Susan Anne Ridley Sedgwick

Susan Anne Ridley Sedgwick
Born	(1788-05-24)24 May 1788 Stockbridge, MA
Died	20 January 1867(1867-01-20) (aged 78) Stockbridge, MA
Resting place	The Sedgwick Pie
Nationality	American
Occupation	Author
Known for	Children's novels

Susan Anne Ridley Sedgwick (1788–1867) was a 19th-century American writer specializing in children's novels. She also painted a watercolor-on-ivory portrait of an ex-slave who came to work for her family.

Sedgwick was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, daughter of Matthew Ridley (1746–1789) and Catherine Livingston (1751–1813), his second wife.[1] Sedgwick's mother, Catherine Livingston, was the daughter of William Livingston, governor of New Jersey.[1] She married Theodore Sedgwick Jr., (1780–1839).[2] Her husband's father, Theodore Sedgwick (1746–1813), was a delegate to Continental Congress, a United States Representative, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, a United States Senator from Massachusetts, and a state supreme court judge.[3] As a lawyer, Sedgwick, Sr. represented Elizabeth ("Mumbet") Freeman, who had been a slave for forty years,[4] and won her freedom. Mumbet came to live as a servant in the Sedgwick household, and Susan Sedgwick painted her portrait (watercolor on ivory).[5]

Sedgwick's sister-in-law was Catharine Sedgwick (1789–1867), also a novelist. Before she married Catharine's brother, Susan was Catharine's schoolmate.[6]

Sedgwick was one of the 139 people buried in the large circular family burial plot in Stockbridge, Massachusetts known as the Sedgwick Pie.

Works

• Sedgwick, Susan Anne Livingston Ridley (1829). The Morals of Pleasure. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, & Carey. ISBN 9781446032749.
• Sedgwick, Susan Anne Livingston Ridley (1830). The Children's Week. Boston: Carter and Hendee.
• Sedgwick, Susan Anne Livingston Ridley (1830). The Young Emigrants: A Tale Designed for Young Persons. Boston: Carter and Hendee.
• Sedgwick, Susan Anne Livingston Ridley (1834). Allen Prescott; or, The Fortunes of a New England Boy. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers.
• Sedgwick, Susan Anne Livingston Ridley (1859). Walter Thornley, or A Peep at the Past. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers.

References

1. "Matthew Ridley Papers 1717–1812". Library Collection Guides. The Massachusetts Historical Society. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
2. Brown, John Howard, ed. (1903). Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States. Boston: Federal Book Company of Boston.
3. Baynes, Thomas Spencer, ed. (1889). Supplement to Encyclopædia Britannica 9th Edition A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature. New York: J. M. Stottar. p. 463.
4. "Elizabeth Freeman ("Mumbet")". African Americans and the End of Slavery in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Historical Society. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
5. "(Portrait of) Elizabeth Freeman ("Mumbet")". African Americans and the End of Slavery in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Historical Society. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
6. Lucinda L. Damon-Bach; Victoria Clements (2003). Catharine Maria Sedgwick: critical perspectives. Northeastern University Press. p. xxvi. ISBN 1-55553-548-8.

External links

• Works by Susan Anne Ridley Sedgwick at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Susan Anne Ridley Sedgwick at the Internet Archive
• Sedgwick Family Papers