Books By Ward Howe Julia - Author

Julia Ward Howe (May 27, 1819 - October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet best remembered for authoring the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the inaugural Mother's Day Proclamation in 1870. She was also an abolitionist and a social crusader, especially for women's suffrage. Julia Ward was born in the city of New York. She was the fourth kid in a family of seven. Samuel Ward III, her father, was a Wall Street stockbroker, financier, and devout Calvinist Episcopalian. Her mother was the poet Julia Rush Cutler Ward, who was linked to the "Swamp Fox" of the American Revolution, Francis Marion. When Howe was five, she died during delivery. Until the age of sixteen, Howe was taught by private tutors and schools for young ladies. Her elder brother, Samuel Cutler Ward, visited Europe and returned with a private library. She had access to numerous works, many of which contradicted the Calvinistic viewpoint. She became well-read, both socially and scholarly. Because of her father's position as a famous banker,