“ Her father was a man of liberal thought with an appreciative interest in all new ideas. An owner of slaves, through the force of circumstances rather than from inclination, he and his son Robert were among the first to advocate their freedom. ”

“ The man who undertook the setting up of her machinery and the manufacture of the needle, departed abruptly about the time things were ready for business, leaving no one who understood the mechanism. The inventor rose to the occasion and made the first sixty-thousand needles herself. There was more than one crisis to meet, and she met them all in the same business-like way. For the past three years the needles have been made by a well-known New England firm, and are Staple goods. Another patented article, which is successful, is a device for holding on rubber overshoes. ”

“ She is a member of Grace Episcopal Church, New York, and also a member of the Young Woman's Christian Association, in which she is greatly interested. She finds time to keep in touch with whatever is newest and best, and writes an occasional article for the press. ”