Caroline Chesebro

Caroline Chesebro' (March 30, 1825 – February 16, 1873) was a 19th-century American writer of fiction, including short stories, juvenile literature, and novels. Born "Caroline Chesebrough", but known by her preferred spelling of "Caroline Chesebro'", she was the founder of ''The Packard Quarterly''.

Chesebro first became known as a writer in 1848, when she was engaged as a contributor to '' Graham's American Monthly Magazine''. Subsequently, she was connected as a sketch writer with many prominent monthly magazines and other periodicals. In 1851, she published a volume of short stories under the collective head of ''Dreamland by Daylight, a Panorama of Romance'', and a year later, she wrote her debut novel, '' Isa, a Pilgrimage'', followed by another novel, ''Victoria, or the World Overcome'', in 1856. Chesebro' also wrote ''The Beautiful Gate, and Other Tales'', and was an occasional contributor to some of the daily newspapers. In later years, her short stories were attractive to the readers of ''Harper's Magazine'' and ''The Atlantic'' monthlies and ''Appletons' Journal''. Writing for two decades, her publications steadily gaining favor with the public, improvement being perceptible in the later volumes.

Early life and education

Caroline Chesebrough was born at Canandaigua, New York, March 30, 1825. Her parents were Betsey Kimball and Nicoholas Goddard Chesebrough, hatter and postmaster. There were four older siblings and three that were younger. Her ancestors, Anne Stevenson and William Chesebrough, removed from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630), and were associated with the establishment of Braintree, Massachusetts, Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and Stonington, Connecticut.

Chesebro was educated at a female seminary in her local town.

Career

Chesebro remained in Canandaigua until 1835, when she was invited to a position in the Packer Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn. She had the charge of Composition in the higher departments of the institute, but lived with her brothers and sister at Piermont, New York on the Hudson River.

For many years, Chesebro' contributed prose and verse to periodicals. Between 1848 and 1851, her stories appeared in ''Graham's American Monthly Magazine'', ''Holden's Dollar Magazine'', ''The Knickerbocker'', '' Sartain's'', ''Peterson's Magazine'', and ''Godey's Lady's Book''. Twenty-four of her stories appeared in ''Dream-Land by Daylight, A Panorama of Romance'' (1851, J.S. Redfield). From 1851, her stories were published in ''Harper's Magazine'', as well as ''Appleton's'', ''Beadle's'', ''Continental'', ''Galaxy'', ''Lippincott's'', and ''Putnam's'', as well as, beginning in 1857, ''The Atlantic Monthly''.

Chesebro' wrote several books, among which are: ''Dream of Land by Day Light''; ''Peter Carvadine''; ''Isa, a Pilgrimage''; ''The Children of Light''; ''Getting Along''; ''Victoria''; and ''The Foe in the Household''. Puy (1896) described them as, "evincing descriptive and analytical powers of a high order".

Later years

After 1865, Chesebro' returned to teaching at Packer Collegiate Institute. She died at her home near Piermont, 16 February 1873. Her funeral took place at Canandaigus.

Critical reception

On March 11, 1852, Alice Cary, wrote to the ''Cincinnati Gazette'' regarding Chesebro's ''Isa'':—

Chesebro responded two months later in the ''Richmond Weekly Palladium'':—

Ripley's New-York Tribune review of Chesebro's ''The Foe in the Household'' is included in Hart's ''A Manual of American Literature: A Text-book for Schools and Colleges'' (1873):—

Awards

* 1855, Original prize story, entitled ''Rachel Prince'', , awarded by ''The Weekly Sun''

Selected works

* ''As to Duty''
* ''Captain Ben''
* ''Good-Will's Sexton''
* ''Five-Ten''
* ''Mr. Bronson's Fall Engagements''
* ''Philly and kit''
* ''The Drake Difficulty''
* ''The Feast of the Lord''
* ''The Rivals''
* ''The Scape-Goat''
* ''The warrior and the poet''
* ''Two Lives Discovered''
* ''Victoria : or, the world overcome.''
* ''Dream-land by daylight : a panorama of romance'', 1851
* ''Isa : a pilgrimage'', 1852
* ''The children of light : a theme for the time'', 1853
* ''The little cross-bearers'', 1854
* ''Getting along : a book of illustrations. : "Know thyself." : In two volumes. Vol. I II'', 1855
* ''Susan, the fisherman's daughter, or, Getting along : a book of illustrations'', 1855
* ''The beautiful gate : and other tales'', 1855
* ''Philly and Kit or, Life and raiment'', 1856
* ''Blessings in disguise : or, Pictures of some of Miss Haydon's girls'', 1863
* ''Peter Carradine or, The Martindale pastoral'', 1863
* ''Annointed, 1864.'', 1864
* ''The glen cabin, or, Away to the hills.'', 1865
* ''The fishermen of Gamp's Island ; or Ye are not your own.'', 1865
* ''Amy Carr, or, The fortune-teller'', 1868
* ''The foe in the household'', 1871
* ''The missionary's Christmas-box'', 1878
* ''The sparrow's fall, or, Under the willow : and other stories'', 1879
* ''The poacher's sons'', 1879

References

Attribution

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Bibliography

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chesebro, Caroline
1825 births
1873 deaths
19th-century American writers
19th-century American women writers
19th-century American short story writers
American women short story writers
American women children's writers
American children's writers
19th-century American novelists
American women novelists
People from Canandaigua, New York
American magazine founders
19th-century American businesspeople