Wilburn's 1860 novel, Cosella Wayne: Or, Will and Destiny is considered to be the first novel to depict an American Jewish coming-of-age story.
Her father, Moritz Pulfermacher, was an abusive alcoholic con-man who adopted a number of identifies.
This led Wilburn, her father, and step-mother to live in a number of countries including Germany, India, Australia, and Venezuela.
It is believed that her father used the Jackson surname during one of a number of attempts to hid his true identity.
She was outspoken against slavery, the treatment of Native Americans, and poverty, and was passionate about women's rights.
It is believed to be based on a diary she began writing while living in La Guaira, Venezuela with her father.
The Jewish Women's Congress commissioned her most famous poem, "Israel to the World in Greeting", in 1893.
The novel predates Nathan Meyer's 1867 American Jewish novel, Differences, which was previously believed to be the first of its kind.