Lydia Maria Child (born Lydia Maria Francis; February 11, 1802 – October 20, 1880) was a pioneering American author, abolitionist, feminist, and advocate for Native American rights. She's one of the most influential 19th-century women writers and activists, often called "the first woman in the republic" for her bold progressive stance.
Born in Medford, Massachusetts, she was the youngest of six (or seven, by some accounts) children in a family with abolitionist leanings. Largely self-educated with influence from her brother (a Unitarian minister and Harvard professor), she began writing early. At age 22, she published her first novel, Hobomok: A Tale of Earlier Times (1824), a groundbreaking interracial romance set in colonial America.
She became a bestselling author in the 1820s with works like the children's magazine Juvenile Miscellany (which she founded) and practical advice books such as The American Frugal Housewife (1829), a hugely popular domestic guide that went through many editions.
In 1828, she married David Lee Child, a lawyer, editor, and fellow reformer. Meeting abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison in 1831 shifted her focus dramatically. In 1833, she published An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans, a powerful, well-researched argument against slavery—radical for its time. It called for immediate emancipation and racial equality, costing her popularity, book sales, and social standing, but it inspired many (including Garrison) and remains a landmark abolitionist text.
Child championed multiple causes:
Abolitionism — She edited the National Anti-Slavery Standard (1840s) and wrote extensively on ending slavery.
Women's rights — She advocated for gender equality and critiqued women's subordination.
Native American rights — Works like The First Settlers of New-England opposed U.S. expansionism and mistreatment of Indigenous peoples.
Other writings — She produced novels, journalism, poetry, and letters. She's best remembered today for the beloved Thanksgiving poem "Over the River and Through the Wood" (originally "A New-England Boy's Song About Thanksgiving Day," 1844).
***********Over the River and Through the Wood***********
"Over the River and Through the Wood" (originally titled "The New-England Boy's Song about Thanksgiving Day" or simply "Thanksgiving Day") is a beloved poem written by Lydia Maria Child and first published in 1844 in her book Flowers for Children, Volume II.
The poem vividly captures a child's excitement about traveling through a snowy New England landscape to celebrate Thanksgiving at grandfather's house. It was later adapted into a popular children's song, often sung during the holiday season (Thanksgiving or Christmas), though the original is firmly about Thanksgiving.
Note: The most commonly sung version today uses only the first few stanzas (and sometimes changes "grandfather's house" to "grandmother's house"). The full original poem had 12 stanzas, but many sources share a shorter version with the most iconic lines. Here's the widely recognized and complete classic version as it appears in reliable literary sources like the Poetry Foundation and Academy of American Poets:
Over the river and through the wood,
To grandfather's house we go.
The horse knows the way
To carry the sleigh
Through the white and drifted snow.
Over the river and through the wood—
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes
And bites the nose,
As over the ground we go.
Over the river and through the wood,
To have a first-rate play.
Hear the bells ring
"Ting-a-ling-ding!"
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!
Over the river and through the wood,
And straight through the barn-yard gate;
We seem to go
Extremely slow—
It is so hard to wait!
Over the river and through the wood—
Now grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun!
Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin-pie!
(The full 12-stanza version includes additional verses about the journey, the family gathering, and more seasonal imagery, but the above is the core poem most people know and recite. Some variations appear in song adaptations, like adding lines about Christmas in modern renditions.)
Despite personal financial struggles (shared with her husband) and backlash for her activism, she remained committed until her death at age 78 in Wayland, Massachusetts, from heart disease. Her legacy endures as a courageous voice for justice, influencing later reformers and highlighting intersectional advocacy long before the term existed.
Happy birthday to her (and to you, since today is February 11!) — what a remarkable woman born on this day.