The nineteenth-century historian who pioneered women's history while embroiled in literary scandals

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Elizabeth F. Ellet was a prolific writer and the first historian to document the contributions of women to the American Revolution. Yet, her legacy is shadowed by notorious public feuds, including a bitter, life-long rivalry with Edgar Allan Poe that allegedly contributed to the death of his wife.

Born in 1818, Elizabeth Fries Lummis was a polymath who translated European literature and wrote plays before turning her attention to American history. In 1845, she published her seminal work, The Women of the American Revolution. By interviewing descendants and scouring private letters and diaries, she became the first historian to systematically record the domestic and patriotic sacrifices of women during the conflict. She argued that these women nurtured the very spirit of civil liberty that defined the infant republic, though she notably excluded the experiences of African American women from her account.

Ellet’s career was marked by intense social volatility. In the 1840s, she became entangled in a scandalous literary circle in New York, involving figures like Edgar Allan Poe and Frances Sargent Osgood. Ellet allegedly accused Poe of indiscretions, leading to a volatile exchange of letters and threats of violence from her brother. Poe later claimed she persecuted him anonymously, and some scholars suggest he used his short story 'Hop-Frog' as a form of literary vengeance against her. Her combative nature extended to her professional life; she famously failed to credit Rufus Wilmot Griswold for his assistance with her historical research, prompting a public rebuke from the critic.

Despite these controversies, Ellet remained a remarkably productive author. She published works on everything from German legends to the social lives of American presidents. In 1857, she released The Practical Housekeeper, a massive 600-page encyclopedia of domestic economics that integrated scientific advice with culinary recipes. By the time of her death in 1877, she had established a unique niche as a chronicler of both the public and private spheres, leaving behind a complex legacy that bridged the gap between traditional history and the overlooked narratives of women's lives.

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