Laura C. (Laura Carter) Holloway

Born in Nashville, Laura Carter Holloway built an unusually public literary life in the years after the Civil War. The Tennessee Encyclopedia describes her as an author, journalist, and lecturer who later worked in New York, where she developed a long career in publishing and public speaking.

Her breakthrough came with Ladies of the White House; or, In the Home of the Presidents in 1870, a book that reportedly sold widely and made her financially independent. She also served as an associate editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle for many years, gave readings and lectures, and published books on figures such as Charlotte Brontë as well as practical domestic subjects.

Holloway was connected to major debates of her day. She spoke about the barriers facing women, supported temperance, and was associated with suffrage circles, even while holding some views that seem complicated and contradictory now. Some sources list her birth year as 1848, but the Tennessee Encyclopedia notes that census records support 1843 instead.