Emily Huntington Miller

1833-1913
Emily Huntington Miller

When I wrote the House Husbandry post, I hadn’t heard of Emily Huntington Miller other than as the author of “Little Lessons for Little Housekeepers”.  I offer this information in appreciation of her contributions to real literature as opposed to my story.   Little Housekeeper itself turns out to be part of a broader work “The Kitchen Garden”. I stumbled across the book in the course of looking for something else as I do now and then. The Housekeeper seemed to fit with a story that had been in the back of my mind so I used it as a devise to aid my story, with credit to the author. I’ve since discovered the story behind Miss Huntington and want to give a brief outline of her life and point out where more information can be gathered for those interested.

Born October 22, 1833 in Brooklyn Connecticut,  Emily Huntington graduated from Oberlin College, Ohio in 1857 marrying John Edwin Miller three years later. She became a contributor to magazines and newspapers, writing many books and poems, as well as hymns, most of which can be found at many libraries and of course various web sites. She was an associate editor of The Ladies Home Journal, The Little Corporal and St. Nicholas magazines. She served as president of the Chautauqua Women’s Club. She also assisted in the formation of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.

Emily Huntington Miller became dean of women at Northwestern University in 1891 and taught English Literature there until around 1900. She died in 1913; her obituary appeared in the New York Times on November 5 that year.

A small sample of her works and life can be found at the locations listed below and the links in this writing. Sites you’ll find with information relating to Emily Huntington Miller, in no particular order and certainly not complete are:

A summary of her writing: http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/aww_03/aww_03_00823.html

A small note from Northwestern University:

http://www.library.northwestern.edu/archives/onthisday/2008/09/sept_1891_mrs_emily_huntington.html

Information on her Hymns, http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/m/i/miller_eh.htm

On finding that Wikipedia did not have material regarding Mrs Huntington Miller I supplied the material I had found, It is now available there with more to be added over time.

In the short time I had to research Emily Huntington Miller I didn’t come across a definitive web site which gathers all available information in one place. Like me, you’ll have to finger dance before reading further.

JAWhite                                  

November 2009                           Return To Main Page