Mary Eleanor Freeman(1852-1930)
- Writer
Author Mary Freeman was born in Massachusetts but moved with her family
to Vermont when she was 15. She spent a year at Mt. Holyoke University
(then called Mt. Holyoke Female Seminary) and after she left began
writing children's stories and verse. Her parents died in 1883 and she
returned to her Massachusetts hometown of Randolph. Later that year she
got a story published in a Boston newspaper, and eventually her stories
were published in such magazines as "Harper's". Most of her stories
were set in New England and revolved around people who were trapped in
poverty or other dire situations and struggled to overcome their
circumstances. She was noted for avoiding the overly sentimental,
somewhat saccharine style of writing in vogue at the time. In addition
to her collections of stories, she published several novels. In 1902
she married Dr. Charles Freeman and moved to his hometown of Metuchen,
New Jersey, where she remained until her death in 1930.