Abigail alcott biography
"The exercise of civil rights is one of the best means of education" ~ Abigail May Alcott
Early Life
Abigail May Alcott, was born October 8, to Colonel Joseph May, and Dorothy Sewall. Known for her kindness and passion, Abigail advocated for many causes from abolition, to women's suffrage, to education and found an ally in her future husband Bronson Alcott.
Upon engagement to Bronson Alcott in Abigail supposedly exclaimed, "We will have a home. Oh! Sacred word! Oh Holy spot!" However, during the next 15 years, they moved more than thirty times. Abigail wrote in her dairy, "The end I desire is to obtain a home for me and my family, a house and a few acres of land for us to occupy."
Fruitlands
In , at Fruitlands Farm in Harvard, Massachusetts, at the urging of her husband Bronson, Abigail, her family, and others experimented in a communal living project.
When they nearly froze and starved, Abigail requested help from their neighbor who provided shelter consisting of only three rooms, which housed the two adults and four girls ages 4 to At the time, they only had $ to their names.
Buying Hillside
In , on the Alcott's 15th wedding anniversary, Abigail's brother Samuel May and her cousin Samuel Sewall presented her with a sum of $2,, which was her share of her father's estate.
Their friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson found a home for them in Concord close by his on the Lexington Road.
Abigail alcott biography A great heart that was home for all. Login to collaborate or comment , or contact the profile manager, or ask our community of genealogists a question. Abigail May Alcott Nieriker - When Mrs.Using her inheritance, they purchased the house for $ Emerson added another $ to purchase eight acres of meadow land across the street for them to use as farmland.
Moving Day
The family moved into the house on April 1, , and Bronson named it "Hillside." They immediately began renovating and rehabilitating the house.
A wheelwright shed was cut in two, with one section added to the west side of the house and the other to the east side. The front of the west addition became Bronson's study. The rear was divided into two bedrooms for Abigail's older daughters Anna and Louisa, making them very happy, as recorded by Louisa in her journal.
Her Daughters
In , Abigail's four daughters ranged in age from Anna, age 14, Louisa, age 12, Elizabeth, age 9, and Abby May, age 4.
Abigail alcott biography death Nieriker was a violinist and he loved her profession. Eleven years later, her technique had improved greatly. Katerina Papouliou 14 January Like "Amy March" in Little Women, May was a blue-eyed golden girl who possessed from childhood an intense love of beauty and all things artistic and elegant.Anna and Louisa wrote and produced plays, including "Norna;or the Witch's Curse," that they acted out in the barn, with all the sisters participating in full costume. The girls re-enacted "Pilgrim's Progress," where Christian climbed up the mountains to the Celestial City. For this, Abigail provided them with bags filled with rags which they pretended were back packs.
These childhood dramas became part of Louisa's writings, including Little Women.
Underground Railroad
In this house, the Alcotts sheltered at least one freedom seeker who was making their way along the Underground Railroad to Canada.
Abigail alcott biography wikipedia Joanna Kaszubowska 25 November However, her mother knew how much Europe meant to her. It is time to fix that. For all the luck May Alcott had, she certainly endured hard times.Listening to descriptions of life in slavery influenced the family. Almost twenty years later, when they lived next door at Orchard House, Abigail helped her daughter Louisa pack her clothes when she volunteered as a nurse during the Civil War. Louisa served in a Union hospital in Washington, D.C. until she became ill. Louisa never fully recovered, though she wrote of her experience in her book, Hospital Sketches.
Making a Living
The Alcotts enjoyed three years at Hillside, To earn money during this time, Abigail rented rooms to people and taught students.
However, it wasn't long before the family was in such financial debt that they were forced to move again.
The family went to Boston, where Abigail secured a position as a City Missionary or Social Worker.
Abigail alcott biography wife Moreover, she fought for social and gender equality in artistic education. Abigail May Alcott Nieriker - Memorial. If so, login to add it. Eleven years later, her technique had improved greatly.Anna and Louisa taught, sewed, and became companions to friends or invalids. Elizabeth became a housekeeper. Bronson gave conversations and lectured in the West, earning little money until Louisa became well known.
Suffrage
Throughout her life, Abigail Alcott advocated equal rights for women. Abigail's courage gave inspiration for her daughters to also take up the fight for equality.
In Abigail wrote a petition calling for a change in the Massachusetts constitution to grant political rights to women. She stated,
"We deem the extension to women of all civil rights, a measure of vital importance to the welfare and progress of the State.
Abigail alcott biography children Abigail alcott biography husband Abigail alcott biography net worth On every principle of natural justice, as well as by the nature of our institution, she is as fully entitled as man to vote, and to be eligible to office,"
In Louisa May Alcott recorded her mother's words, "I am seventy-three, but I mean to go to the polls before I die, even if my daughters have to carry me." Unfortunately, Abigail never accomplished her goal of voting, however her daughter Louisa did.
Happy Memories
Years later, Abigail's daughters recalled that some of their happiest memories were at Hillside. Here, their mother and father read to them, they reenacted plays in the barn, and their father Bronson oversaw their education, encouraging them at an early age to keep daily journals and to share their thoughts with the family.
This honed their writing, composition, and reading skills. They enjoyed the visits from Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne. Louisa often borrowed Emerson's books from his library.
Abigail provided the common sense and stability through the years, as her daughters recalled in later years.
Abigail alcott biography children: It is time to fix that. Women Artists. May exhibit a love for art from a young age. This was her most successful period in all senses.
When Abigail died on November 25, , Louisa May wrote in her diary,
"I never wish her back, but a great warmth seems gone out of life and there is no motive to go on now. She was so loyal, tender, and true, life was hard for her and no one knew all she had to bear but her children."
Louisa continued;
"On the 27th it was necessary to bury her, and we took her quietly away to Sleepy Hollow.
A hard day, but the last duty we could do for her; and there we left her at sunset beside dear Lizzie's dust"