Betsey Guppy Chamberlain (1797–1886) was a textile mill worker who wrote sketches and poetry that were published in The Lowell Offering.
[13] Despite the legal success, she was still in financial trouble, and was forced to sell their small farm in Brookfield and travel to work in the mills, which paid decent wages for the time (considering the generally poor wages paid to women at the time), although the hours were long and working conditions often difficult.
[15] According to Harriet Hanson Robinson, who worked with Guppy in the mills, "Mrs. Chamberlain was a widow, and came to Lowell with three children from some 'community' (probably the Shakers), where she had not been contented.
She had long, straight black hair, and walked very erect, with great freedom of movement.
[19] Betsey joined Charles on his farm in Wayne Station, DuPage County, Illinois.
[21] The satirical A Fire-Side Scene is highly critical of the way the government was treating native people, implying that their actions were far from following Christian morality.
Her writings were characterized, as Mr. Thomas says, 'by humorous incidents and sound common sense,' and is shown by her setting forth of certain utopian schemes of right living.