Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps
Encyclopedia
Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps (July 15, 1793 – July 15, 1884) was an American educator and author during the 19th century. Phelps published several popular science textbooks in the fields of botany, chemistry, and geology.
. Phelps was the youngest child in her family, growing up in an intellectual, independently thinking, and religious environment.
One of Phelps’s most inspirational mentors of her life was her older sister Emma Willard
. While living with her sister, Phelps was also mentored by John Willard and three of his fellow students who also came to live in the Willard household. While living with her sister, she studied mathematics and philosophy.
At the age of 16, Phelps began her teaching career in district schools. She later continued her own education. In 1814, Phelps opened her first boarding school for young women at her home in Berlin; and two years later, she became principal of a school in Sandy Hill, New York.
In 1817, Phelps married Simeon Lincoln and left her career for six years to be a housewife and mother to her three children. After her husband’s untimely death in 1823, Phelps returned to the education world and became a teacher and vice-principal at the famously known Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York
. While teaching at the Female Seminary, Phelps’s interests in science increased, and her botanical career began under the influence of Amos Eaton
.
While under the direction of Eaton, Phelps found her passion in botany
and the lack of introductory text books for secondary and beginning college level students. This led Phelps to write and publish her first and most famous textbook in 1829, Familiar Lectures on Botany.
In 1830, with the absence of her sister, Phelps was acting as principal of the Troy Female Seminary and gave a series of lectures related to female education that she would later publish as her second book, Lectures to Young Ladies.
Phelps remarried in 1831 to John Phelps, a lawyer and politician from Vermont
. At this time, Phelps once again gave up her career to raise a second family. While raising her family, she continued to write new textbooks on chemistry
, natural philosophy
, and education.
With each new publication and her continuing teaching lectures, Phelps’s fame grew, and she was asked to head many female seminaries. In 1838, she accepted the challenge and moved to Westchester, Pennsylvania, to be head of the seminary there. She stayed at Westchester for one year, and then headed to Rahway, New Jersey
, for two years. Finally, Phelps ended in Ellicott's Mills, Maryland, in 1841 where she established the Patapsco Female Institute
. Her institute for women offered academic courses in history, geography, literature, languages, mathematics, sciences, and the arts.
In 1859, Phelps was the third woman elected as a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
. After gaining her membership, Phelps continued to write, lecture, and revise her textbooks until she died in Baltimore on her 91st birthday, July 15, 1884.
Life
Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps was born on July 15, 1793, in Berlin, ConnecticutBerlin, Connecticut
Berlin is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 19,866 at the 2010 census. It was incorporated in 1785. The geographic center of Connecticut is located in the town. Berlin is residential and industrial, and served by the Amtrak station of the same name...
. Phelps was the youngest child in her family, growing up in an intellectual, independently thinking, and religious environment.
One of Phelps’s most inspirational mentors of her life was her older sister Emma Willard
Emma Willard
Emma Hart Willard was an American women’s rights activist who dedicated her life to education. She worked in several schools and founded the first school for women’s higher education, the Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York...
. While living with her sister, Phelps was also mentored by John Willard and three of his fellow students who also came to live in the Willard household. While living with her sister, she studied mathematics and philosophy.
At the age of 16, Phelps began her teaching career in district schools. She later continued her own education. In 1814, Phelps opened her first boarding school for young women at her home in Berlin; and two years later, she became principal of a school in Sandy Hill, New York.
In 1817, Phelps married Simeon Lincoln and left her career for six years to be a housewife and mother to her three children. After her husband’s untimely death in 1823, Phelps returned to the education world and became a teacher and vice-principal at the famously known Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
. While teaching at the Female Seminary, Phelps’s interests in science increased, and her botanical career began under the influence of Amos Eaton
Amos Eaton
Amos Eaton was a scientist and educator in the Troy, New York area.Eaton attended Williams College; after graduating in 1799 he studied law in New York City and was admitted to the state bar in 1802. He practiced law in Catskill, New York until 1810, when he was jailed on charges of forgery...
.
While under the direction of Eaton, Phelps found her passion in botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
and the lack of introductory text books for secondary and beginning college level students. This led Phelps to write and publish her first and most famous textbook in 1829, Familiar Lectures on Botany.
In 1830, with the absence of her sister, Phelps was acting as principal of the Troy Female Seminary and gave a series of lectures related to female education that she would later publish as her second book, Lectures to Young Ladies.
Phelps remarried in 1831 to John Phelps, a lawyer and politician from Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. At this time, Phelps once again gave up her career to raise a second family. While raising her family, she continued to write new textbooks on chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, natural philosophy
Natural philosophy
Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature , is a term applied to the study of nature and the physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science...
, and education.
With each new publication and her continuing teaching lectures, Phelps’s fame grew, and she was asked to head many female seminaries. In 1838, she accepted the challenge and moved to Westchester, Pennsylvania, to be head of the seminary there. She stayed at Westchester for one year, and then headed to Rahway, New Jersey
Rahway, New Jersey
Rahway is a city in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the New York metropolitan area, being 15 miles southwest of Manhattan and five miles west of Staten Island...
, for two years. Finally, Phelps ended in Ellicott's Mills, Maryland, in 1841 where she established the Patapsco Female Institute
Patapsco female institute
Patapsco Female Institute is a former girls' boarding school, now a rebuilt historical site, sitting at the top of the hill in Ellicott City, Maryland, United States...
. Her institute for women offered academic courses in history, geography, literature, languages, mathematics, sciences, and the arts.
In 1859, Phelps was the third woman elected as a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
. After gaining her membership, Phelps continued to write, lecture, and revise her textbooks until she died in Baltimore on her 91st birthday, July 15, 1884.
Publications
- Familiar Lectures on Botany (1829)
- The Child's Geology (1832)
- Lectures to Young Ladies (1833)
- Botany for Beginners (1833)
- Familiar Lectuers on Natural Phelosophy (1837)
- Natural Philosophy for Beginners (1838)
- Familiar Lectures on Chemistry (1838)