Ednah Dow Littlehale Cheney
Encyclopedia
Ednah Dow Littlehale Cheney (June 27, 1824 – November 19, 1904) was a writer, reformer, and philanthropist, born on Beacon Hill, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
to Sargent Smith Littledale and Ednah Parker (Dow). She was educated in private schools in Boston. She was secretary of the School of Design for Women from 1851 till 1854.
She married portrait artist Seth Wells Cheney
Seth Wells Cheney
Seth Wells Cheney , American artist, a pioneer of crayon work in the United States.-Biography:He was the son of George Cheney and Electa Woodbridge. He received a public school education...
on May 19, 1853. His ill health limited his volume of work and after a winter trip abroad (1854-1855) he died in 1856. They had one child, Margaret Swan Cheney (September 8, 1855 – September 22, 1882) Edna's daughter, Margaret Swan Cheney died of tuberculosis while a student in the 1882 class at MIT and a reception room of the Women’s Chemistry Laboratory was named in her memory.
After her husband's death she took an interest in social concerns such as the Freedman's Aid Society
Freedman's Aid Society
The Freedmen’s Aid Society was founded in 1861 during the American Civil War by the American Missionary Association , a group supported chiefly by the Congregational, Presbyterian and Methodist churches in the North. It organized a supply of teachers from the North and provided housing for them,...
(secretary of the committee on aid for colored regiments and of the teachers' committee, 1863), Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association (vice president), New England Women's Club
New England Women's Club
The New England Women's Club of Boston, Massachusetts, was the "first woman's club" in the United States. Members of the club in its early years included Ednah Dow Littlehale Cheney, Julia Ward Howe, Mary Livermore, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Peabody, Lucretia Peabody, Caroline M. Severance, and...
(vice president) and the New England Hospital for Women and Children
New England Hospital for Women and Children
New England Hospital for Women and Children was opened in Boston, Massachusetts on July 1, 1862 by Dr. Marie Zakrzewska and Ednah Dow Cheney. The Hospital remained dedicated to women and children until the 1950s when it became financially deficient and after recommendations from the United...
(secretary, 1862). She lectured at the Concord School of Philosophy
Concord School of Philosophy
The Concord School of Philosophy was a lyceum-like series of summer lectures and discussions of philosophy in Concord, Massachusetts from 1879 to 1888.-History:...
on the history of art
History of art
The History of art refers to visual art which may be defined as any activity or product made by humans in a visual form for aesthetical or communicative purposes, expressing ideas, emotions or, in general, a worldview...
. She was an active member of the Margaret Fuller
Margaret Fuller
Sarah Margaret Fuller Ossoli, commonly known as Margaret Fuller, was an American journalist, critic, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movement. She was the first full-time American female book reviewer in journalism...
conversation class.
She went south to visit the Freedmen's schools in 1866, 1868, and 1869. She visited Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
several times, and spoke before lyceum
Lyceum
The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies between countries; usually it is a type of secondary school.-History:...
s west of New England in 1873, 1875, and 1876.
Works
- Patience: a series of thirty games with cards. 1870
- Social games. A collection of 31 games with cards. 1871
- Faithful to the Light and Other Tales. 1871
- Sally Williams, the mountain girl. 1872
- The Child of the Tide / By Ednah D. Cheney. 1874
- Memoir of Susan Dimock : resident physician of the New England Hospital for Women and Children. 1875
- Jenny of the Lighthouse. 1877
- Memoir of Seth W. Cheney, artist. 1881
- Gleanings in the Fields of Art. 1881
- Louisa May Alcott, the Children's Friend. 1888
- The Life of Louisa May Alcott. 1888
- Memoir of John Cheney, Engraver. 1889
- Nora’s return : a sequel to "The doll’s house" of Henry Ibsen / by Ednah D. Cheney. 1890
- Memoirs of Lucretia Crocker and Abby W. May. 1893
- Life of Christian Daniel Rauch of Berlin, Germany. Drawn from German authorities by Ednah D. Cheney. 1893
- Reminiscences of Ednah Dow Cheney (born Littlehale). 1902