Fun Facts Friday: Kate Douglas Wiggin

Kate Douglas Wiggin (28 September, 1856 – 24 August, 1923) was an American author and educator, mostly known for her classic novel Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.

Books by Kate Douglas Wiggin*

Fun facts about Kate Dougless Wiggin:

1.       Ms. Wiggin was born in Philadelphia, PA and experienced a happy childhood despite the American Civil War.

2.       After her father died, young Kate and her sister, Nora, moved with their mother to Portland, Maine.

3.       When Ms. Wiggin was 11 years old, she met Charles Dickens on a train. She was very happy to meet him because her family thought she was too young to go hear him read in Portland, so they never bought her a ticket.

4.       The family, along with the new stepfather Albion Bradbury, moved to Santa Barbara, CA in 1873 where Ms. Wiggin enrolled in a kindergarten training class.

5.       In 1878 Ms. Wiggin started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco, CA.

6.       During the 1880s, along with her sister, Ms. Wiggin started a training school for kindergarten teachers.

7.       When Kate married Bradley Wiggin, a lawyer, in 1881 she was expected to resign her teaching job, as was the custom, so she started writing to raise money.

8.       Mrs. Wiggin’s first two books The Story of Patsy (1883), and The Birds’ Christmas Carol (1887) were both huge successes.

9.       The Wiggins moved to New York City in 1888, unfortunately Mr. Wiggin passed away in 1889. Kate married George Christopher Riggs, a businessman, in 1895 and he was a strong supporter of her literary career.

10.   Besides writing books, Mrs. Wiggin was also a songwriter and composer.

Books by Kate Douglas Wiggin*

Zohar — Man of la Book
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account