SOUTHWORTH, Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte, author, born in Washington, D. C., 26 December, 1819. She was educated by her step-father, Joshua L. Henshaw, at whose school she was graduated in 1835, and in 1840 she married Frederick H. Southworth, of Utica, New York She taught in a public school in Washington in 1844-'9, and while so occupied began to write stories, the first of which, " The Irish Refugee," appeared in "The Baltimore Saturday Visitor." Subsequently she wrote for the "National Era," and became one of its regular contributors. In its columns appeared her first novel, " Retribution." It originally was intended to be a short story, but grew into a long novel, and was afterward issued in book-form (New York, 1849). With unusual rapidity she wrote her succeeding stories, issuing sometimes three in a year, and they have attained great popularity. Her works display strong dramatic power and contain many excellent descriptive passages of southern life and scenery, to which they are chiefly devoted. In 1853 she settled in a villa on the Potomac heights, near Washington, where she lived until 1876, when she removed to Yonkers, New York Mrs. Southworth claims to have invented for her own use the manilla box envelope that was afterward patented by others. Her published novels are now (1888) about fifty-six in number. A uniform edition, beginning witch "Retribution " and ending with "The Fatal Secret," was issued in Philadelphia in 1872. It includes forty-two stories. Since 1874 her stories comprise "Unknown" (1874); " Gloria" (1877)" "The Trail of the Serpent" (1879) ; "Nearest and Dearest " (1881) ; "The Mother's Secret " (1883) ; and "An Exile's Bride" (1887)" and others were issued serially in the "New York Ledger." Many of Mrs. Southworth's works have been translated into French, German, and Spanish, and have been republished in London, Paris, Leipsic, Madrid, and Montreal.