Holley, Marietta (1836–1926)

American author and humorist who attempted to expose society's disregard for the rights of women . Name variations: (pseudonyms) "Jemyma," "Josiah Allen's Wife," and "Samantha Allen." Born in Jefferson County, New York, near Pierrepont Manor, on July 16, 1836; died near Pierrepont Manor, on March 1, 1926; third daughter and youngest of seven children of John Milton and Mary (Taber) Holley; attended local schools until age 14; never married; no children.

Selected works:

My Opinions and Betsy Bobbet's (1873); Samantha at the Centennial (1876); My Wayward Pardner (1880); Miss Richard's Boy (1882); Sweet Cicely, or Josiah Allen as a Politician (1885); Samantha at Saratoga (1887); Miss Jones' Quilting (1887); Samantha Among the Brethren (1890); Samantha on the Race Problem (1892); Tirzah Ann's Summer Trip (1892); Samantha at the World's Fair (1893); Josiah's Alarm (1893); The Widder Doodle's Love Affair (1893); Samantha in Europe (1895); Round the World with Josiah Allen's Wife (1899); The Borrowed Automobile (1906); Samantha on Children's Rights (1909); Who Was to Blame (1910); Josiah Allen on the Woman Question (1914).

The youngest of seven children, Marietta Holley was born in 1836 and raised on a farm in Jefferson County, New York; she began writing verses at an early age. Her family's shaky financial

situation forced her to leave school at 14, after which she studied, then taught, piano. A few of her early verses were printed in the local newspapers, and, in April 1867, Peterson's Magazine printed one of her poems. Four years later, Peterson's carried the first of her humorous dialect sketches, "Deacon Slimpsey's Mournful Forebodings," which was signed with the pseudonym, "Josiah Allen's Wife." The sketch also appeared in Holley's first book My Opinions and Betsy Bobbet's (1873), which was followed by 20 similar volumes, the last of which, Josiah Allen on the Woman Question, appeared in 1914. The books, written in the tradition of Yankee humorists Seba Smith, Benjamin Shillaber, and Frances M. Whitcher , pitted the practical, wifely Samantha Allen, an advocate of woman's rights, against her counterpart, the aging spinster Betsy Bobbet, a sentimentalist and staunch defender of the status quo. The books achieved great popularity, particularly among young girls and women, and sold upwards of two million copies. Holley, who at the height of her career earned a $14,000 advance for Samantha at the World's Fair (1893), became something of a reluctant celebrity. Despite her feminist views, and the urgings of Frances Willard and Susan B. Anthony , she shunned organized activities supporting women's rights, temperance, or other reforms. Holley did not stop writing until her 78th year, in 1914. She died at the age of 90 at the family farm near Pierrepont Manor.

sources:

James, Edward T., ed. Notable American Women, 1607–1950. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971.

McHenry, Robert, ed. Famous American Women. NY: Dover, 1983.

Barbara Morgan , Melrose, Massachusetts