Susan Hale

Susan Hale (December 5, 1833 – September 17, 1910) was an American author, traveler and artist.

Biography

She was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Nathan Hale and Sarah Preston Everett who had a total of eleven children. Susan's father, Nathan Hale, nephew and namesake of the patriot hero, was a lawyer and editor/owner of the Boston Daily Advertiser while her mother, also an author, was a sister of Edward Everett, a Unitarian minister and politician.

Growing up, Susan was mostly the companion of her older sister Lucretia. She was educated privately by tutors until she was 16, and then entered the school of George B. Emerson. Without any particular teaching, she learned to draw and to paint early in life.

For many years, she was a successful teacher in Boston. She started on this occupation when her father became ill and the family income needed to be supplemented. In 1860, she moved to Brookline with her family. Her father died there in 1862 and her mother in 1865. When the family situation broke up in 1867, Susan and her sister Lucretia went abroad to stay with their brother Charles who was consul general of the United States in Egypt. On returning from abroad, Susan took rooms at 91 Boylston Street in Boston and continued her teaching.