Description

Grace Greenwood (b.1823 - d. 1904) was born Sara Jane Clarke on September 23, 1823 in Pompey, New York. She was the daughter of Thaddeus Clarke, born on February 12, 1770 in Lebanon, Connecticut and Sarah Deborah Baker Clarke, born on September 23, 1881 in Brooklyn, Connecticut. Sara was one of eight children. She and her family eventually relocated to New Brighton, Pennsylvania where she attended the women's school named The Greenwood Institute, which may have been the inspiration for her future author alias. She also wrote under her name of Sara J. Clarke and Sara Lippincott.

Grace Greenwood was a 19th century poet, journalist and activist who championed many progressive causes while creating a path for women in news media.Grace was the New York Times' first female writer. She wrote for newspapers in Chicago and California. She was a staunch abolitionist and champion of women's rights, actively hitting the lecture circuit, Grace lectured extensively before and during the Civil War, particularly regarding her abolitionist stance and to other social issues, such as prison and asylum reform, and the abolition of capital punishment. She also wrote on women's issues, advocating for women's right to vote and to receive equal pay for equal work.

Grace's reports on her travels to the American West during the early 1870s were influential for the mass migration westward. She was sympathetic to the plight of the pioneers in Arizona Territory and their encounters with Native Americans.

Grace lived in Europe for a time. She authored many books, including a biography of Queen Victoria. She earned recognition in her early 20s for the poetry. She became a sought-after scribe and would write under both her pseudonym and her birth name, becoming a regular contributor to some of the top papers of the day. She also became known for her children's fiction, including later stories like "Bessie Raeburn's Christmas Adventure" and "The Drummer-Boy."

Handwriting on back of photograph reads;"Grace Greenwood, 1863. Born September 23, 1823".

Sources: findagrave.com; biography.com;

Grace died on April 20, 1904 in New Rochelle, New York.

Burial in Grove Cemetery, New Brighton, Pennsylvania.

Sources: findagrave.com; biography.com; The Weekly Arizonian May 1, 1869; The weekly "Arizona Miner May 7, 1870; Arizona citizen July 13,1872; Arizona republican November 30, 1900;