Fannie Eckstorm
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Fannie Pearson Hardy Eckstorm (1865–1946) was an American writer,
ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
and
folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...
. Her extensive personal knowledge of her native state of
Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
secured her place as one of the foremost authorities on the history, wildlife, cultures, and lore of the region.


Biography


Early life and education

Fannie Hardy Eckstorm was born Fannie Pearson Hardy in
Brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...
, Maine. Her father, Manly Hardy, was a fur trader, naturalist, and taxidermist. Her granduncle was painter Jeremiah Pearson Hardy. She attended
Bangor High School Bangor High School, a member of the Bangor School System, is a high school in Bangor, Maine, United States. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,500 students in grades 9–12. It is Bangor's only public high school. Since its 2001–2002 s ...
, then was sent in the winter of 1883 to
Abbot Academy Abbot Academy (also known as Abbot Female Seminary and AA) was an University-preparatory school, independent boarding preparatory school for women boarding and day care for students in grades 9–12 from 1828 to 1973. Located in Andover, Massac ...
, a college preparatory school in
Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...
. She went on to
Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...
and graduated in 1888, having founded the college chapter of the
National Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...
.


Career

From 1889 to 1891, Hardy served as the superintendent of schools in Brewer, becoming the first woman to hold such a position in Maine. In 1891 she wrote a series of articles examining Maine game laws for ''
Forest and Stream ''Forest and Stream'' was a magazine featuring hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities in the United States. The magazine was founded in August 1873 by Charles Hallock. When independent publication ceased, in 1930, it was the ninth oldes ...
'' magazine. Her times exploring the Machias Lakes Region of Maine with her father, are described in her essays from her journals. At the turn of the 20th century, Eckstrom's writing career began to gain momentum. She contributed to magazines such as ''Bird-Lore'', the immediate predecessor of ''The Audubon Magazine'', and the ''Auk'', before publishing her first two books, ''The Bird Book'' and ''The Woodpeckers''. Her next book, ''The Penobscot Man'', which was published in 1904, celebrates the lumbermen and river drivers that populated her childhood, and her 1907 book ''David Libbey: Penobscot Woodsman and River Driver'' creates an in-depth profile of one of those men. The following year Eckstorm founded Brewer's public library while continuing to publish articles and critiques, most notably a review of Thoreau's ''Maine Woods''. She also contributed to Louis C. Hatch's ''Maine A History'' (1919), published ''Minstrelsy of Maine'' (1927) with
Mary Winslow Smyth Mary Winslow Smyth (1873 – 1937) was an American folklorist and folksong collector of the early 20th century. Smyth was born in Bangor, Maine on March 26, 1873. Her father was a doctor and her grandfather a professor at Bowdoin College. She was g ...
, and worked on ''British Ballads from Maine'' (1929) with Smyth and
Phillips Barry Phillips Barry (July 18, 1880, Boston, Massachusetts''Harvard College Class of 1900: Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Report'' (Cambridge: University Press, 1925), p. 38. – August 29, 1937) was an American academic and collector of traditional ballads in ...
. Eckstorm also wrote prolifically on the language and culture of Maine's Native Americans.


Personal life

In 1893, Eckstorm married Reverend Jacob A. Eckstorm of Chicago, and in that same year they moved to Eastport, Maine. The couple had two children, and later moved to
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
, Rhode Island, where Jacob Eckstorm died in 1899. Following her husband's death, Eckstorm took her children and moved back to Brewer. She died on December 31, 1946, in Brewer.


Publications

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References


External links

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Phillips & Abbot Academies Notable Alumni 1800s

Fannie Hardy Eckstorm Collection, Maine Women Writers Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eckstorm, Fannie 1865 births 1946 deaths Smith College alumni American folklorists American women folklorists People from Brewer, Maine American ornithological writers Women ornithologists