06/12/2026
This week our highlighted Hale Descendent is
Caroline Alathea Stickney- David and Richard’s great granddaughter born August 20, 1843. Caroline had a deep life-long love for nature and plants. She studied botany and wrote several books on the subject. “I acquired a taste for the free out-of-doors and a desire to learn about birds, insects and flowers, which has proved the greatest of pleasures, and which, in my books, I have striven to bring to the love of others.” - Alathea once wrote.
Her first book was Recreations In Botany published in 1893. The book explains the science, history, and methods of botany, as well as, plant structures and practical applications for botany. She followed up with a book Flowers of Field, Hill, and Swamp, published in 1897. She also published Harper’s Guide to Wildflowers which is a guidebook with descriptions and illustrations of various wildflowers found throughout North America. Her final book was A Daughter of the Puritans: An Autobiography, published in 1916. In it, she reflects on her life from childhood to marriage. She wrote of her life, “Such a life as mine, although uneventful, ought to be interesting, and, I hope instructive." While reflecting on her increasing age she wrote, “The lines which tell the story of my age are on my face. But who, at my age, would wish to have a perfectly smooth face? That would mean dearth of experiences, a barren record.”
Interestingly enough, and a bit surprising in her autobiography, Caroline displays a conservative view on women and their roles. She notes “The matter of “votes for women” appears to me quite incidental and unimportant… That which is termed feminism is certainly dishonoring to the home.” She writes of herself, “I may not be called one of the new women because I believe certain things… which cannot change.”
Interested in Hale genealogy? We are having a Hale family reunion on September 19 - for tickets visit https://ctlandmarks.org/event/hale-family-reunion/
