09 Apr | Women.Words.Work

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Mary Rollins Lightner (09 Apr 1818 – 17 Dec 1913 | Lima NY – Minersville UT) Mormon pioneer, member LDS church, rescued looted pages of LDS DOctrine and Convenants, one of plural wives of JoSeph Smith, Brigham Young, and Adam Lightner.

Maria Susanna Cummins (09 Apr 1827 – 01 Oct 1866 | Salem MA – Dorchester MA) short fiction writer, girls’ / young adult serial novelist.

Mary Strong Kinney (09 Apr 1859 – 17 Jun 1938 | Salem OR – Seaside OR) suffragist, politician, Oregon State Senator, sawmill owner / manager.

Margaret Mann (09 Apr 1873 – 22 Aug 1960 | Cedar Rapids IA – Cedar Rapids IA) author, librarian, archivist, professor, pioneer in library cataloging and library science education.

Florence Beatrice Price (09 Apr 1887 – 03 Jun 1953 | Little Rock AR – Chicago IL) solo / choral / orchestral / symphonic composer, first African-American woman recognized as symphonic composer and to have composition played by major orchestra.


08 Apr | Women.Words.Work

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Belle L. Pettigrew (08 Apr 1839 – 14 Jul 1912 | Ludlow VT – Sioux Falls SD) educator, missionary, world traveler, head of missionary training department of American Baptist Home Mission Society.

Elizabeth Bacon Custer (08 Apr 1842 – 04 Apr 1933 | Monroe MI – New York NY) author, lecturer, widow, historical figure promoter.

Julia Ellsworth Ford (08 Apr 1861 – 14 Aug 1950 | New York NY – New York NY) artist, author, socialite, art collector, philanthropist, salon doyenne.

Orelia Key Bell (08 Apr 1864 – 02 Jun 1959 | Atlanta GA – Pasadena CA) poet, author, Christian Science hymnist, Boston Marriage partner, known for writing her poems in gold leaf on china plates.

Albion Fellows Bacon (08 Apr 1865 – 10 Dec 1933 | McCutchanville IN – Evansville IN) author, reformer, social / housing activist.

07 Apr | Women.Words.Work

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Tabitha Gilman Tenney (07 Apr 1762 – 02 May 1837 | Exeter NH – Exeter NH) author, novelist.

Mary Elizabeth Sigler Bunn (07 Apr 1788 – 31 Jul 1833 | Derry Township PA – Hunterdon County NJ) Married prosperous farm owner, member of well-to-do industrialist’s family.

Jane Evans Elliot (07 Apr 1820 – 05 Dec 1886 | Fayetteville NC – Ellerslie Plantation NC) Civil War and post-war diarist, three-volume diaries spanning four decades.

Anna T. Jeanes (07 Apr 1822 – 24 Sep 1907 | Philadelphia PA – Germantown PA) Quaker, philanthropist, educational activist, founding director of The Jeanes Fund [originally The Negro Rural School Fund].

Marjory Stoneman Douglas (07 Apr 1890 – 14 May 1998 | Minneapolis MN – Coconut Grove FL) writer, feminist, journalist, environmentalist.

06 Apr | Women.Words.Work

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Jane McManus Cazneau (06 Apr 1807 – 12 Dec 1878 | Brunswick NY – at sea near Dominican Republic) journalist, publicist, aka Cora Montgomery.

Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney (06 Apr 1823 – 01 Nov 1908 | Lancaster MA – Galesburg IL) poet, editor, author, educator, pen names: Julia, Minnie May, Frank Fisher, Sadie Sensible, Minister’s Wife, Rev. Peter Benson’s Daughter.

Catherine [Kate] Boott Gannet Wells (06 Apr 1838 – 13 Dec 1911 | London UK – Boston MA) writer, reformer, philanthropist, anti-suffragist.

Martha Gallison Moore Avery (06 Apr 1851 – 08 Aug 1929 | Steuben ME – Medford MA) author, socialist, Catholic convert, anti-socialist / anti-suffrage activist.

Catherine Everit [Kate] Macy Ladd (06 apr 1863 – 27 aug 1945 | Manhattan NY – Far Hills NJ) philanthropist, founder of philanthropic foundation.

05 Apr | Women.Words.Work

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Sybil Ogden Ludington (05 Apr 1761 – 26 Feb 1839 | Ludingtonville NY – Catskill NY) folk figure, US Revolutionary War heroine.

Mary Jane Holmes (05 Apr 1825 – 06 Oct 1907 | Brookfield MA – Brockport NY) novelist, short story writer.

Nellie Neilson (05 Apr 1873 – 26 May 1947 | Philadelphia PA – South Hadley MA) author, historian, professor, first female president of American Historical Association (AHA).

María Montoya Martínez (05 Apr 1881 [or 1887] – 20 Jul 1980 | San Ildefonso NM – San Ildefonso NM) ceramic artist, cultural icon, self-taught Tewa potter, aka Po-Ve-Ka [Pond Lily].

Fannia Mary Cohn (05 apr 1885 – 24 dec 1962 | Kletsk BY – New York NY) author, trade union educational advocate, co-founding director of Brookwood Labor College, International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union [ILGWU] activist / leader / first female vice-president.

04 Apr | Women.Words.Work

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Frances Montresor Buchanan Allen Penniman (04 Apr 1760 – 1834 | New York NY – Burlington VT) botanist, gardener, illustrator, political activist / family member.

Dorothea Lynde Dix (04 Apr 1802 – 17 Jul 1887 | Hampden ME – Trenton NJ) nurse, author, mental health patient advocate, insane asylum activist / reformer.

Mary Jane Colter (04 Apr 1869 – 08 Jan 1958 | Pittsburgh PA – Santa Fe NM) artist, art teacher, architect, interior designer.

Mary Coffin Ware Dennett (04 Apr 1872 – 25 Jul 1947 | Worcester MA – Valatie NY) activist, author, pacifist, suffragist, sex educator.

Dorothy Lerner Gordon (04 Apr 1889 – 11 May 1970 | Odessa RU – New York NY) author, broadcaster, musician, youth advocate / activist.

03 Apr | Women.Words.Work

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Mathilde Franziska Giesler Anneke (03 Apr 1817 – 25 Nov 1884 | Hiddinghausen PRU – Milwaukee WI) German-American author, socialist, essayist, educator, abolitionist, girls’ school founder, women’s rights activist.

Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford (03 Apr 1835 – 14 Aug 1921 | Calais ME – Deer Island MA) poet, novelist, short story writer.

Emma Crow Cushman (03 Apr 1839 – 15 Sep 1920 | St. Louis MO – Bar Harbor ME) poet, author, lesbian, focus on psychic experience research.

Mary Scott [Mamie] Harrison McKee (03 Apr 1858 – 28 Oct 1930 | Indianapolis IN – Indianapolis IN) political family member, de facto White House Hostess / First Lady for father US President Benjamin Harrison, later estranged from her father.

Elizabeth Evelyn Wright (03 Apr 1872 – 14 Dec 1906 | Talbotton GA- Battle Creek MI) African-American educator, humanitarian, black children’s advocate, founded Denmark Industrial Institute [now Voorhees College].

02 Apr | Women.Words.Work

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Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews (02 Apr 1860 – 02 Aug 1936 | Mobile AL – Syracuse NY) novelist, short story writer.

Clara Pierce Wolcott Driscoll (02 Apr 1861 – 06 Nov 1944 | Tallmadge OH – Tallmadge OH) director of Tiffany Girls, stained glass crafter / designer / innovator.

Clara Driscoll (02 Apr 1881 – 17 Jul 1945 | St Mary’s of Aransas TX – Corpus Christi TX) novelist, politician, comic opera writer, philanthropist, historic preservationist, multilinguist.

Helen Barten Brewster Owens (02 Apr 1881 – 06 Jun 1968 | Pleasanton KS – Martinsburg WV) suffragist, mathematician, women’s activist, professor of mathematics at Cornell University.

Verna Willis (02 Apr 1887 – 11 Dec 1966 | Iversdale IL – Los Angeles CA) film editor, film works credited and uncredited.

01 Apr | Women.Words.Work

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Martha Wadsworth Brewster (01 Apr 1710 – c. 1757 | Lebanon CT – Lebanon CT) poet, writer.

Mary Richardson Walker (01 Apr 1811 – 21 Nov 1877 | Baldwin ME – Forest Grove OR) diarist, frontier missionary to Spokan Indians, co-founded Columbia Maternal Association, one of first six women to travel over Rocky Mountains.

Agnes Repplier (01 apr 1855 – 15 nov 1950 | Philadelphia PA – Philadelphia PA) author, essayist, biographer, cat lover / owner.

Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge (01 Apr 1866 – 30 Jul 1948 | Lexington KY – Chicago IL) author, social activist / scientist, higher education innovator, Progressive Era social reformer.

Aurelia Isabel Henry Reinhardt (01 Apr 1877 – 28 Jan 1948 | San Francisco CA – Palo Alto CA) peace activist, Unitarian moderator, Mills College president [1916 – 1943], prominent member / leader of numerous organizations.

31 Mar | Women.Words.Work

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Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut (31 Mar 1823 – 22 Nov 1886 | Stateburg SC – Camden SC) diarist, novelist, political family member.

Mary Abigail Dodge (31 Mar 1833 – 17 Aug 1896 | Hamilton MA – Hamilton MA) critic, editor, author, essayist, education advocate, aka Gail Hamilton.

Martha Bailey Briggs (31 Mar 1838 – 28 Mar 1889 | New Bedford MA – Washington DC) educator, school principal, black educational activist, professor of education at Howard University, taught slaves who escaped through Underground Railroad, first African-American female high school graduate in New Bedford MA.

Anna Eva Fay Pingree (31 Mar 1851 – 20 May 1927 | Southington OH – Melrose MA) born Ann Eliza Heathman, spiritual medium / stage mentalist.

Susan [Susie] Norris Fitkin (31 Mar 1870 – 18 Oct 1951 | Ely QC – Oakland CA) author, minister, memoirist, evangelist, founder / president of Women’s Foreign Missionary Society [now Nazarene Missions International], co-funded / co-founded numerous churches / hospitals / children’s care facilities.