Susan Anne Ridley Sedgwick (1788–1867) was a 19th-century American writer specializing in children's novels. She also painted a watercolor-on-ivory portrait of an ex-slave who came to work for her family.
Sedgwick was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, daughter of Matthew Ridley (1746–1789) and Catherine Livingston (1751–1813), his second wife.[1] Sedgwick's mother, Catherine Livingston, was the daughter of William Livingston, governor of New Jersey.[1] She married Theodore Sedgwick Jr., (1780–1839).[2] Her husband's father, Theodore Sedgwick (1746–1813), was a delegate to Continental Congress, a United States Representative, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, a United States Senator from Massachusetts, and a state supreme court judge.[3] As a lawyer, Sedgwick, Sr. represented Elizabeth ("Mumbet") Freeman, who had been a slave for forty years,[4] and won her freedom. Mumbet came to live as a servant in the Sedgwick household, and Susan Sedgwick painted her portrait (watercolor on ivory).[5]
Sedgwick's sister-in-law was Catharine Sedgwick (1789–1867), also a novelist. Before she married Catharine's brother, Susan was Catharine's schoolmate.[6]
Sedgwick was one of the 139 people buried in the large circular family burial plot in Stockbridge, Massachusetts known as the Sedgwick Pie.
Works
- Sedgwick, Susan Anne Livingston Ridley (1829). The Morals of Pleasure. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, & Carey. ISBN 9781446032749.
- Sedgwick, Susan Anne Livingston Ridley (1830). The Children's Week. Boston: Carter and Hendee.
- Sedgwick, Susan Anne Livingston Ridley (1830). The Young Emigrants: A Tale Designed for Young Persons. Boston: Carter and Hendee.
- Sedgwick, Susan Anne Livingston Ridley (1834). Allen Prescott; or, The Fortunes of a New England Boy. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers.
- Sedgwick, Susan Anne Livingston Ridley (1859). Walter Thornley, or A Peep at the Past. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers.
References
- ^ a b "Matthew Ridley Papers 1717–1812". Library Collection Guides. The Massachusetts Historical Society. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
- ^ Brown, John Howard, ed. (1903). Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States. Boston: Federal Book Company of Boston.
- ^ Baynes, Thomas Spencer, ed. (1889). Supplement to Encyclopædia Britannica 9th Edition A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature. New York: J. M. Stottar. p. 463.
- ^ "Elizabeth Freeman ("Mumbet")". African Americans and the End of Slavery in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Historical Society. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
- ^ "(Portrait of) Elizabeth Freeman ("Mumbet")". African Americans and the End of Slavery in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Historical Society. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
- ^ Lucinda L. Damon-Bach; Victoria Clements (2003). Catharine Maria Sedgwick: critical perspectives. Northeastern University Press. p. xxvi. ISBN 1-55553-548-8.
External links
- Works by Susan Anne Ridley Sedgwick at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Susan Anne Ridley Sedgwick at Internet Archive
- Sedgwick Family Papers
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