Caroline Lee Hentz
| Caroline Lee Whiting | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | June 1, 1800 Lancaster, Massachusetts |
| Died | February 11, 1856 (aged 55) Marianna, Florida |
| Nationality | US |
| Occupation | Educator, novelist, writer (sentimental fiction) |
| Notable work | De Lara; or, The Moorish Bride |
| Children | Marcellus Fabius (1825–1827) Charles Arnould (1827–1894) Julia Louisa (1829–1877) Thaddeus William Harris(1830–1878) Caroline Therese (1833–1904) |
Caroline Lee Whiting Hentz (June 1, 1800, Lancaster, Massachusetts – February 11, 1856, Marianna, Florida) was an American novelist and author, most noted for her opposition to the abolitionist movement and her widely read The Planter's Northern Bride, a rebuttal to Harriet Beecher Stowe's popular anti-slavery book, Uncle Tom's Cabin. She was a major literary figure in her day, and helped advance women's fiction.
Caroline Hentz was born June 1, 1800, Caroline Lee Whiting to Colonel John and Oprah Whiting on June 1, 1800 in Lancaster, Massachusetts. The youngest of eight children, Caroline was raised in a very patriotic family. Her father was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and three of her brothers fought in the War of 1812. As a child, she attended a private school run by Jared Sparks. By the time she was twelve, she had already composed a fantasy about the Far East as well as a play. At seventeen she was teaching at a local Lancaster school. On September 30, 1824, Caroline married Nicholas Marcellus Hentz. Shortly after, the couple moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina with their first child. She is described as being “a northerner who traveled and worked throughout the South for nearly thirty years.” She lived in seven different states in her lifetime, bore her husband five children, and managed to support her family financially with her writing.
Being the youngest of eight, Caroline watched as “three of her brothers became officers and served in the War of 1812.” Their letters home and “tales of patriotic adventure” were great inspiration to Caroline. As a young girl, Caroline was “popular with her companions, playing games, taking woodland walks, and studying nature.”
On September 30, 1824, Caroline married Nicholas Marcellus Hentz, “a political refugee from Metz [and] son of a member of the French National Convention.” The couple originally lived near Round Hill School in Northampton, Massachusetts, where Nicholas was an instructor. In 1826, the couple moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where Nicholas became the chair of modern languages. During this period, Mrs. Hentz aided in helping an enslaved man and poet named George Moses Horton learn how to write. The couple left shortly after for Covington, Kentucky, where Nicholas later found a girls’ school in 1830. From their new home in Covington, Caroline wrote the prize-winning tragedy De Lara; or, The Moorish Bride for William Pelby. Although he offered her a $500 prize, he was unable to pay and gave Hentz back the copyright. In 1832, the couple opened a girls’ school in Cincinnati. While there, Caroline joined the Semi-Colon Club which is probably where her acquaintance with Harriet Beecher Stowe began.
...
Wikipedia