She had a literary reputation in the East before her removal to California where she served as president of the Pacific Coast Women's Press Association in San Francisco.

[1][2][3] Esther (nickname, "Hester") A. Baldwin was born in Streetsboro, Portage County, Ohio, October 2, 1838.

[5] On May 30, 1877, in Sacramento, California, she married Col. Peter Tracy Dickinson,[6][4] manager of the American Pipe Company of San Francisco.

On June 1, news of their arrival in San Francisco via an overland train included mention that Mrs. Dickinson's nom de plume was "Hester, a Benedict".

There, Col. Dickinson made a close study of the commercial affairs of Japan,[8] while Benedict served as a correspondent from for the New York Mail.

[11] She was a founder of the California Writers Club, and for several terms, served on the board of directors and later, was elected to an honorary vice-presidency.

[6][13] Her ashes were consigned to the waters of the Golden Gate at a ceremony conducted October 24, 1926, by the California Writers Club in accordance with her will.