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'Sarah Josepha Hale' (October 24, 1788 - April 30, 1879) was an American writer. She is well known as the author of the popular nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb." ^[1]
Hale was born in Newport, New Hampshire to Captain Gordon Buell and Martha Whittlesay Buell. Early on in her life, she was educated by her mother and her brother Horatio who taught her what he had learned at Dartmouth, and later on, Hale was an autodidact. In 1813, she married David Hale, a lawyer and Freemason, with whom she had five children. In 1823, with the monetary support of her (then late) husband's Freemason lodge, she published a collection of her poems entitled ''The Genius of Oblivion''.
From 1827 until 1836, Hale served as editor of ''Lady's Magazine'' in Boston. In 1837 she began working as editor of ''Godey's Lady's Book'' in Philadelphia. She remained editor at ''Godey's'' for 40 years, retiring almost at the age of 90 in 1877.^[2] During this time, Hale wrote many novels and poems, publishing nearly fifty volumes of work by the end of her life.
She is credited as one of the major forces behind the declaration of Thanksgiving as a national holiday in the United States, which had previously been celebrated on different days in each state. She also helped raise money in Boston for the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument.^[2]
Liberty Ship #1538 (1943-1972) was named in her honor.
She is buried in a simple grave in the Laurel Hill Cemetery, Ridge Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ^[4]

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References

1. Anderson, Laurie, "Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving", 2002. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
2. Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. ''The Literary History of Philadelphia''. Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Co., 1906. p. 230
3. Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. ''The Literary History of Philadelphia''. Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Co., 1906. p. 230
4. Findagrave web site

External links

★ 19CWWW Etext Library:Sarah Josepha Hale

★ Woman Writers: Sarah Josepha Hale