Out of Obscurity

Here is a random, partial curated list of biographies of women from 1640 – 1900, published from varied sources:

• A Place of Her Own: The Legacy of Oregon Pioneer Martha Poindexter Maupin . Martha’s year and country of birth: 1844?, USA. Author: Janet Fisher
• The Sligo-Leitrim World of Kate Cullen (1832-1913). Country: Ireland.  Author: Hilary Pyle.
• The Wicklow World of Elizabeth Smith 1840 – 1850.  Country: Ireland.  Authors: Dermot James, Seamas O Maitiu.
• The Presumptuous Dreamers: A Sociological History of the Life and Times of Abigail Scott Duniway: 1834 – 1915 .  Country: USA.  Author: Helen Krebbs Smith.
• Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin (Benjamin Franklin’s youngest sister). Year and Country of birth: 1700’s, USA.  Author: Jill Lapore.
• Through Her Eyes – A New History of Ireland in 21 Women .  “From the oldest woman in Ireland, whose bones were found beneath the Poulnabrone dolmen, to the modern-day founder of a 3D printing company, this book introduces us to amazing women whose stories were shaped by the centuries in which they lived.”  Author: Clodagh Finn.
• My Mischling Family (Feb. 2021: book is currently being written).
• The Married Widows of Cornwall: The story of the wives ‘left behind’ by emigration. Author: Dr. Lesley Trotter.
• The Women of Ville-Marie: Pioneers of Seventeenth-Century Montreal. Author: Susan McNelley.

Also, an interesting article about the changing nature of historical biographies is available here from History Today.

There’s also a book about the history of women’s lives prior to 1700.  Check out Dr. Sara Reed’s Maids, Wives, Widows: Exploring Early Modern Woman’s Lives 1540 – 1714.

Jo Bell, Tania Hershman, and Ailsa Holland have written On This Day She: Putting Women Back Into History One Day At A Time.

For those who read historical novels, there is America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamdie.