Salem Women's
History and
Business Community
History and
Business Community
Kate Tannatt Woods
Salem sites:
• Thought and Work Club,
36 Lynde Street (no longer
stands)
Associated Salem women (officers at the founding of the Thought and Work Club):
• Grace A. Oliver
• Ellen A. Brown
• Abbie L. Read
• Emma S. Almy
• Sarah Davis
• Thought and Work Club,
36 Lynde Street (no longer
stands)
Associated Salem women (officers at the founding of the Thought and Work Club):
• Grace A. Oliver
• Ellen A. Brown
• Abbie L. Read
• Emma S. Almy
• Sarah Davis
166 North Street, “Maple Rest” — Private residence
A native of Peekskill, New York, Kate Tannatt Woods (1836–1910) was the daughter of James S. Tannatt, an editor, and Mary Tannatt. She was married to George H. Woods, a prominent attorney and officer under General George Sherman. Kate served as a nurse during the Civil War, and was able to care for her husband when he was severely wounded.1 Upon their return home, Kate used her writing to support her family. She worked as a journalist for the Boston Transcript, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and as a contributor and editor of Harper’s Bazar and the Ladies Home Journal. In his book Poets of Essex County, Sidney Perley described Kate Woods’ editorial work as “clear, terse and vigorous.”2
Kate Tannatt Woods was also a prolific writer of books for young people and of travelogues, including:
That Dreadful Boy (Boston: DeWolfe, Fiske and Co., 1886)
Six Little Rebels (Boston: D. Lothrop & Co., 1879)
Doctor Dick (Boston: D. Lothrop & Co., ca. 1881)
Doll Betsy at the Post Office (Boston: D. Lothrop & Co., 1881)
Twice Two and Other Stories (New York: Cassell & Co., ca. 1883)
The Duncans on Land and Sea (New York: Cassell & Co., ca. 1883)
Out and About, or, The Hudson’s Trip to the Pacific (Boston: D. Lothrop & Co., 1882)
Toots and His Friends (New York: Cassell & Co., 1883)
The Minister’s Secret (New York: F.F. Lovell & Co., 1888)
A Fair Maid of Marblehead (New York: F.F. Lovell & Co., 1889)
Hester Hepworth, A Novel (Montreal: J. Lovell, ca. 1889)
The Wooing of Grandmother Grey (Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1890)
Grandfather Grey (Boston: Lee and Shepard, New York: C.T. Dillingham, 1892)
A New Book of Proverbs (Salem: Hutchinson & Son, 1893)
A Little New England Maid (Boston, 1895)
Mopsy… (Boston, 1896)
Across the Continent: How the Boys and Girls went from
Bunker Hill to the Golden Gate (Boston: D. Lothrop & Co., ca. 1897)
All Around a Rocking Chair (New York: J. Miller, ca. 1879)3
Kate was also an active member of the Moral Education Association of Boston, and in 1875 she organized a meeting at Old Town Hall in Salem to address the growing problem of lawlessness among young women in the city. This meeting paved the way for the formation of the Salem Moral Education Association, later, the Woman’s Friend Society, an organization that operated an employment bureau, reading room, and a residential facility for young women.
The women’s club movement
Kate Tannatt Woods is perhaps best known for her work in the women’s club movement, a phenomenon of the nineteenth century in which women organized for political, literary, philanthropic, and social purposes. Kate was a founder and one of the first officers of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, the national parent organization of women’s clubs. She was also one of the founders of the Massachusetts State Federation of Women’s Clubs, a member of Boston’s Wintergreen Club (whose members included the reformists Julia Ward Howe and Mary A. Livermore), and the founder of the Thought and Work Club in Salem.4
Kate Woods founded the Thought and Work Club in 1891to encourage literary pursuits in Salem, educate its members on topics of the day, and engage in civic affairs. The club’s committees included those on art and literature, history, education, and home improvement. Kate published a book of proverbs for the club in 1893, and watched her fledgling organization grow from seven founders to 350 members within a few years.5
A special guest
At her home on North Street called Maple Rest, Kate Woods, then a widow, welcomed the charismatic, popular Swami Vivekananda into her home in 1893 during his stay in America. He had come to attend the international Parliament of Religions in Chicago, and dispel myths about Hinduism. Kate had met him in Boston at the home of a mutual friend, and no doubt relished the opportunity to introduce the great man and his ideas to Salem.6
Kate Tannatt Woods died in Buffalo, New York, at the home of her son, Prince. She was seventy-four.7 In 2009, a copy of her signature with one of her book illustrations went on sale for $299.
Sources
1 Obituary, New York Times, 13 July 1910.
2 Poets of Essex County by Sidney Perley (Salem: S. Perley, 1889), 192.
3 Library of Congress.
4 Obituary, New York Times, 13 July 1910; and The Part Taken by Women in American History by Mrs. John A. (Mary Cunningham) Logan (Wilmington: Perry-Nalle Publishing, 1912), 849.
5 The History of the Woman’s Club Movement in America by Mrs. J.C. (Jane Cunningham) Croly (New York: Henry G. Allen & Co., 1888), 662-3.
6 Swami Vivekananda: The Man and His Mission by Dr. Neria Harish Hebbar.
7 Obituary, New York Times, 13 July 1910.
A native of Peekskill, New York, Kate Tannatt Woods (1836–1910) was the daughter of James S. Tannatt, an editor, and Mary Tannatt. She was married to George H. Woods, a prominent attorney and officer under General George Sherman. Kate served as a nurse during the Civil War, and was able to care for her husband when he was severely wounded.1 Upon their return home, Kate used her writing to support her family. She worked as a journalist for the Boston Transcript, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and as a contributor and editor of Harper’s Bazar and the Ladies Home Journal. In his book Poets of Essex County, Sidney Perley described Kate Woods’ editorial work as “clear, terse and vigorous.”2
Kate Tannatt Woods was also a prolific writer of books for young people and of travelogues, including:
That Dreadful Boy (Boston: DeWolfe, Fiske and Co., 1886)
Six Little Rebels (Boston: D. Lothrop & Co., 1879)
Doctor Dick (Boston: D. Lothrop & Co., ca. 1881)
Doll Betsy at the Post Office (Boston: D. Lothrop & Co., 1881)
Twice Two and Other Stories (New York: Cassell & Co., ca. 1883)
The Duncans on Land and Sea (New York: Cassell & Co., ca. 1883)
Out and About, or, The Hudson’s Trip to the Pacific (Boston: D. Lothrop & Co., 1882)
Toots and His Friends (New York: Cassell & Co., 1883)
The Minister’s Secret (New York: F.F. Lovell & Co., 1888)
A Fair Maid of Marblehead (New York: F.F. Lovell & Co., 1889)
Hester Hepworth, A Novel (Montreal: J. Lovell, ca. 1889)
The Wooing of Grandmother Grey (Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1890)
Grandfather Grey (Boston: Lee and Shepard, New York: C.T. Dillingham, 1892)
A New Book of Proverbs (Salem: Hutchinson & Son, 1893)
A Little New England Maid (Boston, 1895)
Mopsy… (Boston, 1896)
Across the Continent: How the Boys and Girls went from
Bunker Hill to the Golden Gate (Boston: D. Lothrop & Co., ca. 1897)
All Around a Rocking Chair (New York: J. Miller, ca. 1879)3
Kate was also an active member of the Moral Education Association of Boston, and in 1875 she organized a meeting at Old Town Hall in Salem to address the growing problem of lawlessness among young women in the city. This meeting paved the way for the formation of the Salem Moral Education Association, later, the Woman’s Friend Society, an organization that operated an employment bureau, reading room, and a residential facility for young women.
The women’s club movement
Kate Tannatt Woods is perhaps best known for her work in the women’s club movement, a phenomenon of the nineteenth century in which women organized for political, literary, philanthropic, and social purposes. Kate was a founder and one of the first officers of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, the national parent organization of women’s clubs. She was also one of the founders of the Massachusetts State Federation of Women’s Clubs, a member of Boston’s Wintergreen Club (whose members included the reformists Julia Ward Howe and Mary A. Livermore), and the founder of the Thought and Work Club in Salem.4
Kate Woods founded the Thought and Work Club in 1891to encourage literary pursuits in Salem, educate its members on topics of the day, and engage in civic affairs. The club’s committees included those on art and literature, history, education, and home improvement. Kate published a book of proverbs for the club in 1893, and watched her fledgling organization grow from seven founders to 350 members within a few years.5
A special guest
At her home on North Street called Maple Rest, Kate Woods, then a widow, welcomed the charismatic, popular Swami Vivekananda into her home in 1893 during his stay in America. He had come to attend the international Parliament of Religions in Chicago, and dispel myths about Hinduism. Kate had met him in Boston at the home of a mutual friend, and no doubt relished the opportunity to introduce the great man and his ideas to Salem.6
Kate Tannatt Woods died in Buffalo, New York, at the home of her son, Prince. She was seventy-four.7 In 2009, a copy of her signature with one of her book illustrations went on sale for $299.
Sources
1 Obituary, New York Times, 13 July 1910.
2 Poets of Essex County by Sidney Perley (Salem: S. Perley, 1889), 192.
3 Library of Congress.
4 Obituary, New York Times, 13 July 1910; and The Part Taken by Women in American History by Mrs. John A. (Mary Cunningham) Logan (Wilmington: Perry-Nalle Publishing, 1912), 849.
5 The History of the Woman’s Club Movement in America by Mrs. J.C. (Jane Cunningham) Croly (New York: Henry G. Allen & Co., 1888), 662-3.
6 Swami Vivekananda: The Man and His Mission by Dr. Neria Harish Hebbar.
7 Obituary, New York Times, 13 July 1910.
