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Sarah Pogson (1774-1870)

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Sarah Pogson was an English novelist, short story writer and poet. Her works mainly detail feminism, American republicanism, and religion.

Sarah Pogson

Early Life

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Sarah Pogson was born in Essex, England on September 17th, 1774 as one of many illegitimate children to her father, John Pogson of Woodside House. She attended school in Hampton, where she found a passion for literature and writing. Upon his death, John Pogson would leave behind three thousand pounds to Sarah Pogson and her illegitimate children, while leaving his plantation properties to his biological children. Following her fathers passing, Sarah was encouraged to move to the United States by her brother, Milward Pogson, where she settled in Charleston, South Carolina.

Life

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Pogson began writing, publishing her first work, a play titled The Female Enthusiast: A Tragedy, in Five Acts by a Lady (She was known for using the title "A Lady" rather than her own name) along with a long poem, “Gratitude,” in 1807. She moved to Schenectady, New York, where she married recently widowed Judge Peter Smith of Peterborough, New York, with whom she had multiple daughters and a step son with before getting divorced in 1826. During the same year of her divorce, she wrote and sold her collection of poems, Daughters of Eve, after publishing them through the charity, The New York Female Association. She donated all the profits made to the New York Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb. As a result of her failed marraige and her charitable acts, Pogson was unable to make a sustainable living for herself, living off acts of kindness for others. She spent a lot of her time traveling, but never returned to England. She would finally return to Charleston to live with her sister, Mrs. William Blamyer, before passing away away on July 29th, 1870. She was buried and rests at Saint Philip’s Episcopal Church Cemetery in Charleston.

Known Family

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  • John Pogson - Father
  • Ann Wood Pogson - Mother
  • Milward Pogson - Brother
  • Mrs. William Blaymer - Sister
  • Peter Smith - Husband (Divorced 1826)
  • Gerrit Smith - Step-son, politician and businessman

Known works

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  • The Female Enthusiast (1807)
  • “Gratitude” (1807)
  • Essays, Religious, Moral, Dramatic and Poetical
  • Americans in Algiers (1818)
  • The Daughters of Eve (1826)
  • Zerah, The Believing Jew (1837)
  • The Power of Christianity (1844)

The Female Enthusiast (1807)

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The Female Enthusiast was one of Pogson’s first famous works. The play followed famous French Revolution figure, Charlotte Corday, who is best known for assassinating Jean-Paul Marat, the leader of a another radical resistance group. The play takes place in 1793 and uses the French Revolutionaries difference in ideas to comment on American Society. She suggests that although American Republicanism was far better than the French version, it could still fall victim to violent behaviors.

Americans in Algiers (1818)

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Americans in Algiers was an unpublished play that followed the lives of American Sailors shortly after the American Revolution. The sailors are captured and enslaved by Barbary pirates and are then held in the Algiers. Pogson’s main intention when writing Americans in Algiers was to explore and define ideals of nationalism, liberty, and the role of women in the early United States. Additionally, Pogson suggests that although the United States was born out of desire for democracy and equality, all societies need class structures. This suggested that Pogson held the unpopular view that liberty should be held in doses, and challenges existing ideas of early American society. The play was never performed, and there is little record of it today.

Daughters of Eve (1826)

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Daughters of Eve was a volume of poetry Pogson that served as a criticism of societal views of the deaf. This was primarily rooted in Pogson's firm belief that deaf individuals could be educated and become skilled laborers thus promoting maritime commerce. In her poem “The Deaf and Dumb”, she referred to deaf children as “Nature’s lone helpless son[s]”. She donated all proceeds of her book to the New York Institution For the Deaf and Dumb. The book would receive over 300 subscriptions and she was rewarded for her kindness as the charity of the New York Female Association would publish the book.

References

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  1. Find a Grave:
    • "Sarah Smith." Find a Grave. Accessed July 2, 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35228680/sarah-smith.
  2. JSTOR Articles:
  3. NewsBank:
  4. Gale Primary Sources:
  5. University of Colorado Libraries:
  6. Jackson Bibliography of Romantic Poetry:
  7. Oxford University Press:
  8. Project MUSE:
  9. Encyclopedia.com:
  10. Gale Academic OneFile:
  11. College of Charleston Libraries:
  12. Ancestry Library:
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