Thanksgiving: Hale’s Tale

The driving force behind making Thanksgiving a national holiday was Sarah Josepha Hale, who was born in 1788 in Newport, New Hampshire. She married David Hale, a lawyer, who died in 1822, leaving her with five children. Hale turned to writing to generate money, publishing her first book of verse in 1823. It is for her verse that Hale is remembered by many Americans. One of her poems was “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Hale was among the first American women to have a novel published, and she was one of the first authors—male or female—to write a novel that addressed the problem of slavery. Northwood; a Tale of New England, which appeared in two volumes in 1827, compared life in New England with life in the South. An entire chapter of Northwood is devoted to a Thanksgiving dinner that includes roasted turkey with a savory stuffing, beef, pork, mutton, gravy, vegetables, goose, duck, chicken pie, pumpkin pie, pickles, preserves, cakes, sweetmeats, and fruits along with currant wine, cider, and ginger beer.