In 1877 "From Her Point of View" was published in Wheaton Female Seminary's literary magazine The Rushlight. The story depicted a young woman, "just out of school, and life with all its sorrows and joys awaiting her" sitting by a fire contemplating her future. The young woman was surrounded by "tokens of wealth" but she wished for something different. While her mother's spirit looked down over...
On October 25, 1862, Narcissa L. Barksdale scribbled the words, "but no lives lost," as she wrote to her friend, Alcinda "Alice" Janney, describing the tragedy of how Bayou Sara, Louisiana, "was burnt by the crews of the gunboats." Barksdale showed her discontent with the behavior of the Union soldiers in saying, "I could write pages of outrages committed in that state, but I will desist- as you...
In April of 1830 in Boston, Sarah Josepha Hale made a speech about boarding schools that would change how women were educated. She said that it was good to have women learn their domestic duties, but it was not enough. A woman must learn morals and have mental capacity in order to interact with other people, and mothers who teach their daughters, teach the opposite because they have not learned...
"Women don't like the country" was an article featured in the Rushlight, the literary magazine of Wheaton Female Seminary, on July 10, 1861. Writing about a lecture given at the school, the student author complained about the generalization the lecturer made concerning people who spend time in the country. She defended herself and other women in their love for nature by comparing the green country...
The Washingtonian Temperance Society started in May 1840 by six Baltimore drinking buddies who decided to write and sign a pledge stating that they would no longer consume alcohol. This six-person pledge began to turn into one of the largest movements in America. Men would lecture around the country showing people real life stories about what life is like when abusing alcohol. By the end of 1841...
In an 1825 essay entitled "The Female Character," a Dr. Springs wrote "a Christian woman ought to be distinguishable by her simplicity." The desire for simplicity was a common trend seen in many Christian communities in the early to mid 1800's. For many, clothing choice reflected how a woman was viewed by her society. In early American Christian towns men wanted their wives and daughters to be seen...
The winter of 1846 was physically, emotionally and mentally draining for twenty year-old Mary Ann Graves, a member of the group of emigrants now infamously known as the Donner Party. As one of the survivors of this horrible episode in history, she wrote a letter to Levi Fosdick on May 22 of the following spring recounting her experiences. Her concluding remark was "I have told the bad news, and bad...
Amongst the hundreds of people in attendance, a beautiful, wealthy southern belle sat in her chair and enjoyed the concert music. The Mozart, an association known for its beautiful musicals, performed regularly in Richmond, but that night was a homecoming of sorts; the company had been performing out of town for eight weeks. The blending of violins, quartettes, vocals, and clarionettes was exceptional....
"Ought girls to receive a country or city school education?," asked the anonymous author of an essay published in the June 1880 issue of Rushlight, the literary magazine of Wheaton Female Seminary in Norton, Massachusetts. The author explained that people thought a city school education was better because "one has opportunities for mingling with a great number of people, and attending more fine...
"Let me not be misunderstood, when I thus earnestly insist upon the necessity of female education," insisted Emma C. Embury, a strong advocate for female education who spoke at the Anniversary of the Brooklyn Collegiate Institute for Young Ladies in December 1831. The idea of women's education was being discussed far more in the 1830's than it ever had been before. Embury was just one of many advocates...