The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Swisshelm, Jane Grey

SWISSHELM, Jane Grey, American reformer and author: b. Pittsburgh, Pa., 6 Sept. 1815; d. Swissdale, Pa., 22 July 1884. She was among the earliest advocates of woman's rights; an ardent opponent of slavery, and while editing the Saint Cloud (Minn.) Visitor had her office and press destroyed by a mob for advocating abolitionism. She was among the first to become a nurse in the Union army. Besides voluminous contributions to current periodicals, she published &lsquo;Letters to Country Girls&rsquo; (1853), and an autobiography &lsquo;Half of a Century&rsquo; (1881).