Show made day national persistent woman editor united the nation in giving thanks ok fhe rhe impression seems to preva preval 1 in some quarters that the woman of the united states never accomplished any thing worth while before they were given the right to vote talk of tl at character Is a million miles from the truth the women of america have always been doing fine big bortl while things 11 HOB 0 B shop writes in the na e at th s particular season of the year it Is appropriate to tell about ta tie e woman who after twenty years of patient effort succeeded in having an annual thanksgiving celebration in this country observed on the same day by all of the people the name of this woman was mrs sarah josepha hale few women el ther before or since have accod polished more b g things for the bettar ment of men and women probably few persons of the present generation have ever heard of this g eted woman she was born at I 1 en port N 11 0 tober 24 1788 and it d ed in I 1 hilaiel phia april 30 she was not a college woman but was taught by her mother in ili 1813 at the age of twenty five she mari roamed led a lawyer david hile hale a brother of salma hale historian an I 1 at one time a member of congress from new hampshire nine years la ler ter she was left a widow with five chit dren she was a genuine old fah toned american woman noman and it d d not clamor for governmental or individual aid she was quite content to go to work in 1828 she became ed tor of the lad es magazine which had recently been started in boston she successfully edited this publication un til tit 1837 when it was merged with god ey sLades s lad es book she continued ditl the latter publication until 1877 much work well done editing a magazine Is usually con a pretty big job in itself mrs hale however seemed to find time for many other things she organized the seaman s aid society in boston wh ch h Is the parent of s milar organizations now existing in most ports the corn com of the bunker banker il 11 monument was also partly due to the efforts of this little woman ste st e persuaded tle tl e women of new england to raise 0 o 0 tor for that purpose the plan of educating women for med cal and missionary service in for eign lands was inaugurated by mrs air hale she devoted a number of years to this effort finally succeed ng tl ti rough the organization of the lad es med tied cal missionary society of I 1 hila delphia and the woman s union M 13 flonary society for heathen lands 1 in new york tl TI hout her ed work mrs hale urged the practical adNan advancement cement of women advocating their employ meat ment as teachers and the establish ment of seminaries for their I 1 eigher ed li cation thanksgiving ving in 1777 it was in the early forties tl it at mrs airs hale began her tier campaign for mal in thanksgiving a national holiday dolid ay iy and its celebration on the same day all over the country it was then the custom tor for ol d efferent localities to ob serve the occasion on whatever day happened to strike their fancy following tl e surrender of burgoyne at saratoga in 1777 the continental congress had appointed a committee to le ip commend joint thai that ks giving for the s gnal gnat success lately obtained o over oer er the enemies of the united states in 1778 ng was set tor for december SO 30 most of the states con curning in a uniform date but tt ere were other tha A eg ivings in may june and december as the various states saw fit to order them it was not until january 1795 that washington was authorized by con gress to proclaim a national thant s giving which he did for february 19 for twenty years mrs hale wrote ed corials in her magazine and per bonal letters to governors and dents in behalf of a national thanks giving day her efforts and patience were viere rewarded in 1863 when abdal am lincoln saw the wisdom of her su sug gest lons and decided to adopt the az plan n from that day to this thanksgiving has been celebrated by the entire na tion the last thursday of Ao Io vember after the 1790 1791 day of thanksgiving in february tl e fes festival was skipped slipped for twenty years in 1815 v 1 en peace with great britain folio follo ved ned the war of 1812 congress resolved that a joint committee of both houses wa t upon the pres dent of the un ted states and request that he recommend a day of TI ing to be observed by the people of the united states with rel g ous solemnity and the offer ing of devout acknowledgments to god tor for h s mercies and in prayer to him for the continuance of I 1 is bless rigs long lapse after 1815 the day fixed for observance ol 01 servance was nas AI at r 1 13 1815 but thereafter thinks thanks giving as a national celebration fell by the wayside not to be revived until mrs hale s campaign campi ign mon ed pres der let t lincoln ta act in 1803 mrs airs hale s pers stent efforts I 1 ad won fai baior or for ta tie e idea in most states by the time the civil war had arrive I 1 some states already had begun the observance of a fall tl TI anks giving day nearly ten bears before the national day in november was set aside new york was one of these and her depre senta tives in congress tried repeatedly to induce that body to name a day la in 1863 there were actually two thanks giving days the northern states hav ing observed one in august for the victory at gettysburg following the assassination of lin coin coln mrs airs hale feared the holiday might be allowed to drop she u urged the necessity of keeping the national fall festival as a thanks day for all good things given us by the heavenly t 4 CT 4 mrs sarah josepha hale father mrs hale wrote to in ill all over ta tie e counti y urn ure ng them to help the first congregational church of in ash agton cespon ie le I 1 to mrs airs hale s plea and sent a delegation to prea dent andrew johnson requesting him to issue a thanks ling ving proal aaion he ace 1 ted an I 1 tl it e I 1 res dents s nc aci nci lave followed 11 ex i aple v N phout be ii it g petit boned tl e st ites ties lasu ng sep arate r roc lamat in keep n ng will tl e i e elect ilet alm u hale wrote many bo I 1 s and poems the most famous of I 1 er i oems were r alar s I 1 ami tl TI e liht of home and it snows I 1 th the e bet best kno vu of f her worl i orl s is woman 14 I 1 ecord or Sl sketches etche of all D stin gulshen women I 1 rom t tl e creation to the day first shed in 1803 and enlarged in she went mient on writing erses eres and j agles for ch eh I 1 dren articles and novels for grown persons and ed ting I 1 er magaz ne I 1 shortly before her death in 18 9 at which time she was ninety one years old HANKS is one of the tie things we 1 forget we take our blessings as a matter of course we seldom say a word about them although we kick like steers when things dont don t go right so let lets s stop complaining long enough to say thank you grit |