H. Maria George Colby

{{Infobox writer

| name = H. Maria George Colby

| image = H. Maria George Colby.png

| caption = "A Woman of the Century"

| pseudonym = {{hlist|Clinton Montague|H. M. G.|H. Maria George}}

| birth_name = Hannah Maria George

| birth_date = October 1, 1844

| birth_place = Warner, New Hampshire, U.S.

| death_date = {{dda|1910|03|29|1844|10|01}}

| death_place = Warner

| occupation = {{hlist|writer|newspaper editor|social leader}}

| genre = novelettes, juvenile literature

| subject = domestic topics

| spouse = {{marriage|Frederick Myron Colby|1882}}

| relatives = Adelaide George Bennett (sister)

}}

H. Maria George Colby ({{nee}}, George; pen names, Clinton Montague, H. M. G., and H. Maria George; October 1, 1844 – March 29, 1910) was an American writer, newspaper editor, and social leader of the long nineteenth century. Her articles appeared in various publications, including the Housewife, Housekeeper, Housekeeper's Weekly, Christian at Work, Demorest's Monthly Magazine, Arthur's Lady's Home Magazine, The Youth's Companion, the Congregationalist, the Portland Transcript, Ladles' World, Good Cheer, The Philadelphia Press, the Chicago Ledger, the Golden Rule, the Household, Good Housekeeping and St. Nicholas Magazine. She served as fashion editor of the Household. Though she used various pen names, including "H. M. G." (in art and biographical sketches contributed to various periodicals) and "Clinton Montague",{{cite book |last1=Cushing |first1=William |title=Initials and pseudonyms; a dictionary of literary disguises |date=1885 |publisher=New York, T. Y. Crowell & Co. |pages=108, 196 |url=https://archive.org/details/initialsandpseu05cushgoog/page/108 |access-date=26 August 2022 |language=en}} {{Source-attribution}} her best known literary name was her maiden name, "H. Maria George".

Early life and education

Hannah Maria George was born in Warner, New Hampshire, October 1, 1844. Her parents were Gilman C. and Nancy Badger George.

Gilman, born in 1820, died September 12, 1894, was a son of James and Hannah (Church) George, and a descendant of James George, who settled in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1653. He was a captain in the state militia in 1843–44, town clerk from 1868 to 1872, and selectman from 1885 to 1888. He was master of Warner Grange, president of the Kearsarge Agricultural Association, and was the first worshipful master of Harris Lodge, No. 91, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Warner.{{sfn|Lewis Publishing Company|1908|p=1570}} Colby was of English descent on both sides of the family and inherited literary talents from ancestors connected with Daniel Webster.{{sfn|Willard|Livermore|1893|p=190}}

Career

While in her teens, she wrote a number of novelettes that were published in New York City and Philadelphia.{{sfn|New Hampshire Publishing Company|1895|p=77}} Later, she wrote considerably for juvenile publications, and she was also an acknowledged authority regarding domestic topics. Her articles appeared in the Housewife, Housekeeper, Housekeeper's Weekly, Christian at Work, Demorest's Monthly Magazine, Arthur's Lady's Home Magazine, The Youth's Companion, the Congregationalist, the Portland Transcript, Ladles' World, Good Cheer, The Philadelphia Press, the Chicago Ledger, the Golden Rule, the Household, Good Housekeeping and St. Nicholas For five years, she served as fashion editor of the "Household." She used various pseudonyms, but was best known to editors and the public by her maiden name. H. Maria George. A staunch advocate of temperance and equal rights for both sexes, she furthered these through her writing.{{sfn|Willard|Livermore|1893|p=190}}

Personal life

She married Frederick Myron Colby, the littérateur,{{sfn|New Hampshire Publishing Company|1895|p=77}} December 24, 1882.{{sfn|Lewis Publishing Company|1908|p=1570}} They resided in Warner, and she died there on March 29, 1910.{{sfn|Bradford Historical Society|2004|p=95}}

Selected works

=Non-fiction=

1885, "The Medieval Housewife"{{sfn|T.S. Arthur & Sons|1885|pp=652-53}}
1885, "The Pets of Noted Persons"{{sfn|T.S. Arthur & Sons|1885|p=721}}
1885, "The Home of Juliet and Romeo"{{sfn|T.S. Arthur & Sons|1885|pp=267-71}}
1888, "The City of the White Swan"{{sfn|Godey Company|1888|p=196}}
1888, "A Notable Place"{{sfn|Godey Company|1888|p=426}}

=Short stories=

1882, "Hermann the Brave"{{cite magazine |last1=George |first1=H. Maria |title=HERMANN THE BRAVE |magazine=St. Nicholas |date=1882 |volume=9 |pages=93–95 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxAbAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR93 |access-date=26 August 2022 |publisher=Scribner & Company |language=en}} {{Source-attribution}}
1905, "The Old Widow and Her Cat"{{cite magazine |last1=George |first1=H. Maria |title=THE OLD WIDOW AND HER CAT |magazine=St. Nicholas |date=1905 |volume=32 |pages=911–25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VhMbAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA911 |access-date=26 August 2022 |publisher=Scribner & Company |language=en}} {{Source-attribution}}

=Poems=

1901, "Then we shall see"{{sfn|Metcalf|1901|p=244}}
1906, "Bring out the flag: Memorial Day poem"{{sfn|Granite Monthly Co.|1906|p=158}}

References

=Bibliography=

{{Source-attribution| {{cite book|author=T.S. Arthur & Sons|title=Arthur's Home Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vi0ZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PP652|edition=Public domain|year=1885|publisher=T.S. Arthur & Sons}} }}
{{Source-attribution| {{cite book|author=Bradford Historical Society|title=Early families of Bradford, New Hampshire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7W0jAQAAMAAJ|edition=Public domain|year=2004|publisher=Bradford Historical Society (N.H.)}} }}
{{Source-attribution| {{cite book|author=Godey Company|title=Godey's Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2lM2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA196|edition=Public domain|year=1888|publisher=Godey Company}} }}
{{Source-attribution| {{cite book|author=Granite Monthly Co.|title=The Granite Monthly: A New Hampshire Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYIbAQAAMAAJ&pg=PR158|edition=Public domain|year=1906|publisher=Granite Monthly Co.}} }}
{{Source-attribution| {{cite book|author=Lewis Publishing Company|title=Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation|url=https://archive.org/details/genealogicaland00chicgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/genealogicaland00chicgoog/page/n67 1570]|edition=Public domain|year=1908|publisher=Lewis Publishing Company}} }}
{{Source-attribution| {{cite book|last=Metcalf|first=H. H.|title=New Hampshire State Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bBM_AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PR244|edition=Public domain|year=1901|publisher=H. H. Metcalf}} }}
{{Source-attribution| {{cite book|author=New Hampshire Publishing Company|title=New Hampshire Women: A Collection of Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Daughters and Residents of the Granite State ...|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8GEEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA77|edition=Public domain|year=1895|publisher=New Hampshire Publishing Company}} }}
{{Source-attribution| {{cite book|last1=Willard|first1=Frances Elizabeth|last2=Livermore|first2=Mary Ashton Rice|title=A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zXEEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA190|edition=Public domain|year=1893|publisher=Moulton|isbn=9780722217139}} }}