Eliza Lee Cabot Follen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Eliza Lee Cabot August 15, 1787 Boston,Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | January 26, 1860(1860-01-26) (aged 72) Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Unitarian writer, editor,abolitionist |
| Language | English |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Charles Christopher Follen (son) |
| Relatives | Cabot family |
Eliza Lee Cabot Follen (August 15, 1787 – January 26, 1860) was an American writer, editor, andabolitionist. In her early life, she contributed various pieces of prose and poetry to papers and magazines. In 1828, she married Prof.Charles Follen, who died on board theLexington in 1840. During her married life, she published a variety of popular and useful books, all of which were characterized by herChristianpiety. Among the works she gave to the press are,Selections from Fénelon,The Well-spent Hour,Words of Truth,The Sceptic,Married Life,Little Songs,Poems,Life of Charles Follen,Twilight Stories,Second Series of Little Songs, as well as a compilation ofHome Dramas, andGerman Fairy Tales. Holding an interest in the religious instruction of the young, she edited, in 1829, theChristian Teacher's Manual, and, from 1843 to 1850, theChild's Friend. She died inBrookline, Massachusetts in 1860.[1]
Eliza Lee Cabot was born inBoston, August 15, 1787, the fifth of thirteen children in the prominentCabot family of that city. She was the daughter of Samuel Cabot,[2] and Sarah Barrett Cabot.[3]
She was well-educated.[3]
When Samuel died in 1819, ten years after her mother had died, Eliza Cabot and her two sisters established a household, and she developed a large circle of friends with literary and religious interests. Her friends includedWilliam Ellery Channing andHenry Ware. Within this circle, she co-founded a Sunday school affiliated with theFederal Street Church.[3]
Catharine Sedgwick introduced her to the educatorCharles Follen. Nine years her junior, he initially became Eliza Cabot's protégé. In 1828, after his betrothed in Germany declined to emigrate to the United States, Eliza and Charles married.[4] He perished on board theLexington, which was burnt onLong Island Sound, January 13, 1840.[2]
After Charles's death, Follen educated their only son, Charles Christopher (born 1830),[3] whom, with other pupils, she fitted forHarvard University. An intimate friend of Channing, she was a zealous opponent ofslavery.
Follen published the writings ofFrançois Fénelon, and of her husband. Her writings also included:The Skeptic (1835),Sketches of Married Life (1838), andFrom Little Songs, for Little Boys and Girls (Boston: Whittemore, Niles and Hall; Milwaukie: A. Whittemore & Co., 1856). She edited two Sunday school publications,[5] theChristian Teacher's Manual (1828–1830) and theChild's Friend (1843–1850).[3]
She was a prolific writer. Her poems were first published at Boston (Crosby & Co.), 1839, and while she was in England, she issued another volume for children's use, entitledThe Lark and the Linnet, in 1854. Both volumes also contain some translations from the German, and versions of a fewPsalms. Her best known hymns are:[2]
Follen died at Brookline, Massachusetts, January 26, 1860.[2]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:Julian, John (1892).A Dictionary of Hymnology: Setting Forth the Origin and History of Christian Hymns of All Ages and Nations, with Special Reference to Those Contained in the Hymn Books of English-speaking Countries and Now in Common Use (Public domain ed.). Murray. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:Putnam, Alfred Porter (1875).Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith: Being Selections of Hymns and Other Sacred Poems of the Liberal Church in America, with Biographical Sketches of the Writers, and with Historical and Illustrative Notes (Public domain ed.). Roberts.
