“ Being second in age in a large family, she early showed her natural gift as a leader and an organizer. Educational advantages in the rural districts of New England were somewhat limited, but she improved every opportunity to acquire knowledge. The death of her father, when she was quite young, changed the tenor of her life. The plan of an academical course of study was dropped, and in practice she accepted the principle of doing the work which came to her. She began to teach in the public schools of Vermont. ”