Harriet Bates (July 30, 1856 – March 1886) was a 19th-century American author of poetry and novels.''Dictionary of Women Worldwide'' (2007)

Gale. Online version retrieved 17 July 2014 . Her pen name, Eleanor Putnam, had been the maiden name of her great-grandmother.

Early years and education

Harriet Leonora Vose was born at Quincy, Illinois, July 30, 1856. She was the eldest daughter of Prof. George L. Vose, author of a number of works on civil and railroad engineering. She went to live in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

in 1865, remaining for six years. The family then moved temporarily to the West, in search of health for the mother. In that time, she attended a

dame school Dame schools were small, privately run schools for young children that emerged in the British Isles and its colonies during the early modern period. These schools were taught by a “school dame,” a local woman who would educate children f ...

. Her literary pseudonym, "Eleanor Putnam," had been the maiden name of her great-grandmother. She began to write in her early youth, and previous to her marriage, had contributed numerous stories to American periodicals.

Career

On September 5, 1882, she married

Arlo Bates Arlo Bates (December 16, 1850 – August 25, 1918) was an American author, educator and newspaperman. Biography Arlo Bates was born at East Machias, Maine. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1876. In 1880 Bates became the editor of the Bosto ...

. With him, she wrote ''Prince Vance'' (published 1888). In 1885, she began to contribute to the '' Atlantic Monthly'' a series of sketches of life in

Salem, Illinois Salem is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,485 at the 2010 census. Geography Salem is located at (38.6282, -88.9482). According to the 2010 census, Salem has a total area of , of w ...

where much of her childhood had been passed and many of her ancestors had lived. These were interrupted by her death, but were collected and published in a volume edited by her husband. As pictures of life in an ancient New England town, they are unsurpassed for humor, clever character drawing, and delicacy of touch. She died at her home in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, in March, 1886. After her death, Arlo prepared for the press her sketches, "Old Salem" (1886), and a novel, ''A Woodland Wooing'' (1889). In her memory, he wrote "Sonnets in Shadow", which was dedicated to her. Her son was the archaeologist, Oric Bates (1883–1919).

Selected works

*
Bob's Breaking in
', 1880 *
Prince Vance: The Story of a Prince with a Court in His Box
', 1888 (with A. Bates) *
A Woodland Wooing
', 1889 *
Old Salem
', 1893

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Harriet 1856 births 1886 deaths American women poets 19th-century American women writers 19th-century American poets 19th-century American novelists American women novelists Pseudonymous women writers People from Quincy, Illinois Novelists from Illinois Burials at Harmony Grove Cemetery 19th-century pseudonymous writers