[2] Alongside her mother, she is credited with encouraging her brother John Greenleaf Whittier's interests in literature and poetry, and was his close companion and collaborator until her death.

[7] It was noted that her "vivacity and... readiness of speech" complemented her brother's greater reserve,[6] and that it was she who "led the brilliant conversations that made the Whittier home a centre for the great writers of that period.

[6] On moving to a home in Amesbury, Whittier quickly became president of the Women’s Anti-Slavery Society there,[6] and her diaries suggest that she actively aided the escape of enslaved people to Canada.

[10] In an introductory note, he wrote:I have ventured, in compliance with the desire of dear friends of my beloved sister Elizabeth H. Whittier, to add to this little volume the few poetical pieces which she left behind her.

As she was very distrustful of her own powers, and altogether without ambition for literary distinction, she shunned everything like publicity, and found far greater happiness in generous appreciation of the gifts of her friends than in the cultivation of her own.