Eleanor Ames (née, Easterbrook; after first marriage, Child; after second marriage, Hubbell; after third marriage, Ames; October 7, 1831 – June 20, 1908), better known by her pen name, Eleanor Kirk, was an American author,

businesswoman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...

, newspaper publisher, and

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

. Kirk was a " Mental Scientist" and was interested in

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...

. She wrote a number of books and published a magazine entitled ''Eleanor Kirk's Idea''. She was also a regular contributor to ''The Revolution'' and ''Packard's Monthly''.

Early life

Eleanor (sometimes, "Ellen") (nickname, "Nellie") Maria Easterbrook (sometimes, "Easterbrooks") was born in

Warren, Rhode Island Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2020 census. History Warren was the site of the Pokanoket Indian settlement of Sowams located on a peninsula within the Pokanoket region. The reg ...

, October 7, 1831. Her parents were George Easterbrooks and his wife, Elizabeth.

Career

By 1860, she was living in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. She wrote a number of books under the pen name "Eleanor Kirk" designed to assist young writers, and she published a magazine entitled ''Eleanor Kirk's Idea'', for the same purpose. Her works included ''Up Broadway, and its Sequel'' (New York, 1870), ''Periodicals that Pay Contributors'' (Brooklyn; privately printed), ''Information for Authors'' (Brooklyn, 1888); and as editor, ''Henry Ward Beecher as a Humorist'' (New York, 1887), ''The Beecher Book of Days'' (New York, 1886), and ''Perpetual Youth''. She was also a regular contributor to ''The Revolution'' and ''Packard's Monthly'', and was a member of

Woman's Press Club of New York City The Woman's Press Club of New York City (WPCNYC) was an American professional association for women journalists and authors. Located at 126 East 23rd Street, in Manhattan, the organization was founded by Jane Cunningham Croly in Manhattan in Novem ...

. In 1870, the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...

'' stated that she was "the most pronounced of the women’s rights women".

''Eleanor Kirk's Idea''

The promotion of ''Eleanor Kirk's Idea – from the Ideal to the Actual'' stated that "... the editor of this journal has worked out some perplexing problems. Because of this, she desires to show others the processes by which she did her sums. In other words, how to be happy instead of wretched, rich instead of poor, well and strong instead of sick and weak, good looking instead of haggard and ugly." The subscription price was per year, and single copies were available at $0.10 each. The publishing address was 696 Green Avenue, Brooklyn, New York.

Personal life

Before the age of 40, she had been widowed three times and had five children requiring her support. On November 18, 1849, at Warren, Rhode Island, she married Samuel Smith Child (1820–1850), and was widowed the following year. Their child, Samuell S. Child, was born in 1851. About 1852, in Rhode Island, she married Wilber Fisk Hubbell (1830–1854), and they had a son, Wilbur Fisk Hubbell (b. 1854), before she was widowed in 1854. On November 10, 1856, at Warren, Rhode Island, she married William G. Ames (1833–1871) and was widowed for the third time in 1871. Their children were: Edward Griffin Ames (1858–1898), Joseph Seymour Ames (1863–1889), and Mary E. Ames (1865–1933). Eleanor Kirk died June 20, 1908, at

Weekapaug, Rhode Island Weekapaug () is a census-designated place in southern Washington County, Rhode Island, part of the town of Westerly, Rhode Island. The population was 425 at the 2010 census. History "Weekapaug" is a Narragansett word meaning "at the end of the ...

Selected works

* n.d., ''Libra: an astrological romance'' * 1890, ''Periodicals that pay contributors, to which is added a list of publishing houses'' * 1894, ''The Influence of the Zodiac upon Human Life'' * 1895, ''Perpetual Youth'' * 1897, ''Where you are: talks with girls'' * 1901, ''The Christ of the Red Planet'' * 1887, ''Beecher as a Humorist: Selections from the published works of Henry Ward Beecher''

References

Attribution

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Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Eleanor 1831 births 1908 deaths 19th-century American businesswomen 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American women writers 19th-century publishers (people) 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American women writers 20th-century publishers (people) American astrologers American magazine publishers (people) American suffragists Pseudonymous women writers People from Warren, Rhode Island Women book publishers (people) Women magazine editors Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century