Not so long ago, women in America weren’t allowed to attend college and couldn’t lead a public meeting. In the past, when women in America got divorced, custody of their children was always awarded to the ex-husband.  In my book A Distant Call: The Fateful Choices of Hattie Sheldon, several groundbreaking women led the charge against such unjust limitations and became Hattie’s role models. Their achievements deserve recognition during Women’s History Month because they paved the way to a better tomorrow for you and me.

Lucretia Mott, a teacher raised with Quaker values, promoted women’s rights because male teachers were paid three times her salary.  An anti-slavery crusader, she also refused to use any products produced through slave labor. Abolition work introduced her to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, with whom she planned the Seneca Falls women’s rights convention in 1848.  The first public meeting of its kind in America, it addressed women’s lack of property rights and job options.

When Hattie Sheldon – who was my great, great grandmother – graduated from Utica Female Academy, she was given an autographed copy of the anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Driven to write and expose the truth about slavery, Stowe’s graphic and compelling words made her an international celebrity.  Her book was a masterpiece that’s credited even today – over 160 years later – as iconic in its influence on American history.

Catherine Beecher, an older sister of Harriet Beecher Stowe, was an education pioneer who founded a prominent school called Hartford Female Seminary.  She urged young women to tackle academics instead of just the arts.  In my book, Beecher’s school is featured when Hattie’s beloved friend, Margaret, moved with her family from Utica, NY to Hartford, CT. 

I want to thank these role models. Their hard-fought battles in America brought improvements during Hattie’s era and paved the way for advances during my life, as well.  Now let’s tackle the needs of oppressed women throughout the world.