Early life and family Sarah Elizabeth Hopkins was born on August 20, 1818, in
Mount Morris, New York. She was the youngest of seven children of the Hon.
Samuel Miles Hopkins (1772–1837) and Sarah Elizabeth Rogers (1778–1866). Her father was a
Yale University graduate,
attorney and judge, who served as a
Federalist Party congressman (1813–1815),
New York State Assemblyman (1820–1821), and
New York State Senate member (1822). On May 15, 1839, she married prominent
Albany, New York attorney (later judge) John Melancthon Bradford Jr. (1813–1860). The couple had six children: Charles, William, Mary, John, Elizabeth and Louisa. Their two eldest sons were killed in the
Civil War. Their daughter, Mary, (1844–1913) later became a well-known writer in her own right under the name Mary Bradford Crowninshield; her husband,
Arent Schuyler Crowninshield, was a naval officer who advanced to
Rear Admiral rank, and eventually headed the
Bureau of Navigation.
Children's literature Bradford wrote her first published work, ''Amy, the Glass-Blower's Daughter: A True Narrative
in 1847. She then wrote the six-volume Silver Lake Series'', published from 1852 to 1854. Rather than a formal series involving connected characters, these six books are each collections of poetry and prose, including many short stories. Bradford wrote these books under the pen name 'Cousin Cicely'. Most of her early writing, up until the late 1860s, targeted the children's market, and she published at least seven further children's books, including both fiction and history. She also wrote articles published in magazines. Following her husband's death in 1860, she opened a
seminary for girls and young women in
Geneva, New York. She moved to Europe for eight years, where she educated her daughters.
Harriet Tubman works In 1869, four years after the end of the
Civil War, Bradford wrote her first of two groundbreaking books,
Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman. Tubman escaped slavery and then returned to help many others escape as well, traveling to the northern United States and Canada before the Civil War, using the
Underground Railroad. Bradford wrote the book, using extensive interviews with Tubman, to raise funds for Tubman's support. The two became friends. It was the first Tubman biography of any depth. Bradford was one of the first white writers to deal with African-American topics, and her work attracted worldwide fame, selling very well. In 1886, she followed up with
Harriet, the Moses of Her People, again to assist in supporting Tubman. A final revision in 1901 added an appendix with more stories about Tubman's life. Both works have been published in many editions, and still sell well in the early 21st century.
Later life and death Bradford lived in
Geneva, New York, and late in her life settled in
Rochester, New York. She died there June 25, 1912. ==Legacy==