Ruth Gregson Huntington Sessions (November 3, 1859 – December 2, 1946) was an American writer, known for her 1936 memoir, ''Sixty Odd: A Personal History''.

Early life

Ruth Gregson Huntington was born in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most ...

, the daughter of

Frederic Dan Huntington Frederic (or Frederick) Dan Huntington (May 28, 1819, Hadley, Massachusetts – July 11, 1904, Hadley, Massachusetts) was an American clergyman and the first Protestant Episcopal bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York. Early life, ed ...

and Hannah Dane Sargent Huntington. Her father was an

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

clergyman at the Emmanuel Church in Boston."Frederic Dan Huntington, Emmanuel Church's First Rector"
pamphlet published by Emmanuel Church in the City of Boston. When she was nine years old, her father became a bishop, and she moved to Syracuse, New York. At age 16, Huntington attended the Third Congress of the Association for the Advancement of Women, which was held in Syracuse, New York. She met

Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known as the author of the novel '' Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels '' Little Men'' (1871) and '' Jo's Boys'' (1886). Raised ...

Maria Mitchell Maria Mitchell ( /məˈraɪə/; August 1, 1818 – June 28, 1889) was an American astronomer, librarian, naturalist, and educator. In 1847, she discovered a comet named 1847 VI (modern designation C/1847 T1) that was later known as "Miss Mit ...

, Elizabeth Cady Stanton,

Catherine Beecher Catharine Esther Beecher (September 6, 1800 – May 12, 1878) was an American educator known for her forthright opinions on female education as well as her vehement support of the many benefits of the incorporation of kindergarten into children's ...

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the " Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 pacifist Mother's Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism ...

, and

Mary A. Livermore Mary Livermore (born Mary Ashton Rice; December 19, 1820May 23, 1905) was an American journalist, abolitionist, and advocate of women's rights. Her printed volumes included: ''Thirty Years Too Late,'' first published in 1847 as a prize temperance ...

at the event. As a young woman she studied piano in Germany with

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

. Her great-grandmother was diarist

Elizabeth Porter Phelps Elizabeth Porter Phelps (1747–1817) was a member of the eighteenth-century rural gentry in western Massachusetts; she is also recognized as an important diarist from late 18th century and early 19th century in Hadley, Massachusetts (USA). ...

Career

Sessions was one of the founding members of the Consumers' League, and president of the Consumers' League of Brooklyn, lecturing and organizing for improved labor conditions and against child labor. She was founder of the Children's Home Association in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, Massachusetts. She wrote poems, short stories, and essays. She was active in the Girls' Friendly Society of America, and literary editor of the ''Girls' Friendly Magazine''. She supervised student housing at

Smith College Smith College is a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith and opened in 1875. It is the largest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite women's c ...

, where her home is now a campus building known as Sessions House. In 1936, she published her memoir, ''Sixty Odd: A Personal History.''

Personal life

Ruth Huntington married her second cousin, lawyer Archibald Lowery Sessions, in 1887. They had four children, including composer

Roger Sessions Roger Huntington Sessions (December 28, 1896March 16, 1985) was an American composer, teacher and musicologist. He had initially started his career writing in a neoclassical style, but gradually moved further towards more complex harmonies and ...

. One daughter died in infancy in 1891. Ruth Huntington Sessions died in 1946, aged 87 years, at her daughter's home in Syracuse. Her papers and other effects are in the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Family Papers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and at the

Porter–Phelps–Huntington House The Porter–Phelps–Huntington House, known historically as Forty Acres, is a historic house museum at 130 River Drive in Hadley, Massachusetts. It is open seasonally, from May to October. The house contains the collection of one extended fa ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sessions, Ruth Huntington 1859 births 1946 deaths Writers from Cambridge, Massachusetts Smith College people American women writers American pianists