Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879
Variant namesBiographical notes:
Sarah Josepha Hale, née Sarah Josepha Buell, (born Oct. 24, 1788, Newport, N.H., U.S.—died April 30, 1879, Philadelphia, Pa.), American writer who, as the first female editor of a magazine, shaped many of the attitudes and thoughts of women of her period. Sarah Josepha Buell married David Hale in 1813, and with him she had five children. Left in financial straits by her husband’s death in 1822, she embarked on a literary career. Her poems were printed over the signature Cornelia in local journals and were gathered in The Genius of Oblivion (1823). A novel, Northwood, a Tale of New England (1827), brought her an offer to go to Boston as editor of a new publication, the Ladies’ Magazine (from 1834 the American Ladies’ Magazine), which she accepted in 1828. As editor, Hale wrote most of the material for each issue herself—literary criticism, sketches of American life, essays, and poetry. Editorially and personally, she supported patriotic and humanitarian organizations, notably the Boston Ladies’ Peace Society and the Seaman’s Aid Society, which she founded in 1833. She advocated education for women and opportunities for women to teach, although she always remained apart from formal feminist movements. She also advised her readers to shun “unfeminine” involvement in public affairs. The greater access to education—particularly higher education—that men possessed, she argued, prepared them for leadership roles that women could not assume, because there were few educational opportunities for women at the time. She also published during this period Poems for Our Children (1830), containing her single most famous piece, “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” and in 1834–36 edited the Juvenile Miscellany magazine for children. In 1837, Louis A. Godey took over the American Ladies’ Magazine and established Hale as editor of his Lady’s Book, soon known as Godey’s Lady’s Book, which he had established seven years earlier in Philadelphia. She moved to that city in 1841. With Godey she made the Lady’s Book into the most influential and widely circulated women’s magazine published in the country up to that time (by 1860 its circulation was reputedly 150,000). Hale did much to encourage original work by American writers; among those published in the Lady’s Book were Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. She also continued to call for female education in the liberal arts and for more women teachers, and hers was among the most persuasive voices that encouraged the founding of Vassar College. In later years, Hale liberalized her outlook so far as to approve women doctors, if only to treat those ailments of women that she felt were otherwise better endured than examined by male physicians. She was also active in promoting child welfare, and she published a number of books, including cookbooks, poetry, and prose. Her major achievement was the Woman’s Record; or, Sketches of Distinguished Women, issued in 1853, 1869, and 1876; in the course of this ambitious project she completed some 36 volumes of profiles of women, tracing their influence through history on social organization and literature. She retired from Godey’s Lady’s Book in December 1877 at the age of 89.
Links to collections
Correspondence, 1850-1877, 1863-1867 (bulk)
New York State Historical Documents Inventory
McLoughlin Bros., inc. Mary and her lamb, [ca. 1880] / McLoughlin Bros., New York.
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Sarah Josepha Hale papers, 1850-1877, 1863-1867 (bulk).
New York State Historical Documents Inventory
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Autograph, 1864 Feb.
Buffalo History Museum, Research Library
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Autograph letters signed (31) and letters signed (2) : Philadelphia, to Harper & Brothers, 1847 Apr. 9-1878 Mar. 2.
Pierpont Morgan Library.
Hart, John S. (John Seely), 1810-1877. John S. Hart letters, 1834-1877.
Cornell University Library
Davis, John Brazer, 1798-1832. Letters, 1819-1832.
Massachusetts Historical Society
Warren, George Washington, 1813-1883. Papers, 1853-1880.
Massachusetts Historical Society
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Correspondence, 1830-1855.
UNH Durham, Dimond Library
Everett, Alexander Hill, 1790-1847. Autograph letter : Roxbury, Mass., to Mrs. S.J. Hale, [18--] Nov. 16.
Pierpont Morgan Library.
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Letter and portraits [manuscript], n.d.
University of Virginia. Library
Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852. Letter, 1830 Feb. 25, to Sarah J. Hale
New Hampshire Newspaper Project
Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849. Facsimiles of Poe letters [manuscript] 1841-1849.
University of Virginia. Library
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Letter of Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, 1856.
Library of Congress
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Sarah J. Hale letters, 1850-1855.
Pennsylvania State University Libraries
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. ALS, [18]35 Apr. 17, Boston, to Carey & Hart, Philadelphia.
Rosenbach Museum & Library
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Autograph letter signed : to Bayard Taylor, 1847 April 30.
Pierpont Morgan Library.
Willis, Nathaniel Parker, 1806-1867. Letters to Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, [1829?-ca. 1848].
Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Letter and portraits, n.d.
University of Virginia. Library
Soulé, Pierre, 1801-1870,. Autograph letter signed from Pierre Soulé, Washington, to Mrs. Sarah J. Hale, Philadelphia [manuscript], 1852-1853.
Folger Shakespeare Library
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Philanthropy [manuscript] : poem, 1851 Dec. 22.
University of Virginia. Library
McLoughlin Bros., inc. Mary and her lamb, [ca. 1880] / McLoughlin Bros., New York.
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Autograph letter signed : Philadelphia, to the Rev. John Pierpont, 1848 Mar. 31.
Pierpont Morgan Library.
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Letter to Margaret Bayard Smith [manuscript], 1841 February 10.
University of Virginia. Library
Janvier, Francis De Haes, 1817-1885. Letter to Sarah Josepha Hale [manuscript], 1857 June 21.
University of Virginia. Library
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882. Papers of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow [manuscript], 1764-1934 (bulk 1830-1881).
University of Virginia. Library
Dwight, Theodore Frelinghuysen, 1846-1917. Papers II, 1734-1869, bulk: 1800-1864.
Massachusetts Historical Society
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Letter to Mrs Mary Judson. [s.l.]. [18--] Mar. 9.
University of Iowa Libraries
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Papers of Sarah Josepha Buell [manuscript] 1827-79.
University of Virginia. Library
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Letter : Boston, to Alonzo Lewis, Lynn, Mass., 1831 February 7.
University of Virginia. Library
Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920. Letters, 1870-1876, to Edward Everett Hale and Sarah Josepha Buell Hale.
University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
Carey, Mathew, 1760-1839. Mathew Carey letters, 1802-1832.
Pennsylvania State University Libraries
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Papers, 1841-1879 (inclusive).
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. What might a single mind may wield : poem, 1861, "Feby." 19, Philadelphia.
Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Letters, 1828-1868.
Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Autograph letter signed : [Boston], to the Rev. John Pierpont, 1837 June 26.
Pierpont Morgan Library.
Davis, William, d. 1826. Letters, 1816-1884, bulk: 1816-1819.
Massachusetts Historical Society
Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849. Letters from Poe and article about him [manuscript] 1836-1847.
University of Virginia. Library
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Correspondence with Rev. Dr. Prince, Dec. 23, 1874, 1413 Locust St, Philadelphia, Messrs. Carey and Hart, January 27, 1835, Boston, Dr. James Rush, Philadelphia, Oct. 23, 1865, Dr. and Mrs. E. B. Mason, Jan. 9, 1865, Philadelphia ; from J. R. Thomson, May 10, 1867, Shanghai and D. E. Wilson, Nov. 2, 1846, Allentown / Sarah Josepha Hale.
University of Wisconsin - Madison, General Library System
Bussey, Benjamin, 1757-1842. Benjamin Bussey collection, 1767-1872, bulk 1800-1847.
William L. Clements Library
DePaola, Tomie, 1934-. Mary had a little lamb : production material.
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Whittier, John Greenleaf, 1807-1892. John Greenleaf Whittier Papers, 1808-1940.
University of Virginia. Library
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Letter to Alonzo Lewis [manuscript], 1831 February 7.
University of Virginia. Library
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879,. Autograph letters signed from Sara Josepha Buell Hale, Boston and Philadelphia, to various people [manuscript], 1807-1853.
Folger Shakespeare Library
Hale, Edward Everett, 1822-1909. Letters, 1851 June 3-1900 Jan. 25.
Boston Athenaeum
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. The three sceptres [manuscript] : a vision, [18th-19th century] / by Mrs. S.J. Hale.
Folger Shakespeare Library
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Letter to Lydia H. Sigourney. Boston, MA. 1828 Mar. 3.
University of Iowa Libraries
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879. Autograph letter signed : Philadelphia, to Bayard Taylor, 1847 Apr. 12.
Pierpont Morgan Library.
Drake, Elias Franklin, 1813-1892. Elias Franklin Drake and family papers, 1814-1917.
Minnesota Historical Society, Division of Archives and Manuscripts
May family. Papers of the May and Goddard families, 1766-1912 (inclusive).
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Buchanan, James L. Letter : London, to Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, [Philadelphia], 1853 Sept. 23.
University of Chicago Library
Autograph File, C
Houghton Library
Poems and correspondence, 1824-1851 and undated.
Houghton Library
Autograph File, B, ca.1500-1982
Houghton Library
Buchanan, James L. Letter : London, to Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, [Philadelphia], 1853 Sept. 23.
Texas Christian University
Holden, Austin Wells, 1819-1891. Holden papers, 1820-1918.
New York State Historical Documents Inventory
Free Library of Philadelphia Collection of Literary Manuscripts, 1666-1990
Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department
Brainard, Charles Henry, 1817-1885. Papers, 1795-1884 and undated
Houghton Library
Benjamin, Park, 1809-1864. Benjamin Park papers, 1645-1925.
Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
Willis, Nathaniel Parker, 1806-1867. Nathaniel Parker Willis collection, 1813-1866.
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Benjamin Bussey collection 1767-1872 1800-1847 Bussey, Benjamin collection
William L. Clements Library
Godey's Lady's Book Historic Landmark Project. Papers : , 1970-1973.
Bryn Mawr College, Mariam Coffin Canaday Library
Sara Josepha Hale Collection, 1889-1931
University of Virginia. Library. Special Collections Dept.
Osterud, Nancy Grey, 1948-. Papers, 1969-1975 (inclusive).
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Willis, Nathaniel Parker, 1806-1867. Nathaniel Parker Willis collection, 1813-1866.
Yale University Library
Beecher-Stowe family papers, 1798-1956
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Poetry manuscripts [1850s-1880s] Poetry manuscripts
William L. Clements Library
James Russell Lowell papers, 1835-1919.
Houghton Library
Biographical essays of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1975-ca. 1978
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Teale, Edwin Way, 1899-1980. Papers, 1799-1995 and undated
Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Center.
Ambler, W. E., fl. 1889,. Correspondence pertaining to Sarah Josepha Hale's authorship of Mary had a little lamb, 1889-1931.
University of Virginia. Library
Jacob Bailey Moore papers, 1811-1851.
Houghton Library
Mulligan, James A., 1830-1864. James A. Mulligan papers, 1849-1900.
Chicago History Museum
Kellers, Edward Henry, 1836-1906. Edward Henry Kellers papers, 1852-1893.
University of South Carolina, System Library Service, University Libraries
Houghton Library printed book provenance file, E-K.
Houghton Library
Benjamin, Park, 1809-1864. Papers, 1645-1925
Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
George Pope Morris collection of papers, 1830-1863
The New York Public Library. Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature.
Sara Josepha Hale Collection, 1831 Feb 7
University of Virginia. Library. Special Collections Dept.
Autograph File, H
Houghton Library
Autograph File, H
Houghton Library
May family. Papers of the May and Goddard families, 1766-1912 (inclusive).
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Dix, Dorothea Lynde, 1802-1887. Papers, 1798-1893 (bulk 1827-1887)
Houghton Library
Papers, 1969-1975
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
James Thomas Fields collection of autographs and portraits of distinguished women, 1814-1907.
Houghton Library
Betsy Beinecke Shirley collection of American children's literature, 1640-2001
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Sarah Helen Whitman papers, Whitman (Sarah Helen) papers, 1816-1878, 1816-1878
Brown University Library, Special Collections
Embury, Emma C. (Emma Catherine), 1806-1863. Emma C. Embury salon album, 1825-1870.
Cornell University Library
May family. Papers of the May and Goddard families, 1766-1912
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Palfrey family papers, 1713-1915
Houghton Library
Correspondence and other papers, 1831-1891.
Houghton Library
Sara Josepha Hale Collection, 1841 Feb 10
University of Virginia. Library. Special Collections Dept.
Benson John Lossing Collection, 1843-1917
Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
Autograph File, H
Houghton Library
Related names in SNAC
associatedWith
Benjamin, Park, 1809-1864.
associatedWith
Benjamin, Park, 1849-1922
correspondedWith
Boyd, Joseph B., fl. 1807-1853
associatedWith
Brainard, Charles Henry, 1817-1885
associatedWith
Buchanan, James L.
associatedWith
Bussey, Benjamin, 1757-1842.
associatedWith
Carey, Mathew, 1760-1839.
associatedWith
Davis, John Brazer, 1798-1832.
associatedWith
Davis, William, d. 1826.
associatedWith
DePaola, Tomie, 1934-
correspondedWith
Dix, Dorothea Lynde, 1802-1887
associatedWith
Drake, Elias Franklin, 1813-1892.
associatedWith
Dwight, Theodore Frelinghuysen, 1846-1917.
associatedWith
Embury, Emma C. (Emma Catherine), 1806-1863.
associatedWith
Everett, Alexander Hill, 1790-1847.
associatedWith
Fields, James Thomas, 1817-1881,
associatedWith
Godey, Louis Antoine, 1804-1878
associatedWith
Goodrich, Samuel G. (Samuel Griswold), 1793-1860,
associatedWith
Gould, Hannah Flagg, 1789-1865
associatedWith
Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885,
associatedWith
Griswold, Rufus W. (Rufus Wilmot), 1815-1857,
associatedWith
Hale, Edward Everett, 1822-1909.
associatedWith
Harrison, William Henry, 1773-1841,
associatedWith
Hart, John S. (John Seely), 1810-1877.
associatedWith
Holden, Austin Wells, 1819-1891.
associatedWith
Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920.
associatedWith
Janvier, Francis De Haes, 1817-1885.
associatedWith
Jewett, Milo Parker, 1808-1882.
associatedWith
Judson, Mary,
correspondedWith
Kellers, Edward Henry, 1836-1906.
associatedWith
Lewis, Alonzo, 1794-1861,
associatedWith
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882.
associatedWith
Lossing, Benson John, 1813-1891.
correspondedWith
Lowell, James Russell, 1819-1891
associatedWith
Mason, Ellen Huntly Bullard.
associatedWith
Mason, Francis, 1799-1874.
associatedWith
Mitchell, William,
associatedWith
Moore, Jacob Bailey, 1797-1853
associatedWith
Morris, George Pope, 1802-1864
associatedWith
Mulligan, James A., 1830-1864.
associatedWith
Nancy Grey Osterud, 1948-
associatedWith
Osterud, Nancy Grey, 1948-
correspondedWith
Parton, James, 1822-1891
associatedWith
Pierpont, John, 1785-1866,
associatedWith
Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849.
associatedWith
Prince, Rev.
correspondedWith
Putnam, C. H. (Catherine Hunt), b. 1792
associatedWith
Raymond, John H. (John Howard), 1814-1878.
associatedWith
Rush, James, 1786-1869.
associatedWith
Shirley, Betsy Beinecke.
associatedWith
Sigourney, L. H. (Lydia Howard), 1791-1865,
associatedWith
Smith, Margaret Bayard, 1778-1844,
correspondedWith
Soulé, Pierre, 1801-1870,
associatedWith
Taylor, Bayard, 1825-1878,
associatedWith
Teale, Edwin Way, 1899-
associatedWith
Thomson, J. R., Mrs.
associatedWith
Vassar, Matthew, 1792-1868.
associatedWith
Warren, George Washington, 1813-1883.
associatedWith
Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852.
associatedWith
White, Andrew Dickson, 1832-1918.
associatedWith
Whitman, John Winslow, 1799-1833,
associatedWith
Whitman, Sarah Helen, 1803-1878.
associatedWith
Whittier, John Greenleaf, 1807-1892.
associatedWith
Willis, Nathaniel Parker, 1806-1867.
associatedWith
Wilson, D. E.
associatedWith
Anonymous
correspondedWith
Beecher family
associatedWith
May family.
associatedWith
May family.
associatedWith
MAY-GODDARD FAMILY
associatedWith
Palfrey family.
associatedWith
Cairns Collection of American Women Writers.
associatedWith
Carey & Hart.
associatedWith
Free Library of Philadelphia.
associatedWith
Godey's Lady's Book Historic Landmark Project.
associatedWith
Harper & Brothers,
associatedWith
Houghton Library.
associatedWith
McLoughlin Bros., inc.
associatedWith
National Society of the Colonial Dames of America
associatedWith
United States Exploring Expedition (1838-1842)
associatedWith
Vassar College.
Collection Locations
no collection locations known
Comparison
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Information
Subjects:
- American literature
- American literature
- American poetry
- Authors and publishers
- Editors
- Karen (Southeast Asian people)
- Women
- Women
- Women and religion
- Women in missionary work
- Women periodical editors
- Women's colleges
- American literature
- Women
Occupations:
- Authors
- Editors
Places:
- Massachusetts (as recorded)
- United States (as recorded)
- New York (State)--Poughkeepsie (as recorded)
- New York (State)--Poughkeepsie (as recorded)
- New York (State)--Poughkeepsie (as recorded)
Variant Names
Hale, Sarah
Hale, Sarah Josepha, 1788-1879
Hale, S. J., 1788-1879
Buell, Sarah Josepha, 1788-1879
Hale, Sarah J.
Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell, 1788-1879
Hale, Sarah Josepha
Hale, Sarah
Hale, Sarah Joseph (Buell) 1788-1879
Hale, Sarah Josepha, 1788-1879
Hale, Sarah Josepha (Sarah Josepha Buell), 1788-1879
Sarah Josepha Buell Hale
Mrs Sarah J. Hale
Sarah J. Hale.
Hale, Sarah Josepba
Sarah Josepha Hale
Sarah Josepha Hale.
Sarah Joseph Hale
Hale, Sarah.
Sarah Josepha (Buell) Hale
Hale, S. J. 1788-1879
Hale Mrs 1788-1879
Hale, Mrs. 1788-1879 (Sarah Josepha Buell),
Hale, Sara Josepha, 1788-1879
Lady, 1788-1879
Hale, S. J. 1788-1879 (Sarah Josepha),