author
Josephine Pittman Scribner
A writer, public reader, and early suffrage activist, she brought a lively, humane touch to history for young readers. Her best-known surviving work revisits the Pilgrims' first Christmas with warmth and a strong sense of character.
1 Audiobook
The Pilgrims' First Christmas
by Josephine Pittman Scribner
About the author
Born in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1868, Josephine Pittman Scribner studied at Indiana University and later worked as a teacher of elocution and physical culture. She was also known as a professional reader, a role that fit her interest in clear, expressive storytelling.
Beyond her literary work, she was involved in civic life and served on the board of directors of the Woman's Franchise League of Indiana, linking her name to the state suffrage movement in the early 20th century. She spent later years in California and died in Sacramento in 1941.
Scribner is remembered today mainly for The Pilgrims' First Christmas, a short historical work published in the 1910s and preserved through public-domain archives. Even in that small surviving body of work, her writing shows a gift for making the past feel immediate and approachable.