Sarah Jane Lippincott
The Legendary “Grace Greenwood”

 

Sarah Jane Lippincott was a nineteenth century journalist, author, and philanthropist who is better known by her pen name of “Grace Greenwood”. In fact, she chose the name because she thought it better fit her tastes and talents.
Sarah was born in Pompey, New York as Sarah Jane Clarke. As a child she loved nature and found much delight in the romping around in the fields and forests of her little town. She was quite athletic and daring. In fact, she outdid many of the boys of her town in daring deeds. Another great love of hers was to ride horses. And in this she preferred to ride bareback.
As a young girl Sarah attended school in Rochester, N.Y., and while she was a good student, she cared little for mathematics and the sciences. She could, however, write verses and sketches with so much skill that publishers sought to publish her work before she was even fourteen years old. They thought her writings fresh and racy.
Sarah had her own style of writing. No one could be like her and she could not be like anyone else. She was simply and intensely herself. Sarah wrote several titles under her pseudonym, including “Greenwood Leaves”, “History of My Pets”, “Poems”, “Recollections of My Childhood”, “Haps and Mishaps of a Tour in Europe”, “Forest Tragedy and Other Tales”, “Stories of Many Lands”, “History for Children”, and “Victoria, Queen of England”. Her book on Queen Victoria was published simultaneously in London and New York. She also wrote for several periodicals either as a contributor or an editor and delivered many notable lectures and speeches.
In 1853, when Sarah was thirty years old, she married Leander K. Lippincott of Philadelphia. During the Civil War, Sarah took up the cause of the sick and injured soldiers. She rendered excellent service on their behalf by lecturing for the fairs of the Sanitary Commission, which were instituted by Mary A. Livermore to raise funds to meet the needs of the soldiers. Sarah also lectured to the soldiers in camp, and President Lincoln dubbed her “Grace Greenwood, the patriot”.
Patricia Chadwick is the creator of History’s Women found at

www.historyswomen.com. She is also author of the book

“History’s Women – The Unsung Heroines” available in print and

ebook formats at www.historyswomen.com