Lydia Maria Francis Child (1802–1880)
Author of Over the River and Through the Wood
About the Author
Lydia Maria Child was born in Medford, Massachusetts on February 11, 1802. She was educated at home, at a local dame school, and at a nearby women's seminary. Her first novel, Hobomok, was published in 1824. Her other novels include The Rebels or Boston before the Revolution, The First Settlers, show more Philothea, and Romance of the Republic. She wrote advice books including The Frugal Housewife, The Mother's Book, The Little Girl's Own Book, and The Freedmen's Book. She was an abolitionist, women's rights activist, and Indian rights advocate. She wrote books about these causes including An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans, Anti-Slavery Catechism, and An Appeal for the Indians. She was also the author of Over the River and Through the Wood (A Boy's Thanksgiving Day). She died on October 20, 1880. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
Lydia Maria Child (1802-1880), American activist, abolitionist and author; name frequently given on works as: Mrs. Child
Image credit: Courtesy of the NYPL Digital Gallery (image use requires permission from the New York Public Library)
Works by Lydia Maria Francis Child
Good Wives 2 copies
Isaac T. Hopper a true life 2 copies
The Juvenile Miscellany Vol. IV 2 copies
The little girl's own book 2 copies
The Girl's Own Book 1 copy
Apple-Seed John 1 copy
The American Anti-slavery Almanac, for ...: Calculated for Boston, New York, and Pittsburgh ..; 1838 (2021) 1 copy
The family nurse 1 copy
Over the River 1 copy
Looking Toward Sunset 1 copy
"Mrs. Child's Reply" 1 copy
The juvenile miscellany. 1 copy
Rosa and Flora 1 copy
Aspirations of the world 1 copy
The American anti-slavery almanac, for 1843: being the third after bissextile, or leap year, and until July 4th, the… (1842) 1 copy
Over the River and Through the Wood (Blue Ribbon Book) by Lydia Maria Francis Child (1974-06-05) (1720) 1 copy
The Rival Mechanicians 1 copy
Letters from New York 1 copy
Good wives 1 copy
Associated Works
The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume 1 (1990) — Contributor, some editions — 255 copies
American Antislavery Writings: Colonial Beginnings to Emancipation (2012) — Contributor — 122 copies
Grand Mothers: Poems, Reminiscences, and Short Stories About the Keepers of Our Traditions (1994) — Contributor — 78 copies
Women in the Trees: U.S. Women's Short Stories About Battering and Resistance, 1839-1994 (1996) — Contributor — 39 copies
The Tavern Lamps Are Burning: Literary Journeys through Six Regions and Four Centuries of New York State (1964) — Contributor — 19 copies
Slave Narrative (Six Pack 4) - The History of Mary Prince, William W. Brown, White Slavery, The Freedmen's Book,… (2015) — Contributor — 4 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1802-11-02
- Date of death
- 1880-07-06
- Burial location
- North Cemetery, Wayland, Massachusetts, USA
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Medford, Massachusetts, USA
- Place of death
- Wayland, Massachusetts, USA
- Places of residence
- Medford, Massachusetts, USA
Wayland, Massachusetts, USA
New Rochelle, New York, USA
Northampton, Massachusetts, USA - Education
- dame school
- Occupations
- teacher
novelist
editor
publisher
abolitionist - Relationships
- Francis, Convers (brother)
Child, David Lee (husband)
Fuller, Margaret (friend)
Sewall, Harriet Winslow (friend) - Organizations
- American Anti-Slavery Society
Underground Railroad - Short biography
- Lydia Maria Child, née Francis, was born in Medford, Massachusetts, the youngest of six children. She received her early education at a local dame school. Her mother died when she was 12 years old, and she spent her teenage years living with a married sister in rural Maine, where she studied to be a teacher. She read an article in the North American Review about novels on early New England history, and immediately wrote the first chapter of a novel called Hobomok: A Tale of Early Times, which she completed in six weeks and published in 1824. It became an overnight sensation. Two years later, she founded the Juvenile Miscellany, the first American children's magazine. In 1828, she married David Lee Child, a Boston lawyer, journalist, and aspiring politician. He went into debt and she supported them with her prolific writings, which included more novels, short stories, pamphlets, and journalism. She became a leading anti-slavery activist in the 1830s, and was elected to the executive committee of the American Anti-Slavery Society, whose journal, the National Anti-Slavery Standard, she edited and made into an influential publication. She quit the AASS in 1843 after a major disagreement, and although she worked for the equality of women and Native Americans, she never again joined an organized society. Today she is considered a major link between the worlds of American literature and social reform.
- Disambiguation notice
- Lydia Maria Child (1802-1880), American activist, abolitionist and author; name frequently given on works as: Mrs. Child
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Statistics
- Works
- 72
- Also by
- 19
- Members
- 2,961
- Popularity
- #8,620
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 41
- ISBNs
- 160
- Favorited
- 1