Elizabeth Graeme Ferguson

Biography

Elizabeth Graeme Ferguson, born into a prominent Philadelphia family, became one of the most articulate female writers of the colonial era. Her salon welcomed leading intellectuals, and her poetry, essays, and correspondence celebrated reason and the virtues of civility even as she lived through the tensions of Revolution.

After marriage brought trials, including financial reversals, she maintained a spirited defense of ideas and the cultural life of the city, leaving behind manuscripts that illuminate the perspective of a woman deeply entwined with the literary and social currents of her time.