (She later helped establish Vassar College) having obtained her education second-hand from her brother who taught her what he was learning at Dartmouth. Widowed with five children, Hale wrote and worked to support her family. As editor of first the American Lady’s Book and then Godey’s Lady Book she was arbitrator of American fashion and letters for over 40 years. She believed that American publications should support American writersRead More →

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

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In: 19th Century Women, Activists, Motherhood, Women's Rights

Stanton has gone down in history as a tireless fighter for women’s rights who spoke her mind and would not be cowed. She was also a tender and loving mother who didn’t tolerate nonsense concerning child-rearing. The following excerpt relates her experiences caring for her first-born. …I had been thinking, reading, observing, and had as little faith in the popular theories in regard to babies as on any other subject. I saw them, on all sides, ill half the time, pale and peevish, dying early, having no joy in life. I heard parents complaining of weary days and sleepless nights, while each child, in turn,Read More →