Catharine Maria Sedgwick

The Poor Rich Man, and the Rich Poor Man (1836). by Catharine Maria Sedgwick

Catharine Maria Sedgwick (December 28, 1789 - July 31, 1867), was an American novelist of what is sometimes referred to as "domestic fiction." She promoted Republican motherhood. Early life: Catharine Maria Sedgwick was born December 28, 1789 in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Her mother was Pamela Dwight (1752-1807) of the New England Dwight family, daughter of General Joseph Dwight (1703-1765) and granddaughter of Ephraim Williams, founder of Williams College. Her father was Theodore Sedgwick (1746-1813), a prosperous lawyer and successful politician. He was later elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and in 1802 was appointed a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. As a child, Sedgwick was cared for by Elizabeth Freeman, a former slave whose freedom Theodore Sedgwick helped gain by arguing her case in county court in 1781. After winning her freedom Freeman declined her previous owner's job offer, and instead accepted a job working for the Sedgwick family. As a young woman, Sedgwick attended a finishing school in Boston to complete her education. One of her schoolmates, Susan Anne Ridley Sedgwick (1788-1867), would become her sister-in-law and a published author. Sedgwick was engaged at one point to Harmanus Bleecker, a friend of her father and law partner of her brother Theodore (1780-1839). They did not marry, and Sedgwick turned down several other marriage proposals, instead choosing to remain single and focus on her career.