Emma May Buckingham
American writer and educator
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Emma May Buckingham (November 17, 1836 – November 8, 1919) was an American writer and educator.
Emma May Buckingham | |
|---|---|
Buckingham in a 1907 publication | |
| Born | November 17, 1836 |
| Died | November 8, 1919 (aged 82) Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer, educator |
| Alma mater | Wyoming Seminary |
| Genre | Novels, poetry, short stories |
| Notable works |
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Early life
Emma May (or in some sources, Mary Emma) Buckingham was born into the large farming family of Ambrose Whittlesey Buckingham and Mahala Kellee Buckingham, in Paupack Township, Pennsylvania.[1] She trained as a teacher at Wyoming Seminary, near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.[2]
Career
Buckingham taught school in Scranton, Hazleton, and Honesdale, Pennsylvania, and was principal at a school in Westbrook, Connecticut.[2] Poor health disrupted her employment; "'over-much study' prostrated a delicate organism, and failing health induced her to resign her place," according to one account.[1] She wrote articles for teachers' journals, including "Aesthetic Culture", "Music in Taste-Culture", and "Eye and Hand Culture", all in Pennsylvania School Journal.[3][4][5]
Buckingham is known for her first book, A Self-Made Woman: or, Mary Idyl’s Trials and Triumphs (1873), a novel in which the main character is a "sickly" woman writer, nurse, and teacher, who is disowned by her father for pursuing an education and a career.[6] The novel was a success through at least three editions.[7] Further published works by Buckingham included Pearl: A Centennial Poem (1877),[8] The Silver Chalice, and Other Poems (1878), Parson Thorne's Trial, a Novel (1880),[9] Modern Ghost Stories (1906),[10] and His Second Love (1907).[11][12]
Personal life
Buckingham lived in Honesdale and Hamlin, Wayne County, Pennsylvania as an adult, caring for her mother until her mother died in 1904. She was a member of the Honesdale Presbyterian Church, and active in the local chapter of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), and other temperance events.[13] The women of Hamlin gave a surprise party for Buckingham's birthday in 1913.[14] She died at the "Home for the Friendless" in Scranton in 1919, a few days before her 83rd birthday.[2][15]
