Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

914: 42: 322: 173:; February 22, 1838 – June 3, 1912) was an American poet, author, and editor. Her poetry was inspired by family and church themes, and included hymns and sacred texts. She worked in several fields including book reviewing, story writing, and verse making. For a quarter of a century, Sangster was known by the public as a writer, beginning as a writer of verse, and combining later the practical work of a critic and journalist. Much of her writing did not include her name. 391:, in 1858, and accepted the care of a family of children, and was a successful stepmother. She had one child of her own, a son, George Sangster, a journalist, later becoming a grandmother to Margaret E. Sangster, a writer and magazine editor. She made her home in Brooklyn, where she was active in connection with church and Sunday-school work. She essentially gave up writing until after his death in 1871; she never remarried. 933: 801: 780: 759: 734: 713: 374:

Most of her writing as of 1889 was for the newspapers, and without her name. In speaking of her profession as a journalist she once said :—" I love it with all my heart, and would not exchange it with all its drudgery for any other position of which I can dream. Everything about it suits me and

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entitled "Mrs. Sangster's Home Page" which often included a double-paged layout folio of contemporary photographs of women-at-work, internationally, as well as a follow-up page called Mrs. Sangster's "Answers to Correspondents" published in 1907. Through her work, she became acquainted with notable

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Sangster was a member of the Woman's Board of Foreign Missions of the Reformed Church in America, as well as being fond of music and society. She was a conspicuous personage in the literary and social circle of New York, her home being in Brooklyn. Sangster died in

247:. Before that, however, she had written verses, competed for prizes (and won them) with essays and other writings. For seventeen years she has entirely supported her family by journalistic work. In the beginning of her career, she was connected with 196:. During these busy years, she also wrote poetry. Her miscellaneous work included stories, sketches, essays, editorial comment, criticisms, and other writing implied in the journalistic positions she held. Her published books are 375:

charms me. More, perhaps, than anything else, I value the opportunity it gives me to say helpful words, and reach a cordial hand to the struggling of my sex." In 1902, Sangster wrote the introduction to the book,

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Her literary productions were numerous, and she was a regular contributor to many of the leading periodicals. She gradually drifted into editorial work, and in 1871, she became the editor of

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Her verses are full of tender, often religious, sentiments and her stories are bright and well told. The themes of Christian devotion and homely wisdom were often mingled together.

379:, a book where a family could record the important events in their lives such as births, deaths, weddings, vacations, and holidays. She published her autobiography in 1909. 1033: 942: 988: 978: 1028: 1043: 1038: 983: 973: 1018: 813:

A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life

41: 864: 843: 993: 228:. Her father was in the marble industry in New York City. Margaret and her younger sister Isabell grew up in a very religious household. 1023: 938: 371:, which gained a fair degree of popularity in its time. For fifteen years, she contributed largely to religious periodical literature. 1013: 998: 655: 430:, 1852–1872, including the period of the American Civil War as told in the diary of a school-girl by Caroline Cowles Richards 1003: 1008: 396: 83: 243:

Her literary career began in her seventeenth year, when she wrote and published a book—a child's story—called

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Letters to Hazel: Ministry Within the Woman's Board of Foreign Missions of the Reformed Church in America

400: 358: 968: 963: 232: 266: 321: 947: 17: 235:, and at Williamsburgh. In childhood she was precocious and gave signs of her literary talents. 909: 893: 860: 854: 839: 790: 769: 833: 918: 817: 750: 363: 188:, and served as assistant editor until 1888. In 1882, she added to her work the editing of 249: 329:

Among Sangster's prose works are several volumes of stories for children, and of these,

957: 805: 784: 763: 738: 717: 225: 209: 315: 811: 744: 723: 399:, June 3, 1912. Her nephew, Charles Chisholm Brainerd, was married to the author 274:, she was known among the young readers as "The Little Postmistress." Other than 905: 311: 224:,. She was the daughter of John Munson of Ireland and Margaret Chisholm of 792:

Songs from the hearts of women: one hundred famous hymns and their writers

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Sangster held editorial positions with a number of periodicals including,

927: 166: 728:. Vol. Book 4 (Public domain ed.). Globe School Book Company. 361:

and wrote many hymns and sacred texts. These include a setting of the

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A Manual of American Literature: A Text-Book for Schools and Colleges

184:, which she held for six years. In 1879, she joined the staff of the 923: 320: 804: