The Semi-Colon Club was an informal organization of talented writers in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

during the mid-19th century.

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...

was a member of the club while living in the city from 1832 until 1850. Stowe's experiences in Cincinnati and her time in the club were major factors in her work ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two Volume (bibliography), volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans ...

''. Stowe's uncles lived in Cincinnati and called on the family at their home often. One day, Harriet Beecher's uncle

Samuel Foote Samuel Foote (January 1720 – 21 October 1777) was a Cornish dramatist, actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. He was known for his comedic acting and writing, and for turning the loss of a leg in a riding accident in 1766 to comedic oppor ...

, who was a brother of Harriet Beecher's late mother, Roxanna Foote, invited Harriet and older sister Catherine Beecher to join his favorite club, The Semi-Colon Club. It was a

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

club, made up of some of the best minds in Cincinnati, including future

Chief Justice of the United States The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Appointments Clause, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution g ...

Salmon P. Chase Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States from 1864 to his death in 1873. Chase served as the 23rd governor of Ohio from 1856 to 1860, r ...

; Judge James Hall, who was editor of '' Western Monthly Magazine''; novelist Caroline Lee Hentz, and the couple

Calvin Ellis Stowe Calvin Ellis Stowe (April 6, 1802 – August 22, 1886) was an American Biblical scholar who helped spread public education in the United States. Over his career, he was a professor of languages and Biblical and sacred literature at Andover Theol ...

and Eliza Tyler Stowe

Other members included pioneering physicians Daniel Drake of Cincinnati, who founded the first medical school in the city, and

Elizabeth Blackwell Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 182131 May 1910) was an English-American physician, notable as the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the Un ...

, who later became the first American female physician and, owing to her English origins, the first practicing female physician in England.

Catherine Beecher Catharine Esther Beecher (September 6, 1800 – May 12, 1878) was an American educator known for her forthright opinions on female education as well as her vehement support of the many benefits of the incorporation of kindergarten into children's ...

, Harriet's sister, was an early advocate of education for girls, helping to found several schools and colleges for women. Notable about the Semi-Colon Club was the mixing of the sexes in literary activity and recitation. Stowe presented her early works to the entire group, even though the Victorian social standards of the day would have excluded her from speaking in public to a group that included men. Not until after the Civil War did Stowe embark on a speaking tour where she publicly spoke to audiences of men and women.

References

* Jackson, Phyllis Wynn. Victorian Cinderella: The Story of Harriet Beecher Stowe. New York: H. Wolff Book Manufacturing Company, 1947. (See especially pp. 170–175.) 19th century in Cincinnati Culture of Cincinnati Writing circles Beecher family {{lit-org-stub