Emma Howard Wight

Emma Howard Wight, "A Woman of the Century"

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Emma Howard Wight (August 25, 1863 – June 24, 1935) was an American author and newspaper correspondent.

After leaving school she wrote occasionally for amusement, until the earnest solicitation of her friend, Miss Bertha von Hillern, herself well known as an artist and writer, induced her to start publishing her work. Articles by Wight appeared in various papers and were extensively copied. She also wrote serial novels.^[1] Her numerous theological articles attracted wide attention.^[2]

Early life and education[]

Emma Howard Wight was born in Baltimore, Maryland, August 25, 1863.^[1][3] She was the only daughter of Jacob Howard Wight (died 1891),^[4] a tobacco broker of that city. She was of English ancestry, her father's ancestors having come over with Lord Baltimore. Her paternal grandmother was a Miss Howard. On the maternal side, she was also descended from an old Maryland family.^[5] She had at least one sibling, a brother, William M. Wight.^[6]

Wight was educated in the Academy of Visitation, Baltimore. From early on, she showed a talent for writing, her school compositions having always been highly commended.^[5]

Career[]

For some years after leaving school, her time was given to society, though she occasionally wrote a little for her own amusement. At length, acting upon the advice of friends, she submitted some of her writings with a view to their publication. They were promptly accepted, and her productions subsequently appeared in some of the best journals in the country. Some of her theological articles were especially commented upon by Cardinal James Gibbons, and were copied in some of the leading English journals.^[5]

In October, 1889, Wight and Von Hillern stayed at Hotel Roanoke, Roanoke, Virginia. Their plans were to visit the Blue Ridge Mountains where Von Hillern would sketch and Wight was to gather materials for a future novel. Thereafter, they planned to return to Von Hillern's summer studio at Fishers Hill, Virginia.^[7] But they were in Baltimore in March 1890 for the city's dog show where Wight's dog, "Harry", a Blenheim shepherd, who took second prize, was said to be the only one of the breed in the U.S.^[8] In July, Wight and Von Hillern and "Harry" were in Chicago.^[9]

1891

Wight's novel, Passion Flowers and the Cross, appeared in 1891 and received great attention in the literary world.^[5] The Soul of Edmund Jaffray, an emotionalism in 1 act was published the following year.^[10]

In October 1910, Wight sold the American rights of her playlet, Like No Other Love, to Adelaide Klein, who would produce the play at a Chicago theatre.^[11] In December of that same year, the home that Wight and Von Pillern shared was set on fire with losses totaling US$12,000 and including rare paintings, jewelry, silverware, and other valuables. Their dog, a Scotch collie, which was said to have given the alarm at night when several similar attempts were made to burn the house, was poisoned a few days earlier. Wight believed that certain interests had conspired to oust the women from their home in Middletown, Virginia in order to get their land.^[12]

Wight was associated with the women's suffrage movement in Virginia, which gave women the right to vote in 1920.^[13] She was fond of outdoor exercise and a great promoter of health and beauty.^[5]

Death[]

For many years, Wight lived and wrote in Winchester, Virginia. She died there, June 24, 1935,^[6] though two years earlier, during the Great Depression, Wight and Von Hillern had removed from their home to the Frederick County Poor Farm. Wight was buried at the Mount Hebron Cemetery and Gatehouse.^[13]

Selected works[]

Passion flowers and the cross, 1891

• Passion flowers and the cross. A novel, 1891
• The Soul of Edmund Jaffray, an emotionalism in 1 act, 1892
• My husband, 1893
• A loveless marriage, 1894
• The little maid of Israel , 1900
• The Berkleys, 1900
• Like No Other Love, 1910

References[]

Attribution[]

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herringshaw, Thomas William (1904). Herringshaw's Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth Century: Accurate and Succinct Biographies of Famous Men and Women in All Walks of Life who are Or Have Been the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States Since Its Formation ... (Public domain ed.). Chicago: American Publishers' Association.
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herringshaw, Thomas William (1890). "Emma Howard Wight". Local and National Poets of America: With Biographical Sketches and Choice Selections from Over One Thousand Living American Poets (Public domain ed.). Chicago: American Publishers' Association.
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Library of Congress. Copyright Office (1918). Dramatic Compositions Copyrighted in the United States, 1870 to 1916 ... (Public domain ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office.
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893). A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life (Public domain ed.). Charles Wells Moulton.

External links[]

• Works related to Woman of the Century/Emma Howard Wight at Wikisource
• Works by or about Emma Howard Wight at Internet Archive