author

Sarah A. Finley Wrigley

Best known for preserving family and regional history, this Indiana writer helped keep alive one of the earliest stories behind the word "Hoosier." She also spent decades as a librarian in Richmond, giving her work a strong sense of place and memory.

1 Audiobook

The Word Hoosier; John Finley Indiana Historical Society Publications, Volume IV, Number 2

The Word Hoosier; John Finley Indiana Historical Society Publications, Volume IV, Number 2

by Jacob Piatt Dunn, Sarah A. Finley Wrigley

About the author

Sarah A. Finley Wrigley was an Indiana writer and librarian, remembered today chiefly for The Word Hoosier; John Finley, a work connected to the history of the term "Hoosier" and to the writing of her father, John Finley. Project Gutenberg lists her as an author of that work, and local Richmond history sources identify her as John Finley's daughter.

Local historical records from the Morrisson-Reeves Library describe her as the first librarian of the Morrisson Library in Richmond, Indiana, serving from 1864 to 1903. Those same sources note that her long career at the library made her an important part of Richmond's cultural life.

Available records suggest she lived from 1830 to about 1920. Because online biographical information about her is fairly limited, most surviving details focus on her family ties, her library work, and her role in preserving Indiana history rather than on a large standalone body of books.