Remarkable Women Of New England

In eighteenth-century America, information about a woman’s life and accomplishments was very difficult to discover, but some woman were avid letter writers or devoted journal keepers, and thankfully some of those letters and journals were saved. These woman include Mary Gray Bidwell, a quiet country woman who had a front row seat on the war and the formation of the new nation. Elizabeth Edwards Burr whose husband founded Princeton University and her son was the second Vice President of the United States (and tried for treason). Lavinia Deane Fisk, widowed during the Revolutionary War, her second marriage triggered a fire storm that led to a revolutionary war in the Congregational Church. The Widow Bingham who fought to live as a man becoming the first woman to have a tavern license, build a business substantial enough to send her son to college and serve on formerly all-male civic committees. Abigail Williams Sergeant Dwight, a Tory: the story of the Royalists during the War is not often told. The war years changed the lives of each of these women and perhaps their lives changed our new country.

How did New York become the amazing state that it is today, you may wonder? New York's Remarkable Women: Daughters, Wives, Sisters, and Mothers Who Shaped History recognizes the women who shaped the Empire State. The lives of female teachers, writers, entrepreneurs, and artists from across the state are illuminated through short biographies. Discover fourteen extraordinary women from New York's past, including suffragist Amelia Bloomer, abolitionist Harriet Tubman, attorney and US Representative Bella Abzug, and WASP pilot Betty Gillies.

Old Lyme's illustrious history owes much to innovative women. Suffragist Katharine Ludington was co-founder of the League of Women Voters. In the 1830s, Phoebe Griffin Noyes started a school for art and general subjects. At the turn of the twentieth century, Florence Griswold welcomed the artists of the Lyme Art Colony by creating the "Birthplace of American Impressionism." By World War II, Teddy Kenyon had made her mark as a test pilot. Old Lyme's artistic tradition was continued by Elisabeth Gordon Chandler, who founded the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in 1976. Authors Michaelle Pearson and Jim Lampos honor the women whose triumphs made Old Lyme the popular summer resort and artists' colony it is today.

More than Petticoats: Remarkable New Jersey Women features 12 exceptional women born prior to 1900. Portraits include Alice Huyler Ramsey, the first woman to drive across America; Hannah Silverman, a labor activist during the Paterson silk strikes who fought fearlessly for better working conditions; Abigail Goodwin, a gentle Quaker who bravely conducted many slaves to freedom from her home on the Underground Railroad; and Clara Maass, a nurse who gave her life to stop the scourge of yellow fever. Each woman in this book made lasting contributions to society and embodied a fierce determination and independent spirit that is as inspiring now as it was then.

Situated at the mouth of the Connecticut River, Old Saybrook has been home to generations of remarkable women. The women of this quintessentially New England town have faced and overcome overwhelming adversity to leave indelible marks on their town and its history. Katharine Houghton Hepburn, mother of the legendary actress Katharine Hepburn, organized the Hartford Political Equality League to battle for women's right to vote. Anna Louise James fought to become the first black female pharmacist in Connecticut, and she took care of her community, serving them medicine as well as ice cream sodas at James Pharmacy. There is also local restaurateur Steffie Walters, who after emigrating from Austria remained at the helm of the much-loved shore eatery Dock and Dine for eleven years. Historian Tedd Levy chronicles the achievements of these extraordinary women who broke barriers, changed their communities and expanded opportunities for future generations.

The untold story of the extraordinary mother and daughter who brought Emily Dickinson’s genius to light. Despite Emily Dickinson’s world renown, the story of the two women most responsible for her initial posthumous publication—Mabel Loomis Todd and her daughter, Millicent Todd Bingham—has remained in the shadows of the archives. A rich and compelling portrait of women who refused to be confined by the social mores of their era, After Emily explores Mabel and Millicent’s complex bond, as well as the powerful literary legacy they shared. Mabel’s tangled relationships with the Dickinsons—including a thirteen-year extramarital relationship with Emily’s brother, Austin—roiled the small town of Amherst, Massachusetts. After Emily’s death, Mabel’s connection to the family and reputation as an intelligent, artistic, and industrious woman in her own right led her to the enormous trove of poems Emily left behind. So began the herculean task of transcribing, editing, and promoting Emily’s work, a task that would consume and complicate the lives of both Mabel and her daughter. As the popularity of the poems grew, legal issues arose between the Dickinson and Todd families, dredging up their scandals: the affair, the ownership of Emily’s poetry, and the right to define the so-called "Belle of Amherst." Utilizing hundreds of overlooked letters and diaries to weave together the stories of three unstoppable women, Julie Dobrow explores the intrigue of Emily Dickinson’s literary beginnings. After Emily sheds light on the importance of the earliest editions of Emily’s work—including the controversial editorial decisions made to introduce her singular genius to the world—and reveals the surprising impact Mabel and Millicent had on the poet we know today.

Maine's Remarkable Women tells the stories of fifteen strong and determined women who broke through social, cultural, or political barriers. Through their passions for art, exploration, literature, politics, music, and nature, these women made contributions to society that still resonate today. Meet Marguerite "Tante Blanche" Thibodeau Cyr, "The Mother of Madawaska," whose bravery and kindness during one brutal winter saved her frontier settlement; botanist-artist Kate Furbish, who explored Maine's wilderness, collecting, classifying, and painting all of its flowering plants; and Florence Nicolar Shay, a Native-American basketmaker who demanded and succeeded in gaining rights for her tribe, the Penobscots. Each of these women demonstrated courage, compassion, and an independence of spirit that is as inspiring now as it was then. Read about their extraordinary lives in this collection of brief and absorbing biographies.

How did Virginia become the amazing state that it is today you may wonder? Virginia's Remarkable Women: Daughters, Wives, Sisters, and Mothers Who Shaped History recognizes the women who shaped the Old Dominion. The lives of female teachers, writers, entrepreneurs, and artists from across the state are illuminated through short biographies. Discover fifteen extraordinary women from Virginia's past, including Pocahontas, Martha Washington, Dolley Madison, travel writer Anne Newport Royall, pioneering banker Maggie Lena Walker, Civil War spies Belle Boyd and Elizabeth Van Lew, and poet Anne Spencer.