[1][2][3] Born in Newburyport in 1834, she attended the Putnam Free School, and was part of a small writing group under Thomas Wentworth Higginson, along with Jane Andrews and Harriet Prescott Spofford.

[4] Her husband's business "suffered a reversal in fortune", which led her to create a small primary school in her home for extra income.

This led to fame in educational circles, and ultimately to a string of books[6] and speaking engagements.

She was appointed to the Board of Supervisors of the Boston Public Schools, and paced by Governor William E. Russell on a commission to investigate the use of manual training in Europe.

Her work on that commission was noted by contemporaries as being singular in nature.