Born Caroline Matilda Stansbury in 1801, Kirkland enjoyed advantages available to few women of her time. Although her family was not particularly wealthy, they placed a high value on education, personal independence, and social reform—all of which found their way into the works she published in the 1830s and 1840s. Her grandfather had been a poet, and her mother wrote fiction and poetry. In an era in which educational opportunities were limited even for boys, Caroline was sent to study at a school run by her aunt, Lydia Mott, and by the 1820s she was working as a teacher in her aunt's school in Clinton, New York. Following her father's death in 1822, Caroline brought her mother and younger siblings to live in Clinton, where she became …
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Citation: Walker, Nancy A.. "Caroline M. Kirkland". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2527, accessed 21 November 2024.]
