Kate Douglas Wiggin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kate Douglas Wiggin
"A Woman of the Century"
Born	Kate Douglas Smith (1856-09-28)September 28, 1856 Philadelphia
Died	August 24, 1923(1923-08-24) (aged 66) Harrow, Middlesex, England
Occupation	Author
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Gorham Female Seminary; Morison Academy (Baltimore)
Spouse	Bradley Wiggin, George Christopher Riggs
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Kate Douglas Wiggin (September 28, 1856 – August 24, 1923) was an American teacher, writer, and composer. She is best known for her classic children's novel, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. Kate also wrote many other children's stories and composed songs for kids.

She was a pioneer in early childhood education. In 1878, she started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco. Along with her sister, she also created a special school to train kindergarten teachers. Kate Wiggin spent her life working to improve the lives of children. This was at a time when children were often seen as just cheap labor.

After studying kindergarten methods, Kate moved to San Francisco. She began teaching there with her sister Nora helping her. Together, they helped set up over 60 kindergartens for poor children in San Francisco and Oakland. Later, Kate moved to New York and focused on writing. Her first books, The Story of Patsy and The Bird's Christmas Carol, were very successful. Besides being a great storyteller, she was also a talented musician. She sang well and wrote music for her poems.

Early Life and Meeting Charles Dickens

Kate Douglas Wiggin House in Hollis, Maine, where Kate lived in the summers.

Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin was born in Philadelphia. Her father was a lawyer. Kate had a happy childhood, even though it was during the American Civil War. Her father passed away when she was young. Kate and her sister Nora moved with their widowed mother to Portland, Maine. Three years later, their mother remarried, and the family moved to the small village of Hollis. Kate grew up there, enjoying the countryside with her sister and new baby brother.

A special moment in Kate's childhood was meeting the famous novelist Charles Dickens. When she was 11, her mother went to hear Dickens read in Portland. Kate was thought to be too young for an expensive ticket. The very next day, she found herself on the same train as Dickens! She had a lively conversation with him during the journey. She later wrote about this amazing experience in a short book called A Child's Journey with Dickens (1912).

Kate's education was a bit unusual. She attended a few different schools and was also taught at home. She spent a year at Gorham Female Seminary and a few months at Abbot Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where she graduated in 1873. Even though it wasn't a traditional path, she received more education than most women at that time.

Starting Kindergartens and Becoming an Author

In 1873, Kate's family moved to Santa Barbara, California. This was to help her stepfather's lung disease. Three years later, her stepfather died. Kate then enrolled in a kindergarten training class in Los Angeles. After graduating in 1878, she became the head of California's first free kindergarten. It was on Silver Street in a poor area of San Francisco. The children there were often very wild, but Kate's kind personality and dramatic teaching style helped them. By 1880, she was also setting up a school to train new kindergarten teachers.

In 1881, Kate married (Samuel) Bradley Wiggin, a lawyer in San Francisco. At that time, married women were usually expected to stop working. So, Kate had to leave her teaching job. However, she was still very dedicated to her school. She started writing to raise money for it. Her first books were The Story of Patsy (1883) and The Birds' Christmas Carol (1887). These books were first printed privately, but then a big publisher, Houghton Mifflin, released them in 1889. They were a huge success!

Kate Wiggin did not have any children of her own. In 1888, she moved to New York City. When her husband suddenly passed away in 1889, Kate moved back to Maine. She was very sad, but she continued to travel often. She divided her time between writing, visiting Europe, and giving public readings. These readings helped raise money for different children's charities.

In 1894, Kate met George Christopher Riggs, who imported linen. They met on a ship to England and quickly decided to get married. They were married in New York City on March 30, 1895. George Riggs became one of Kate's biggest supporters as she became more famous.

Photo of Wiggin (around 1895)

After her marriage, she continued to write under the name Wiggin. She wrote many popular books for adults. With her sister, Nora A. Smith, she also published important books about the ideas of Friedrich Fröbel, who invented the kindergarten. These books included Froebel's Gifts (1895) and Kindergarten Principles and Practice (1896).

Her most famous book is the classic children's novel Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903). It became a bestseller right away. Another popular book was Rose o' the River (1905). Both Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and Mother Carey's Chickens (1911) were even turned into plays.

Photo of Wiggin (around 1903)

For a while, she lived at Quillcote, her summer home in Hollis, Maine. This house is now a historic place. Quillcote is very close to the Salmon Falls Library, which Kate founded in 1911. She also started the Dorcas Society of Hollis & Buxton, Maine, in 1897. A church nearby, the Tory Hill Meeting House, inspired her book and play The Old Peabody Pew (1907).

Later Life and Legacy

Kate Wiggin was a lively and popular host in New York. She also had a summer home in Upper Largo, Scotland. There, she organized plays for many years, which she wrote about in her book My Garden of Memory.

In 1921, Kate and her sister Nora Archibald Smith edited a special edition of The Scottish Chiefs. This was an old novel about William Wallace, a Scottish hero. The book had beautiful illustrations by N.C. Wyeth.

In the spring of 1923, Kate Wiggin traveled to England. She became ill there and passed away at age 66 from a lung infection. As she wished, her ashes were brought back to Maine and scattered over the Saco River. Her autobiography, My Garden of Memory, was published after her death. Her sister Nora A. Smith later wrote her own memories of Kate, called Kate Douglas Wiggin as her Sister Knew Her.

Kate Wiggin was also a songwriter and composer. She wrote some of the words, music, and arrangements for her children's collections like "Kindergarten Chimes" (1885). For "Nine Love Songs and a Carol" (1896), she composed all the music herself.

Many of Kate Douglas Wiggin's novels were made into movies. One of the most famous is the 1938 film starring Shirley Temple.

Selected Works

Cover of The Romance of a Christmas Card (1916)

Film Adaptations

• A Bit o' Heaven (1917), based on The Birds' Christmas Carol
• Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917), starring Mary Pickford
• Rose o' the River (1919)
• Timothy's Quest (1922)
• Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1932)
• Timothy's Quest (1936)
• Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938), starring Shirley Temple
• Mother Carey's Chickens (1938)
• Summer Magic (1963), a Walt Disney movie based on Mother Carey's Chickens
• Christmas World: "The Bird's Christmas Carol" (2019)