Sarah Josepha Buell Hale

author

Sarah Josepha Buell Hale

1788–1879

A pioneering editor and writer, she helped shape 19th-century American culture through books, magazines, and one of the best-known nursery rhymes in English. She is also remembered for her long campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday in the United States.

1 Audiobook

Mrs. Hale's Receipts for the Million

Mrs. Hale's Receipts for the Million

by Sarah Josepha Buell Hale

About the author

Born in New Hampshire in 1788, Sarah Josepha Buell Hale became one of the most influential literary women in the United States. She wrote poems, novels, and essays, and she is widely associated with the nursery rhyme later known as "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

Hale is best known for her work as an editor. She led one of the most important women’s magazines of the 19th century, using it to promote literature, education for women, and charitable causes. Her voice reached a large national audience at a time when few women held such public influence.

She is also remembered for her years of advocacy for a national Thanksgiving observance. That effort helped build support for the holiday’s official national recognition during the Civil War era. Hale died in 1879, leaving behind a major legacy in American publishing and cultural life.