Estelle Mendell Amory

Estelle Mendell was born in Ellisburgh, New York, June 3, 1845. Her childhood was passed on a farm. In 1852, her family moved to Adams, a nearby village, where her father, S. J. Mendell, engaged in mercantile business. The Mendell home was a home of refinement and culture, and Colonel and Mrs. Mendell entertained many prominent persons, among whom were Henry Ward Beecher, Thomas Starr King, Edwin Hubbell Chapin, Frederick Douglass, and Gerrit Smith. Conversations with those men and others did much to inspire the young girl with a desire to make a mark in literature. When the American Civil War broke out, S. J. Mendell raised a company of soldiers, took a commission as captain and went to the South. He served throughout the war, rising to the rank of colonel by brevet.[2]

She studied in the Hungerford Collegiate Institute in her home town, and in Falley Seminary, Fulton, New York.

Amory had developed meanwhile into a studious young woman, and had taught her first school. In 1866, the family moved to Franklin County, Iowa. There, Amory continued to teach. In 1867, she returned to the East and re-entered Falley Seminary, from which institution she was graduated with honors in 1868. Her family there -eight brothers and sisters— had been placed in financial straits by the war, and Amory was obliged to earn the money, aided by some devoted friends, with which to complete her seminary course. Then followed seven years of earnest work as a teacher, she holding successively the positions of governess in a family in Chicago, and principal and preceptress of seminaries in the East.

In 1875, she married J. H. Amory, of a prominent family of Binghamton, New York, and they went to Elgin, Illinois, to live. During all those years, Amory had written much but done little in the way of publication. At length, she began to offer her work. Ready acceptance encouraged her, and soon, she became a regular contributor to standard periodicals.[2]

Her literary productions consisted mainly of domestic articles, short stories for children, essays on living themes, and occasional poems. Her well-known "Aunt Martha Letters", published in the Elmira Telegram, in 1882, and later the more notable "Aunt Chatty" series in the Minneapolis Housekeeper, made her name a household word. Her journal contributions included the Ladies' Home Journal, Mail and Express, Epoch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Journalist, Union Signal, Babyhood, Golden Days, and a score of others. In addition to her family obligations and literary work, Amory often held classes at home and in the schoolroom, including classes in music.[3]

Her family consisted of two children, a son and a daughter, and her home was in Belmond, Iowa. [3]

• Works by or about Estelle Mendell Amory at Internet Archive