Martha Joanna Reade Nash Lamb (August 13, 1826 – January 2, 1893) author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

 born in Plainfield, Massachusetts

Plainfield, Massachusetts

Plainfield is a town on the northwestern edge of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, about 25 miles east of Pittsfield and 30 miles northwest of Northampton. The population was 589 at the 2000 census...

 to Arvin Nash and Lucinda Vinton. Educated at the Willliston Seminary in Easthampton and the Northampton High School (Massachusetts)

Northampton High School (Massachusetts)

Northampton High School is a 4-year secondary school located in the town of Northampton, Massachusetts. The student body is composed of approximately 900 students, supported by 75 professional staff...

. She published her first article "A Visit to My Mother's Birthplace." in a local newspaper Hampshire Gazette. On September 8, 1852 she married Charles A. Lamb. They moved to Chicago in 1857 and Martha became involved in charity work. With Jane C. Hoge she helped found the Home for the Friendless and the Half-Orphan Asylum. Her marriage ended by divorce around 1866, and she took her literary talents to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, where, in 1883 she purchased The Magazine of American History

The Magazine of American History

The Magazine of American History was first established in January 1877 by Martha Joanna Lamb, Nathan Gillett Pond and John Austin Stevens with the long title The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries. It was issueded monthly. The first seven volumes were published by the A. S...

 and became its editor.

Literary career

• Aunt Mattie's Library. a series of books for children including: Merry Christmas., Drifting Goodword., Fun and Profit. and Sabbath Schools. 1969-70.
• Spicy. 1873 (a romantic novel about the "Sanitary Fair" and the Chicago Fire.
• The History of the City of New York: Its Origin, Rise, and Progress. (2 vols.) 1877-81 (there was a third volume, too)
• The Homes of America. 1879
• Wall Street in History. 1883.