Dorothea Lynde Dix was born on April 4th, 1802 in Hampden, Maine (Bio, 1). Dorothea was the first child of three born to Joseph Dix and Mary Bigelow Dix (Bumb, 1). Joseph Dix was a Methodist preacher, who later became a missionary (Wmol, 1). When she was young, Dorothea’s father taught her to read and write. However, Mary was mentally ill and Joseph was an abusive alcoholic who ignored the family. Having to raise her brothers by herself, Dorothea missed out on a child hood (Bumb, 1). When she was ten her grandmother from Boston took her and her brothers in (Bio, 1). Dorothea’s grandmother (Joseph’s mother) was wealththy and lived in a mansion in Boston. Upon arriving there, her grandmother started instructing Dorothea to be lady like. Frustrated at her progress she sent Dorothe

Edward Bangs fell into conversation with Dorothea and learned that she wanted to become a teacher. Since females were not allowed to attend public school at the time, Edward decided to help Dorothea start a private school for girls. He got her a store to teach in and found twenty girls ages between six and eight for her to teach (Bumb, 1). Although Dorothea was only fourteen at the time she taught school for three years in Worcester (Wmol, 1). After three years, Edward told Dorothea how he felt about her. Upon hearing that Edward loved her, Dorothea closed the school and headed back to Boston. When she got back in Boston, she wanted to begin teaching again. However, she did not have a school. Being too afraid to ask her grandmother, she wrote her a letter proposing her idea. Dorothea told her grandmother in the letter that she wanted to have a school at the mansion so she could teach poor girls. Knowing that her grandmother would not approve she wrote that she would also teach a class of upper class girls. Dorothea’s grandmother was delighted (Bumb, 1). In 1821 Dorothea established her own school in Boston (Bio, 1). She was only nineteen. In the spring of 1821, Joseph Dix passed away in New Hampshire. As a result Dorothea decided that she would not marry Edward and that teaching was her passion in life (Bumb, 1). Between the years of 1824 and 1829 Dorothea wrote five books while teaching (Wmol, 1). In 1830, Dorothea became ill with a tubercular illness. Having to leave the school for some time, she became a tutor for Dr. Channing’s daughters. Dorothea returned to school in the fall of 1831. When she returned, she learned that her good friend General Levi Lincoln had become governor of Massachusetts and Edward Bangs his secretary. By 1836 Dorothea’s grandmother had become ill. Tending to her grandmother and the school caused Dorothea to become run down. Thus allowing her to get Tuberculosis (Bumb, 1). In 1836 Dorothea clos

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