Frances Miriam Berry Whitcher (1 November 1811–4 January 1852) was an American humorist, born in Whitestown, New York.

Frances Miriam Berry was born November 1, 1811, in Whitestown, Oneida County, New York.

Her humorous creation, the comic fool the Widow Bedott (1856), made her a celebrity, and sold 100,000 copies during the decade following its publication.

[1][2] Whitcher used her characters to satirize gentility, including issues such as fashion, social status, courtship, and hypocrisy.

Benjamin Williams Whitcher, and in the Spring of that year moved with her new husband to Elmira, New York, where he became the Rector of Trinity Church in April 1847.