Julia Ward Howe c. 1865 |
Julia Ward was born on May 27, 1819, in New York City to Samuel Ward, a well-to-do banker, and his wife Julia Cutler Ward. Mrs. Ward died of tuberculosis when Julia was five, and the children were raised by an aunt, Eliza Cutler. In 1843, when she was 23, Julia married 42-year-old Bostonian Samuel Gridley Howe, a fervent supporter of the abolitionist cause but not of women leading active public lives. The marriage was not a happy one, and although Julia considered divorce, she ultimately chose to stay the course.
After the War, Mrs. Howe was active in the women's suffrage movement. In 1868, she founded the New England Women's Club and was one of the founders of the the New England Women's Suffrage Association. She continued her writing, although nothing she produced ever achieved the popularity of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," and was much in demand as a lecturer. She died October 17, 1910, at the age of 91.
"Battle Hymn of the Republic" || "Robert E. Lee"