Estelle M. H. Merrill (née, Hatch; pen name, Jean Kincaid; September 30, 1858 – July 29, 1908) was an American journalist and editor of the long nineteenth century. She lectured on various subjects, especially on educational and sociological questions, and was well-known as a leader and speaker in the club world. Merrill was a charter member of the New England Woman's Press Association and was the editor of the New England Kitchen Magazine.

Estelle M. H. Merrill
BornEstelle Minerva Hatch
September 30, 1858
Jefferson, Maine, U.S.
DiedJuly 20, 1908(1908-07-20) (aged 49)
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Pen nameJean Kincaid
Occupationjournalist, editor
LanguageEnglish
Alma materWheaton Seminary
Notable worksCambridge sketches by Cambridge authors
Spouse
Samuel Merrill
(m. 1887)

Early life and education

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Estelle Minerva Hatch was born in Jefferson, Maine, on September 30, 1858. She was the daughter of Gilman E. and Celenda S. Hatch.[1]

As a child, Merrill attended the public schools of her native town. At fourteen years of age, she entered Wheaton Seminary, Norton, Massachusetts,[1] graduating in 1877.[2]

Career

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Upon her graduation, she returned to Jefferson to teach. At the end of two years' successful work in that place, she again came to Massachusetts, and taught school for three years in Hyde Park. She worked towards establishing in the public schools of Hyde Park an additional course, giving practical business training, opportunities for which previously could be obtained only at private schools.[1]

A lover of nature from her girlhood, when she used to wander through the Maine woods, during her periods of teaching in the grammar and high school grades at Hyde Park, she was fitting herself at the Harvard Annex and with private teachers to take a professorship in botany, her favorite study.[1] A break in health, the result of overwork, necessitated rest and change. During her long convalescence, she spent more time writing, her first regular work as a journalist being on The Boston Daily Globe (Boston).[3] From furnishing special articles, she progressed to a salaried position. Journalism became such a fascinating occupation that, though she was offered a lucrative professorship in botany at a Southern college, she chose to remain in the newspaper field.[1]

Merrill furnished articles at intervals for the Boston Transcript, written under the signature of "Jean Kincaid."[1] The Business Woman's Journal opened two new departments in June 1890, with Merrill heading one which was devoted to the interests of journalists.[4] In the 1890s, she was the editor of the New England Kitchen Magazine a Domestic Science Monthly published by The New England Kitchen Publishing Company (Boston).[5] Merrill served as co-editor, with Dr. Mary Wood-Allen, of American Motherhood, a Boston magazine devoted to the interests of mothers and home-makers.[6]

 
(from an 1897 publication)

She was a pleasing and instructive lecturer on a variety of subjects, especially on educational and sociological questions. She was well-known as a leader and speaker in the club world. Merrill was the founder of the Cantabrigia Club, of which she became honorary vice-president; was one of the charter members of the New England Woman's Press Association, its first secretary, and later served as its president;[7] first president of the New England Wheaton Club,;[2] president of the Wheaton Seminary Club; member of the Fathers' and Mothers' Club; vice-president of the Woman's Charity Club; and an officer in the Associated Charities of Cambridge, Massachusetts.[6]

Personal life

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On October 1, 1887, she married Samuel Merrill, a native of Charlestown, New Hampshire, a member of the Suffolk County, Massachusetts bar, and of the editorial staff of the Boston Globe.[1]

Estelle M. H. Merrill died on July 29, 1908, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[8]

Selected works

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  • Cambridge sketches by Cambridge authors, 1896[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Howe & Graves 1904, p. 375.
  2. ^ a b Helmreich 2002, p. 101.
  3. ^ "The Boston Daily Globe (Boston, Mass.) 1872–1960". Library of Congress. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Book Notices and Exchanges". The Phonographic Magazine. Vol. 4, no. 7. The Institute. July 1890. p. 223. Retrieved 23 May 2023.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ "New England Kitchen Magazine". Everyday Housekeeping: A Magazine for Practical Housekeepers and Mothers. Vol. 3, no. 2. Clark-Clary publishing Company. May 1895. p. 86.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ a b Howe & Graves 1904, p. 376.
  7. ^ Hills, William Henry; Luce, Robert, eds. (June 1891). "New England Woman's Press Association, by Estelle M. H. Merrill". The Writer: A Monthly Magazine for Literary Workers. Vol. 5, no. 6. Writer Publishing Company. p. 113-15. Retrieved 23 May 2023.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ^ Fourth Estate Publishing Company 1908, p. 264.
  9. ^ ThriftBooks. "Estelle M.H. Merrill Books | List of books by author Estelle M.H. Merrill". ThriftBooks. Retrieved 2023-05-22.

Attribution

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  •   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Fourth Estate Publishing Company (1908). "AMONG PRESS WOMEN.". Fourth Estate: A Weekly Newspaper for Publishers, Advertisers, Advertising Agents and Allied Interests. Fourth Estate Publishing Company. p. 18.
  •   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Howe, Julia Ward; Graves, Mary Hannah (1904). "ESTELLE M. H. MERRILL". Representative Women of New England (Public domain ed.). New England Historical Publishing Company. p. 375.

Bibliography

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