Table of Contents
Site home
Front page
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 2a
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8a
Chapter 8b
Chapter 8c
Chapter 8d
Chapter 8e
Chapter 8f
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17

References and Resources

 

 

Sarah Josepha Hale, Editor of Godey's Lady's Book,
and the "Mother of the American Thanksgiving"

Chapter 7

 

Sarah Josepha Hale, (1788-1879), was born on East Mountain, near Newport, New Hampshire. She was “home-schooled” by her mother, and later tutored by her brother, Horatio, who was a student at Dartmouth College, at the time. For a time, Hale is reported to have traveled to nearby Guild, New Hampshire where she taught school.

Her father, Captain Gordon Buell who served in the American Revolutionary War, had owned a farm for a time, and then decided to purchase an inn in the town of Newport in 1811. When Sarah met David Hale at the Rising Sun Inn, it was “love at first sight.” They married in 1813, and David established a law practice in Newport.

Their union was short-lived. David was caught in a snowstorm on his way home one day, and as a result, he suffered a sudden, fatal bout of pneumonia, David Hale died in 1822, leaving Sarah with four children, under the age of eight, and another that was born two months after his death. The family had been comfortable, if not affluent, but now Sarah wondered how she could maintain herself financially, and care for her children.

When offered the position of editor for Ladies' Magazine, in Boston, the opportunity was welcomed. From 1827-1836, Hale laid the groundwork for a publishing career through which she would become one of the most influential women of the nineteenth century. Hale's vision was that of promoting the emergence of women in America.

A New Chapter in Her Life

Hale attracted the attention of Philadelphia publisher, Louis Godey. In 1837, he hired her to become the editor of Godey's Lady's Book. “The Book,” as he referred to the magazine, was published from 1830-1898, although Godey sold the enterprise in 1877, the same year that Hale retired. During her forty years as editor, Hale contributed her own poems and columns, shaping the journal into one of great prominence. Encouraged by Hale's column of 1858, President Lincoln declared in 1863 that the last Thursday of November would be, henceforth, a national day of Thanksgiving. For this successful effort, Sarah Josepha Hale is called the “Mother of the American Thanksgiving.”

The pages of Godey's Lady's Book, provided a venue for previously unpublished works of poets and writers such Edgar Allen Poe, Elizabeth Oakes Smith, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, all of whom would gain national renown. Magazine sections such as Gardening, Recipes, and Sewing Projects, would carry forth into modern publications.

Hale wrote poetry for children, including her most famous one, “Mary's Lamb.” One poem that she wrote for adults, “Our Granite Hills,”¹ seems wistful and reminiscent of her youthful time spent in the “Granite State” of New Hampshire. In part, it says:

Our Granite hills are altar all,
To lift our hopes to heaven.²

In the nineteenth century, “hopes” were high, indeed, if fashions of the day were any indication. The above image is an example of the type of fashions shown in Godey's Lady's Book, 1865.
Collection of Patricia Cummings.

Pages Removed from Godey's Lady's Book

Many copies of Godey's Lady's Book are devoid of their interior color plates. Such is the case with a copy of an 1888 magazine in my collection. Often, the fashion colorplates are sold as framed art work in antiques shops. Some dealers discard the rest of the book, not realizing that some people would be interested in the literary content and other features of the old magazines. Black and white drawings of dresses and accessories of the day would appear on other interior pages. These can be just as interesting, as you can readily see from the few examples that are shared below.

   

The two images above are scans of fashionable items from Godey's Lady's Book, 1888.
Collection of Patricia Cummings.

Godey's Lady's Book Fashions are still having an influence on the distribution of art needlework patterns today. Recently, an online seller offered a set of vintage transfer patterns that she has re-created. The designs utilize the traced outlines of ladies in dresses from an 1861 copies of the journal.

Fashions Abroad Considered

In that same 1888 magazine, a column entitled, “Foreign Gossip,” provides accounts of dresses worn by famous women. One paragraph opens with, “The dress worn by Mrs. Vanderbilt, on the occasion of her presentation at court, is well worthy of description...” Yes, fashions were an important topic of the day. No blue jeans for that crowd!

The Godey's Lady's Book of January 1850 reveals an article about the early dress of Germans. The column had focused on the early dress of France in the previous issue, so this appears to have been an ongoing feature under the title of “Costumes of All Nations.”³ This interest in national costume is a trend that will continue into the twentieth century, as seen in the illustrations of children by Bess Bruce Cleaveland.

“Fancy Bag for Duster” Pattern

In the 1888 Godey's Lady's Book, there are project instructions for making a “Fancy Bag for Duster.” This design is offered as a full-size, fold-out pattern. Mabel Ware, the pattern's designer, suggests that linen, sateen, satin, plush, or damask be used to make the (8 1/4” wide x 9 3/4”) bag. The choice of cloth would depend on where in the home the finished item would be placed. If the fabric chosen was plain, then it should be “etched,”⁴ but if a print material were selected, then the piece need not be embroidered at all.

Ware provides further instruction:

The upper part of bag is cut larger than the under, and folded near the edges upon the sides, to that when the flap is raised there will be room for the duster inside. The design is etched in silk of any color fancy dictates. It is bound around the edge with a narrow braid of the same color, and finished with small ribbon bows.

The full size pattern is available by clicking the picture below. The word,
“Duster” in the bamboo-like lettering also appears in the Cunning's catalog, 1890.

The word “Duster” resembles Bamboo branches. This decorative item, in a slightly larger version, kept a dust rag handy. Satin, plush, sateen or damask are recommended for fabric choices in making the bag that is originally 8 1/4” x 9 3/4”.

Editor's Note: Excerpts and images from the issues Godey's Lady's Book, 1850, are available online: http://www.history.rochester.edu/godeys/

See our additional file about Sarah Josepha Buell Hale

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1 The White Mountains are located in the “Granite State,” a nickname for New Hampshire.