Jackson, Helen Hunt (1831–1885)

In the late 19th century, Helen Hunt Jackson became synonymous with the struggle for Native American rights in America. Despite this renown, this remarkable woman had achieved recognition for her writing talents prior to the publication of her two most enduring works, A Century of Dishonor and Ramona. Born Helen Maria Fiske in Amherst, Massachusetts, on October 15, 1831, to Nathan Welby and Deborah Fiske, Jackson was the beneficiary of her parents' intellectual and literary talents. Her mother was a writer and her father a professor at Amherst College. Unfortunately, her mother died of tuberculosis when Jackson was 12, and her father died 3 years later. For the remainder of her adolescence, she was educated at the Ipswich Female Academy. While at the Academy, she ...