Victoria Claflin Woodhull was born on September 23, 1838, the seventh of 10 children born to Roxanna ‘Roxy’ Hummel Claflin and Reuben ‘Old Buck’ Buckman Claflin. Her mother was illegitimate and illiterate. Her father was a con man and snake oil salesman. The family lived in rural Homer, Licking County, Ohio. Life was not easy [...]
Nothing challenged Victorian ideology in the United States more than the Civil War. Women living during Antebellum America were the epitome of domesticity. The industrial revolution changed the way men worked. Men increasingly spent their work time away from home, moving into factories, offices, and shops. In what historians call ‘the Cult of True Womanhood,’ [...]
Sarah Josepha Hale – Poet, Novelist, Editor Within five years of David's death, Sarah published a novel, Northwood. In the novel, she describes the character and manners of New Englanders. One of the traditions she described in her book is very familiar to Americans. Baker shares Sarah's words with us. ”The table, covered with a [...]
Becoming Sarah Josepha Hale I was researching Godey's Lady's Book for a blog post and found Sarah Josepha Hale who was a large part of the success of this 19th-century publication. She also advocated for girls' education reform (although she was not a suffragist) and the establishment of Thanksgiving as a national holiday through her [...]
The year 1880 was an historic one for women in New York. At the end of the previous year, women didn’t have the right to vote in any election but were able to wield their influence nonetheless. In the Eleventh senatorial district, Miss Susan A. King gave time and money to the cause of electing [...]
Sarah Pardee, The Belle of New Haven Sarah Lockwood Pardee was the fifth of seven children born to Leonard Pardee and Sarah Burns. There are no records to confirm when she was born, but it is estimated to have been between 1835 and 1845. Her family was part of the upper middle class in New [...]
Clementina Elphinstone Fleeming was born on June 1, 1822, at Cumbernauld House, located near Glasgow, Scotland. Her father was the Honorable Admiral Charles Elphinstone Fleeming who served in the Venezuelan and Colombian wars of liberation from 1811 through 1825. Her mother, Catalina Paulina Alessandro of Cadiz, an exotic beauty, was 26 years his junior. Clementina [...]
You never know what you are going to find when doing research for a Recollections blog post! While learning more about the Victorian pastime of tableau vivant, or posing for vignettes, the name of Julia Margaret Cameron came up. She was a very interesting woman who came to photography after her children were grown. She [...]
Princess Ka'iulani was the final heir to the Hawaiian throne, the niece of the last Queen of Hawaii Lili'uokalani. If that wasn’t fascinating enough, she was a strong, intelligent young woman who fought for her people and their culture. She lived a life of both intrigue and tragedy. Her story often gets overlooked due to [...]