Background
Lillie Wyman was born Elizabeth Buffum Chace on December 10, 1847, in Valley Falls, Rhode Island, United States. She is the daughter of Samuel Buffington and Elizabeth (Buffum) Chace.
Lillie Wyman was born Elizabeth Buffum Chace on December 10, 1847, in Valley Falls, Rhode Island, United States. She is the daughter of Samuel Buffington and Elizabeth (Buffum) Chace.
Lillie attended Dio Lewis’s Family School for Young Ladies.
Lillie Wyman was raised in a family of abolitionists who helped slaves escape to the North through underground railroads during the Civil War. Wyman expected to grow up and work for the abolitionist movement. It was a shock to her when, by the time she graduated from school, the Civil War had ended and the abolitionist movement was successfully over. She was glad the abolitionist movement had won, but she was lost about what she should do now that it was over. She soon found that writing was an excellent forum in which to discuss and contribute to social causes as well as an outlet for her feelings. As time went on, Wyman wrote essays on social movements and issues, such as women’s rights, factory reform, and prohibition, as well as biographies of some of the most important abolitionists. She also wrote poetry that commented on the antislavery movement.
Wyman began writing articles on social reform and producing short fiction in which she depicted the plight of others, primarily those of the working class, and portrayed unequal treatment among classes and gender bias. Her writings initially appeared in periodicals, such as Woman’s Journal and Atlantic Monthly. One story that was published in the September 1877 issue of the Atlantic Monthly received attention from critics. The tale, titled The Child of the State, details the downfall of an orphan, Josie Welch, neglected by the government system meant to protect her. The story was intended to expose the poor, even harmful, practices of reform schools, and incite change in the way the schools were managed.
Wyman continued writing short stories, and in 1886 her first compilation, Poverty Grass, was published. In these stories, Wyman illustrates the lives of people dealing with adversity. Most are factory workers struggling in the factory system.
Wyman's next book did not appear for thirty more years. In between the two volumes Wyman had written more essays on social issues and biographical pieces that would make up her second book, American Chivalry. In American Chivalry Wyman paints portraits of the abolitionists she so fondly remembered from her younger years. One sketch is even of her mother, who had contributed greatly to the abolitionist movement. Wyman, along with her brother, would continue to write about her mother's life and work and a year later published a two-volume biography called Elizabeth Buffum Chace: Her Life and Its Environment.
Wyman continued to portray the abolitionist movement in her poetry. Both published poetical works, Interludes and Other Verses and Syringa at the Gate, express Wyman's memories of the movement. She would also contribute children’s stories depicting racial tolerance to Brownies Book, an African American magazine for children. In 1924 and 1925, Wyman published Gertrude of Denmark: An Interpretive Romance and A Grand Army Man of Rhode Island, respectively. The former book is based on Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, giving more attention to Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. The latter achievement discusses the experiences of Augustine Mann as a surgeon during the Civil War. Neither received rave reviews.
Three years following her final publication, Wyman passed away, leaving behind a lifetime of promoting social awareness and reform. Despite her disappointment as a young woman to have not been able to play a greater role in the abolitionist movement, she did her part in not letting future generations forget the triumphs of those who did.
Lillie married John Crawford Wyman on October 29, 1878. They had one son, Arthur Crawford Wyman.