Mary French Sheldon (10 May 1847 – 10 February 1936), as author May French Sheldon, was an American author and explorer.

Early years and education

Mary French was born May 10, 1847, at

Bridgewater, Pennsylvania Bridgewater is a borough in central Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, at the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio rivers. The population was 744 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The borough is best known ...

. Her father was Joseph French, a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

, and her mother Elizabeth J. French (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Poorman), a spiritualist who later practiced "galvanic medicine" in Boston, as did her sister, Dr. Belle French Patterson. She was educated in the United States and overseas, studying art and developing into an author and ethnologist.

Career

In 1876, she married an American, Eli Lemon Sheldon (1848-1892), a banker and author, and they moved to London where they established publishing firms. Sheldon is noted as a translator of Flaubert's '' Salammbô'', and was the author of papers and essays. As a writer, Sheldon wrote a number of novels, short stories, and essays. She acquired fame for an expedition. In 1891, inspired by the activities of

Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Africa Cen ...

, who was a family friend, she left London for Africa. Her travels were sponsored by Sir Alfred Jones, who had been directed by King Leopold of Belgium to find a way to dampen British criticism of human rights abuses in the Congo. While in the Congo, she traveled on steamboats owned by the state and its company allies, who controlled where she went and what she saw. When she returned to England, Jones helped place her articles in newspapers. She stated "I have witnessed more atrocities in London streets than I have ever seen in the Congo." She gave a presentation/slide show for an audience of five hundred at the Savoy Hotel in London, with expenses paid by King Leopold. Thereafter, the king paid her a monthly salary to lobby members of Parliament. She obtained assistance from African peoples as she explored around

Lake Chala Lake Chala, also known as Lake Challa, is a crater lake that straddles the border between Kenya and Tanzania. The lake formed approximately 250,000 years ago. The lake is east of Mount Kilimanjaro, north of Taveta, Kenya, and east of Rombo Dis ...

. Her journey from Mombassa to

Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...

caused a sensation because she was not accompanied by a white companion (although she was hardly unaccompanied - she had 150 Zanzibari porters and guides). She returned with ethnographic materials, wrote on her experience, and undertook a lecture tour. French Sheldon received multiple awards for her exhibition at the World's Columbian Exposition, and was appointed membership in societies such as the Writer's Club and the Anthropological Society of Washington. She was made a fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, among the first fifteen women to receive this honour, in November 1892. She died in London on 10 February 1936, with a funeral at Golders Green Crematorium.

References

Sources

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External links

African Women Bibliographic Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, May French 1847 births 1936 deaths 19th-century American novelists 19th-century American women writers 19th-century American translators American expatriates in the United Kingdom American explorers American women novelists Explorers of Africa Female explorers Novelists from Pennsylvania People from Beaver County, Pennsylvania