Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912

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Caroline Wells Healey Dall (June 22, 1822 – December 17, 1912) was an American feminist writer, transcendentalist, and reformer. She was affiliated with the National Women's Rights Convention, the New England Women's Club, and the American Social Science Association. Her associates included Elizabeth Peabody and Margaret Fuller, as well as members of the Transcendentalist movement in Boston.

Caroline Healey was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, daughter of Mark Healey, a merchant and investor, and Caroline Foster. She lived there off and on during her life. As a young woman, she received a comprehensive education, encouraged by her father to write novels and essays, and to engage in debates about religion, philosophy and politics. In addition to private tutoring, she attended a private school for girls run by educator Joseph Hale Abbot, until the age of fifteen.

In the fall of 1842, Healey taught at Lydia S. English's Female Seminary (later known as the Georgetown Female Seminary). Over Christmas 1842, a Unitarian minister from Baltimore named Charles Dall came to fill an open pulpit in Georgetown. Healy initially found Dall unappealing and she was shocked when he proposed to her by letter months later. But after a few weeks of correspondence, she accepted his proposal, reigned her teaching position, and moved to Baltimore.

She married Charles Dall, a Unitarian minister who worked with the poor in Baltimore, in 1844. The two lived in Toronto during the early 1850s, and returned to Boston in 1855. Her children included William Healey Dall, in whose Washington DC home she lived her later years.

Though she continued to write through the early years of her marriage and child-rearing, after her husband moved to Calcutta, India to perform missionary work, Dall became an active participant in the Boston Women's Rights movement. She was soon an active lecturer and writer on the topic, and organized the New England Women's Rights Convention, along with suffragist Paulina Davis. Also with Davis she founded Una, a journal devoted to woman's rights, and the pioneer publication of its kind. After deciding that she did not like working with groups, Dall turned to writing as her principal means of addressing women's equality. her most prominent works from this time included Historical Pictures Retouched: a Volume of Miscellanies (1861), which highlighted previously ignored women in history, and a collection of lectures entitled The College, the Market, and the Court; or Woman's Relation to Education, Labor, and Law (1867) in which she argued that the modern woman was no longer content to be in the domestic sphere and should be allowed to participate in public life. The New York Evening Post called this collection "the most eloquent and forcible statement of the Woman's Question which has been made." Dall was a founder of the Social Science Association (1865).

In the late 1860s, Dall retired from the Women's Rights movement and turned her writing attention to such diverse topics as Egypt (Egypt's Place in History 1868) and the Civil War (Patty Gray's Journey, three volumes for children, 1869–70). During this time, she also moved to Washington, D.C., where she became a friend of the current first lady Frances Cleveland. Much of her later work was about the American Renaissance to which she was witness as a young woman. Works from this period include Margaret and Her Friends: Ten Conversations with Margaret Fuller (1895) and Transcendentalism in New England: a Lecture (1897), given to the Society of Philosophical Inquiry at the age of 73. During this time, she also gave the occasional sermon in the Unitarian Church, one of the earliest women to do so. In the last years of her life, she suffered greatly from arthritis, though she remained active until her death at the age of 90 on December 17, 1912.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Papers, 1829-1956 (inclusive), 1837-1916 (bulk). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Papers, 1874-1890 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Dall family papers 1824-1911, 1942 1824-1911 Dall family papers William L. Clements Library
creatorOf Records of the U.S. Geological Survey. 1839 - 2008. Letters Received by John Wesley Powell Regarding His Resignation as Director National Archives at College Park
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Microfilm edition of the Caroline H. Dall papers, 1811-1917 [microform]. HCL Technical Services, Harvard College Library
referencedIn Rolfe, W. J. (William James), 1827-1910,. Autograph letters signed from W.J. Rolfe, Cambridge and Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, to various recipients [manuscript], 1885-1906. Folger Shakespeare Library
referencedIn Pickard-Whittier papers, 1815-1915. Houghton Library
referencedIn Loring, Charles G. (Charles Greely), 1794-1867. Papers, 1768-1866 Houghton Library
referencedIn Lutz, Alma, 1890-1973. Collection of documents by and about abolitionists and women's rights activists, 1775-1943 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Additions, 1863-1912. Massachusetts Historical Society
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912,. Autograph letters signed and initialled from Caroline Wells Healey Dall to various people [manuscript], 1875-1886. Folger Shakespeare Library
referencedIn Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874. Correspondence, 1829-1874 Houghton Library
creatorOf Philbrick, John D. (John Dudley), 1818-1886. Correspondence, 1830-1903; bulk: 1853-1867 Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Nichols-Shurtleff family. Papers, 1780-1953, (bulk: 1850-1940) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn James Freeman Clarke correspondence, 1845-1872. Houghton Library
referencedIn Norton family. Letters received by the Norton family, 1830-1920 Houghton Library
referencedIn Smithsonian Archives. Ru 7073: W. H. Dall Papers.
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Papers of Caroline Wells Healey Dall, 1811-1917. Library of Congress
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Foster records / copied by Caroline H. Dall. New England Historic Genealogical Society
referencedIn Lutz, Alma, 1890-1973. Collection of documents by and about abolitionists and women's rights activists, 1775-1943 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Dall family. Correspondence, 1860-1924. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
creatorOf Dickinson, Emily, 1830-1886. Papers and forgeries of Emily Dickinson, 1860-1984 (bulk 1860-1886). University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Century Company records New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
creatorOf Earle, Pliny, 1809-1892. Papers, 1806-1897. Duke University, Medical Center Library & Archives
referencedIn Lindseth, Jon A.,. Lindseth collection of American woman suffrage, [ca. 1820-1920]. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Charles Eliot Norton papers Houghton Library
creatorOf Bell, Alexander Graham, 1847-1922. Dall-Healey family papers, 1662-1957. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Sears, Edmund H. (Edmund Hamilton), 1810-1876. Papers, 1837-1875. Andover-Harvard Theological Library
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Caroline Wells Healey Dall letter and autograph [manuscript], 1875. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Caroline Wells Healey Dall papers, 1811-1954 (bulk 1845-1912). Bryn Mawr College, Mariam Coffin Canaday Library
referencedIn Palfrey family papers, 1713-1915 Houghton Library
referencedIn Phillips, Wendell, 1811-1884. Papers, 1555-1882 (bulk: 1833-1881) Houghton Library
creatorOf Postcard : Hastings, to Caroline Wells Healey Dall, Wash. D.C., 1901 Oct 30. Bryn Mawr College, Mariam Coffin Canaday Library
referencedIn Black, James Wallace, 1825-1896,. Dall-Healey family photographs, ca. 1850-1911 ; bulk: 1860-1890. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Lindseth collection of American woman suffrage, [ca. 1820-1920]. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Caroline Wells Healey Dall papers, 1811-1917. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Smithsonian Archives. Spencer F. Baird Papers (Mc 2000.11).
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. The Caroline Dall Dante scrapbook, 1888. Boston Athenaeum
referencedIn Coffin, James H. (James Henry), 1806-1873. James Henry Coffin Papers, 1848-1884 Smithsonian Institution Archives
referencedIn Solger, Reinhold, 1817-1866. Papers of Reinhold Solger, 1840-1944. Library of Congress
referencedIn Dix, Dorothea Lynde, 1802-1887. Papers, 1798-1893 (bulk 1827-1887) Houghton Library
referencedIn Papers of Francis Ellingwood Abbot, 1841-1904. Harvard University Archives.
creatorOf Clarke, Lilian Freeman, 1842-1921. Correspondence, 1862-1907. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Autograph File, D, 1586-1975. Houghton Library
referencedIn Caroline Wells Healey Dall [photograph], [ca. 1854-1860]. Massachusetts Historical Society
creatorOf Papers, 1829-1956 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Blackwell family. Papers, 1835-1963 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Norris, Joseph Parker, 1847-1916,. Autograph letters signed to Joseph Parker Norris from Sophia Page and William Page, New York [manuscript], 1873-1877. Folger Shakespeare Library
referencedIn Woodberry, George Edward, 1855-1930. Correspondence and compositions, 1859-1930. Houghton Library
creatorOf Papers, 1841-1909 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Caroline Wells Healey Dall [photograph], [ca. 1854-1860]. Massachusetts Historical Society
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Letter to Mr. Baldwin, Boston, Feb. 3, 1860 / Caroline H. Dall. University of Wisconsin - Madison, General Library System
referencedIn Garrison family papers, 1801-1948 (inclusive), 1840-1907 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Francis, Abigail B. Allyn. Letter, 1881. Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Walter Hines Page letters from various correspondents, American period Houghton Library
referencedIn Additional papers, 1717-1888. Houghton Library
referencedIn Henry Villard papers, 1604-1948 (inclusive), 1863-1900 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Baldwin Family Papers, 1779-1886, bulk 1803-1865 The Huntington Library
referencedIn Ingleby, C. M. (Clement Mansfield), 1823-1886,. Letters to Clement Mansfield Ingleby from various correspondents [manuscript], 1861-1886. Folger Shakespeare Library
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Papers, 1841-1910 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Sears, Edmund H. (Edmund Hamilton), 1810-1876. Papers, 1837-1875 (inclusive). Harvard University, Divinity School Library
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Letters, 1869-1894 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Hall, Henry W., 1839-1864. Papers, 1851-1876 (bulk: 1851-1864). Massachusetts Historical Society
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Letter, 1902 Mar. 17, Washington, to Annie W. Ciocca, Rome. University of Michigan
referencedIn Smithsonian Institution. Office of the Secretary. Correspondence, 1863-1879 Smithsonian Institution Archives
referencedIn Letters to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1761-1904 (inclusive), 1820-1888 (bulk) Houghton Library
creatorOf Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912. Caroline Wells Healey Dall letters and autograph [manuscript], 1867 and 1875. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Nichols-Shurtleff family. Papers, 1780-1953, (bulk: 1850-1940) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Earle, Pliny, 1809-1892. Papers, 1806-1897. Duke University, Medical Center Library & Archives
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Abbot, Francis Ellingwood, 1836-1903 person
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associatedWith Ciocca, Annie W. person
correspondedWith Clarke, James Freeman, 1810-1888 person
associatedWith Clarke, James Freeman, 1810-1888 person
associatedWith Clarke, Lilian Freeman, 1842-1921. person
associatedWith Clarke, Rebecca Parker Hull, d. 1865. person
associatedWith Clarke, Sarah Freeman, 1808-1896. person
correspondedWith Cleveland, Frances Folsom, 1864-1947 person
associatedWith Dall, C. H. A. (Charles Henry Appleton), 1816-1886. person
associatedWith Dall family. corporateBody
correspondedWith Dall, William Healey person
associatedWith Dall, William Healey, 1845-1927. person
associatedWith Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321. person
associatedWith Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882 person
correspondedWith Dellenbaugh, Frederick Samuel, 1853-1935 person
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associatedWith Dickinson, Emily, 1830-1886. person
correspondedWith Dix, Dorothea Lynde, 1802-1887 person
associatedWith Earle, Pliny, 1809-1892. person
associatedWith Fiske, John, 1842-1901, person
associatedWith Francis, Abigail B. Allyn. person
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associatedWith Hedge, Frederic Henry, 1805-1890. person
correspondedWith Henry, Joseph, 1797-1878 person
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associatedWith Mitchell, Maria, 1818-1889 person
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associatedWith Nicholson, W. L. (Mrs.) person
associatedWith NICHOLS-SHURTLEFF FAMILY family
correspondedWith Norris, Joseph Parker, 1847-1916 person
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correspondedWith Parker, Theodore, 1810-1860 person
correspondedWith Patton, John person
correspondedWith Peabody, Elizabeth Palmer, 1804-1894 person
associatedWith Philbrick, John D. (John Dudley), 1818-1886. person
correspondedWith Phillips, Wendell, 1811-1884 person
associatedWith Portinari, Beatrice, 1266-1290 person
associatedWith Rachel Bodley person
associatedWith Ripley, Sarah Alden (Bradford), 1793-1867 person
associatedWith Rolfe, W. J. (William James), 1827-1910, person
associatedWith Rossetti, Christina Georgina, 1830-1894. person
associatedWith Sarah Margaret Fuller. person
correspondedWith Sears, Edmund H. (Edmund Hamilton), 1810-1876 person
associatedWith Sears, Edmund H. (Edmund Hamilton), 1810-1876. person
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correspondedWith Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, 1815-1902 person
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correspondedWith Turner, Jane A. person
associatedWith University of Wisconsin--Madison. Libraries. Dept. of Special Collections. corporateBody
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correspondedWith Whittier, John Greenleaf, 1807-1892 person
correspondedWith Woodberry, George Edward, 1855-1930 person
associatedWith Zakrzewska, Marie Elizabeth, 1829-1902 person
associatedWith Zuccaro, Federico, ca. 1540-1609 person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Boston MA US
Toronto 08 CA
Washington, D. C. DC US
Subject
American literature
American literature
American literature
Slavery
Adult education
Authors, American
Women authors, American
Antislavery movements
Antislavery movements
Authors
Authors and publishers
Authors, Italian
Feminism
Feminism
Feminists
Feminists
Henry, Joseph, Personality, Etc
Reformers
Religious education
Social service
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalists (New England)
Underground railroad
Unitarianism
Universalism
Visitations (Religious education)
Women
Women
Women
Women's rights
Occupation
Women authors, American
Authors
Feminists
Feminists
Lecturers
Reformers
Social reformers
Sunday school teachers
Activity

Person

Birth 1822-06-22

Death 1912-12-17

Female

Americans

English

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