| The History Project |
DOROTHY CANFIELD FISHER |
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Dorothy Canfield Fisher was born in Lawrence, Kansas on February 17, 1879. She died on November 9, 1958. Dorothy was an American writer whose novels, short stories, and nonfiction books had to do with traditional American values. Dorothy Canfield Fisher's first book was the "Squirrel Cage," written in 1912. Some other books widely read were "The Brimming Cup," written in 1921 and "The Deepening Stream," written in 1930. In "Vermont Tradition" (1953) she paid homage to her adopted home, which was Vermont at that time. Her father was James Hulme Canfield, who believed in equality and freedom. James Hulme Canfield was proud of his Vermont heritage and was glad he could say he had lived in Vermont since 1763. Dorothy's mother was Flavia Camp Canfield, who was an artist. Her brother was James A. Canfield, who believed that his Vermont ancestors were a source of inspiration and symbolized the best could hope. Dorothy Canfield Fisher's mother liked to talk about her father, Albert Camp. He grew up on a farm close to Rutland. When he reached early manhood, he went out West to search for new places. He supported himself while wandering freely with his ax and gun. While in Ohio, he met a Vermont girl from Rutland named Martha Barney. Albert followed Martha back to Vermont, won her heart, and they got married. In the year 1849, news was that gold had been found in California. Albert Camp was an adventurer, so he moved his family, which consisted of his wife, Martha, and their children, to the a city near the gold mines with enough supplies for a year. A few months later, the news came that Albert Camp had died of Mountain Fever. Martha Barney married her second husband at the age of thirty-two. Her new husband was Reverend Asa A. Allen, who was a Congregational Minister in Black Earth, Wisconsin. Flavia and her other four sisters moved to Black Earth with their mother, and they grew up with the eight Allen children, and three more siblings from the second marriage. Around the time that Albert Camp set out to look for gold in 1849, Dorothy Canfield Fisher's other grandfather was working on a farm in Arlington, Vermont. Eli Hawley Canfield showed a great interest in books. Reverend Mr. Perkins was a teacher who taught people Latin to prepare for college. Reverend Perkins thought that teaching kids Latin was a heavy task to bear, so he asked if Eli would like over. Eli gladly accepted and left his farm for Bristol College. James Hulme Canfield was born in Delaware, Ohio, on March 18, 1847. When James Hulme Canfield was old enough to go to college, he went to the Polytechnic Institute before entering the Class of 1868 at Williams College. During a summer vacation, James went on a goodwill mission with his father, Henry Ward Breecher. Dorothy Canfield Fisher enjoyed the adventurous side of her mother and liked to listen to her father talk about American traditional values. Dorothy strongly agreed with her father about American traditional values, and I think that her father led her to her books and what she became. |
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by Brandon Wilber |
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