Henrietta Buckmaster

Henrietta Delancey Henkle, (10 March 1909 – 26 April 1983) better known by her pen name Henrietta Buckmaster, was an activist, journalist, and author best known for writing historical studies and novels.[2] She was also active in the civil rights movement.[3][4]

Henrietta Buckmaster
Born
Henrietta Delancey Henkle

(1909-03-10)March 10, 1909
Cleveland, Ohio
DiedApril 26, 1983(1983-04-26) (aged 74)
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
Other namesHenrietta Henkle Stephens
OccupationWriter
Notable work
Let My People Go
Deep River[1]
Spouse(s)Peter John Stephens

Biography

Buckmaster was born in Cleveland, Ohio[5] in 1909 to editor Rae D. Henkle and Pearl (Wintermute) Henkle and grew up in New York city. She attended Friends Seminary and the Brearley School.[2]

Buckmaster became a journalist and author focusing on historical books and novels, as well as being a book reviewer for some time. A major theme of her books was human freedom, and her subjects were often American slaves and women.[2] In 1944 she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship,[4] for which she received a sponsorship from W.E.B. Du Bois.[6] Her most well known book, Let My People Go, focused on the Underground Railroad and the Abolition movement.[7][4] Her writing was praised for "without departing from fact" being "as dramatic as it is informative."[8] She combined scholarship with the "concern of the civil libertarian."[2]

Buckmaster was also involved in the civil-rights movement, as well as fighting for the rights of American Indians and prisoners.[4] She played a role as one of the leaders of The Committee for Equal Justice.[3]

Personal life

She was briefly married to Peter John Stephens, and wrote under the name Henrietta Henkle Stephens. She died in 1983 after a short illness at 74.[4]

Partial list of published works

References
  1. "Henrietta Buckmaster". Find a grave. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  2. "Buckmaster, Henrietta". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  3. McGuire, Danielle L. At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance--a New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power New York: Vintage Books, 2011. p. 26.
  4. "HENRIETTA BUCKMASTER, 74, WAS A NOVELIST AND EDITOR". New York Times. 27 April 1983.
  5. "Let My People Go The Story of the Underground Railroad and the Growth of the Abolitionist Movement". University of South Carolina press. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  6. "Letter from Henrietta Buckmaster to W. E. B. Du Bois, April 5, 1944". umass.edu. UMass Amherst. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  7. Reddick, L. D. (1 April 1941). "Henrietta Buckmaster, Let My People Go; the Story of the Underground Railroad...". The Journal of African American History. 26 (2): 256.
  8. "Henrietta Buckmaster, a distinguished author of books for both children and adults, projects in her history of the..." Kirkus Reviews. 1 August 1958. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
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