Sarah Josepha Buell Hale (1788-1879)
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silverquill
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Sarah Josepha Buell Hale (1788-1879)
Waymark Code: WM8XB
Location: New Hampshire, United States
Date Posted: 03/12/2006
Views: 73
Sarah Josepha Buell Hale (1788-1879)
Prominent humanitarian, poet and author was born and taught school in Guild section of Newport. Widowed mother of five, she edited "Godey's Lady Book", 1837-1877; composed poem now called "Mary Had A Little Lamb"; advocated proclamation of Thanksgiving Day as national festival; and appealed constantly for higher education for women.
Here is an excellent site with a lot of information on this important American woman who was a prolific literary figure, whose poem, "Mary Had a Little Lamb" is widely known:
SARAH JOSEPHA BUELL HALE
Sarah Josepha Hale was born on October 24th, 1788 in Newport, New Hampshire to Revolutionary War Captain Gordon Buell and Martha Whittlesay Buell. Well educated in the classics, Sarah continued her private studies after her marriage in 1813 to David Hale, a lawyer and Freemason. Sarah was widowed in 1822 with five children to support, four under the age of seven. After a brief stint with a millinery shop, she published her first book of poems, The Genius of Oblivion, with David Hale's Freemason lodge paying for the publication. Her career was firmly established with her first novel, Northwood, released in 1827. That same year, she began her most remembered literary position - that of editress.
Hale served as editor of Ladies' Magazine from 1827-1836 and Godey's Lady's Book from 1837-1877. Hale continued to write poetry, novels, and children's literature, while serving as a major editorial force for the next fifty years. Over her lifetime, Hale produced nearly fifty volumes of work