Freeman, Harriet E.

Harriet E. Freeman (1847-1930) was an active member of the South Congregational Church in Boston, and was a long-time advocate of social causes such as the preservation of forest lands and the protection of native American rights. She was a personal secretary to the prominent author Edward Everett Hale, and co-wrote a number of books with him.

From the description of Papers of Harriet E. Freeman ca. 1860-1922 (Harvard University, Divinity School Library). WorldCat record id: 552020875

Harriet E. Freeman (1847-1930) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in the Union Park area. In 1863, her family joined the South Congregational Church in Union Park . In 1871, Freeman became treasurer of the South Church ladies' charities, and she served in that capacity until 1891. A long-time advocate of various social causes such as the preservation of forest lands and the protection of Native American rights, she served as secretary of the women's committee of the Massachusetts Indian Society and the Boston Fatherless and Widows Society. The prominent author Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909) was minister of the South Congregational Church from 1856 to 1899. Freeman's academic interests and social activism soon captured Hale' s attention, and she began to work as his personal secretary. In this capacity, Freeman co-wrote a number of Hale 's sermons and other works. Freeman was active in Hale' s Lend-a-Hand Society, and from the 1880s to the early 1890s she wrote and edited parts of the Lend-a-Hand Society's journal, The Look-Out. Freeman died in Newton, Massachusetts, on December 30, 1930.

From the guide to the Papers, ca., 1860-1922., (Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Harvard Divinity School)