Follen, Eliza (1787–1860)

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Follen, Eliza (1787–1860)

American abolitionist and children's writer. Name variations: Eliza Cabot or Eliza Lee Cabot; Eliza C. Follen or Eliza Lee Cabot Follen. Born Eliza Lee Cabot, Aug 15, 1787, in Boston, Massachusetts; died Jan 26, 1860, in Brookline, MA; dau. of Samuel (merchant) and Sally, or Sarah (Barrett) Cabot; m. Charles Theodore Christian Follen, Sept 15, 1828 (died 1840); children: 1 son (b. 1830).

Authored children's works, The Well-Spent Hour (1827), Little Songs, for Little Boys and Girls (1833), The Pedler of Dust Sticks and What the Animals Do and Say (1858); published Selections from the Writings of Fénelon (1829); wrote fictional homilies, The Skeptic (1835) and Sketches of Married Life (1838), and a biography of husband, The Works of Charles Follen, with a Memoir of His Life (5 vols., 1841); published anti-slavery works, A Letter to Mothers in the Free States and Anti-Slavery Hymns and Songs (1855); edited Christian Teachers' Manual (1828–30) and Child's Friend (1843–50); served on executive committees of Massachusetts and American anti-slavery societies. The German Christmas tree was 1st introduced in America in the Folger home.