Harriet Winslow Sewall

Harriet Winslow Sewall (1819–1889) was an American poet, and editor of the collected letters of Lydia Maria Child.

Biography

Harriet Winslow was born in Portland, Maine on June 20, 1819 into a Quaker family. She was educated in Portland and at a boarding school in Providence, Rhode Island. She was, at least in her early years, interested in transcendentalism and animal magnetism; and arguably more practically engaged with contemporary anti-slave and women's rights movements. [http://www.archive.org/details/poemsxxx00sewaiala Poems] by Harriet Winslow Sewall with a memoir by Ednah D. Cheney, 1889]

She wrote poetry from an early age, and for many years; but apparently for her own satisfaction and without a view to publication. A number of her works were published, however, and has been republished in a number of collections of American poetry.

She married in 1848 Charles Last, a journalist working on the "Commonwealth" newspaper. He soon became ill, relinquishing his job and placing the burden of support on Harriet, who was assisted by her relatively wealthy family. Charles died in 1856.

In 1857 she married a Mr. Sewell and in 1861 her father died, providing her with a "moderate fortune" enabling her to pursue philanthropic interests. The couple divided their time between Melrose, Massachusetts and Boston, Massachusetts. They were both early members of the New England Women's Club, a Women's suffrage organisation.

In 1882 [Lydia Maria Francis Child, Lydia Marie Child, Carolyn L. Karcher, [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=l1lv2eDR-ocC A Lydia Maria Child Reader] (1997), page 8] she arranged for publication the letters of her friend, the author Lydia Maria Child.

Mr. Sewell died on December 20, 1888. She died soon after, struck by an express train whilst crossing a railtrack.

A collection of her poems was published in November 1889.

External links

* [http://www.archive.org/details/poemsxxx00sewaiala Poems] by Harriet Winslow Sewall with a memoir by Ednah D. Cheney, 1889, from the Internet Archive
* [http://www.archive.org/details/lettersoflydiama00chil Letters of Lydia Maria Child] , arranged by Harriet Winslow Sewall

References

Persondata
NAME=Sewell, Harriet Winslow
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American poet
DATE OF BIRTH=1819
PLACE OF BIRTH=Portland, Maine, United States
DATE OF DEATH=1889
PLACE OF DEATH=United States