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Mary Mapes Dodge Wife of William Dodge (Tristram, William, Samuel, Samuel, William, William Jr.) |
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Mary Mapes Dodge Wife of William Dodge (Tristram, William, Samuel, Samuel, William, William Jr.) |
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Mary Mapes was born January 26, 1831, the child of James Jay Mapes and Sophia Fuhrman. She married September 15, 1851 in New York City, William Dodge, a son of William Dodge, Jr. and Susan Johnson. They had two sons, James Mapes Dodge and Harrington M. Dodge. Her husband, William Dodge, died October 28, 1858 and left Mary with 2 sons to raise and not much money. She turned to writing to earn a living, a hobby she had enjoyed before her husband's death. During her lifetime she was the acknowledged leader in the field of juvenile fiction. Her story "Hans Brinker; or, The Silver Skates" (1865) has become a children?s classic. From 1873 until her death she edited and contributed to the children?s magazine St. Nicholas; collections of her work in St. Nicholas were published as Baby Days (1876) and Baby World (1884). Other works include Irvington Stories (1864) and Donald and Dorothy (1883). She not only exposed her children to her own writing, she introduced them to Mark Twain and others. She was able to raise a family and edit a major magazine without a husband. A woman well ahead of her time. Mary Mapes Dodge died August 21, 1905. Four stories by Mary Mapes Dodge Han Brinker or the Silver Skates |