The herald., 1896-08-18
GAIL HAMILTON IS DEAD
Leaving a Record of a Life Well
Spent
Her Long Illness Ends In q Fatal Stroke o1
ParaIysis-ter Literary and
Political Work

HAMILTON, Mass, Aug. 17.-Abigail
Dodge, better known as Gail HamiI-
ton" sustained stroke of PARALYSIS
while sitting at the breakfast table yes
terday morning. She fell from the chair
and was picked up unconscious and died
today.
Miss Mary Abigail Dodge writer, BIZ
ographer and controversialist, widely
known under the pen name of Gail
Hamilton. was a native of the town in
| which She died, having been born in
1880. AT the age of 10 years she went to
DIR. Clarks private school in Cambridge.
She was graduated from Ipswich
academy at the age of 20. In 1851 she
went to Hartford as assistant in the
Hartford high school, She refused to
take the customary examination, but
was given the position without doing so.
She was also instructor in physical sci
ence in this school for several years and
was subsequently governess in the fam
lily of Dr. Gamaliel Bailey of Washing
ton, d. c., editor of the National Era.
to which paper she became a contrib
utor.
LII Iooo-Ot SIlG was one OIL the 6QlIOrS or
Our Young Folks, magazine for chill
dren. published in Boston. From 1870
until little over a year ago she had
lived most of the time with her cousin.
Mrs James G. Blaine, in Washington.
In the course of this daily contact with
the Blaine family, Miss Dodge was led
into very close friendship with Mr..
Blaine, and at the death of the latter she
became his literary executor, being in
possession of all his papers and docu-
ments of value to her as his authorized
biographer. She was engaged, as fire.
quently as her health would permit, on
Mr.. Blaine's biography from the time of
his death until her illness of last year,
and it is thought her untiring devotion
to the work was instrumental in bring
ing about that prostration.
Since the illness which came on so
suddenly in the Blaine mansion in
Washington, Miss Dodge has lived very
quietly at her old home in Hamilton,
Mass.
Her strength had never rallied after
that illness. SO that she felt able to re-
sumo active work, and she was for
weeks unable to see even intimate
friends. but during that time she has
been able to drive about the town and
to entertain in her old delightful man
ner the friends who have called upon
her. Her literary work during this time
has been fragmentary, done by the help
of an amanuensis as a diversion when
some current event has specially at
tracted her interest.
Gail Hamilton was a frequent con-
tributor to prominent magazines, and
her published works, written in the wit
ty and aggressive style, consists large
ly of selections from her contributions.
Her books include Country Living and
Country Thinking, Gala Days, New At
mosphere and Stumbling Blocks, Skr-
misheS and Sketches, Red Letter Days
in Apple Thorpe and Summer Rest,
Wool Gathering, Womans Wrongs, A
Counter-irritant, Battle of Books, Wo-
mans Worth and Worthiness, Little
Folks Life. Child World. Twelve Miles
from Lemon, Nursery Mornings, First
Love is Best, What Think Ye of Christ?
Our Common School System, Divine
Guidance, Memorial to Allen W. Dodge,
and Unsuppressible Book.
In 1887 she wrote a series of letters on
civil service reform for a New York pa
per. Letters OH a wide range of public
questions, written for the Boston Jour
nal, were widely copied throughout the
United States.
Miss Dodges one novel. First Love is
Best, had not the success which attend
ed some of her other works. During
recent years she engaged in political
writing and many famous review arti-
cles and political interviews have
been accredited to her which have rous-
ed much warm discussion and have ex-
ti0nal politicA