pen name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
, Mrs. Nathaniel Conklin; April 14, 1841 – April 28, 1900) was a 19th-century American author and social activist. While still in her teens, she became known for her stories for children. She wrote books for girls as well as for the religious press. Conklin was the originator of the organization known as the Shut-in Society, which was a bureau of correspondence for disabled women and girls.
Early life and education
Jennie Maria Drinkwater was born in
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...
, April 14, 1841. Her father was Levi Drinkwater, a retired sea captain. She was educated in the public schools there and at the Institution for Young Ladies on
Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, an ...
, also known as the Greenleaf Female Institute.
Career
Drinkwater began writing as a child, and was a constant contributor to leading papers. Always fond of reading, at the age of 12, she became inspired with the thought of writing a book herself. At odd moments, she made her first attempt at story-writing, story-telling she had begun before, gathering about her the younger children to listen to the adventures of some small heroine. Her earliest recollection of books were the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
and ''
The Pilgrim's Progress
''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a progenitor of ...
''. Later, she looked back and saw how the thread of those early influences wove her stories. Having had from her earliest reading an absorbing interest in biography, one of her first inspirations in bookmaking was the thought of biography—to write lives of people as she found them, using their weaknesses, hardships, evil or noble conduct to point truth to others. For this reason, Conklin's stories always possessed a moral as well as an absorbing interest.
In 1874, when she was disabled, she became interested in girls and women shut in from the outside world, and the thought of a society for mutual comfort occurred to her. She sought other disabled women in similar circumstances, and wrote an account of her Shut-In Society. By 1896, the Shut-In Society had more than 2,000 members, with members in every state, and in many other parts of the world. It was an organized society, with an advisory board, and it published monthly a magazine call the ''Open Window''. Her book, ''Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline'', gives a sketch of its earliest members.
Under her maiden name, she wrote a number of books, among the better known being ''Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline'', ''Bek's First Corner'', ''Marigold'', ''Dolly French's Household'', ''Miss Prudence'', and ''Fifteen''. Other popular books included ''Other Folk'', ''Rue's Helps'', ''The Story of Hannah'', ''Isabel's Between Times'', ''Rizpah's Heritage'', ''From Flax to Linen'', ''Three Women'', ''Three and Twenty'', ''Paul French's Way'', ''Electa'', ''Uncle Justice Seth's Will'', ''The Fairfax Girls'', ''Second Best'', ''Set Free'', ''Fourfold'', ''Marigold'', ''Other Folk'', ''Miss Prudence Cromwell'', ''The Story of Hannah'', ''Looking Seaward'', ''Dorothy's Islands'', ''Goldenrod Farm'', ''Shar Burbank''. Her books were financially successful; several editions of 30,000 each were sold. Her books were classified as "Sunday-school Juveniles" for the young, but more especially for girls.
Personal life
She married Rev. Nathaniel Conklin, March 17, 1880. He was for many years pastor of the Presbyterian Church of
New Vernon, New Jersey
New Vernon is an unincorporated community located within Harding Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. The community is within the boundaries of Harding Township along with a portion of Green Village. It is the location of the ...
. He died in 1892. Since her husband's death, she resided in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. Interment was made in Hillside Cemetery.