Adeline Dutton Train Whitney

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Adeline Dutton Train Whitney (15 September 1824–20 March 1906) was an American poet and writer of books for girls.

Whitney was born Adeline Dutton Train in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of the founder of a line of packet ships between Boston and Liverpool, Enoch Train, and Adeline Train (née Dutton). She was educated at the school of George B. Emerson in Boston from 1837 to 1842. She married Seth Dunbar Whitney (a wealthy merchant who was twenty years older than her) on 7 November 1843, and went to live with him in Milton.

She started on her writing career in her thirties; after a period producing poems and stories for local journals, she published her first book – Mother Goose for Grown Folks – in 1859. She wrote mainly for young girls, championing conservative values, and purveying the message that a woman's happiest place is in the home, which is the source of all goodness. This proved very popular among parents, and her books sold extremely well throughout her life.

Whitney was a staunch opponent of women's suffrage, though took no part in public life (in accordance with the message of her books). Aside from her writing, she patented a set of alphabet blocks for children. She died in Milton at the age of eighty-one.