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Sarah Finkle Gildersleeve

Other Name:
Sarah Finkle
Gender:
Female
Born:
October 12, 1801
Died:
November 18, 1861
Home Town:
Ernest Town, Ontario Canada
Marriage(s):
Henry Gildersleeve (January 28, 1824)
Biographical Notes:
Sarah Finkle Gildersleeve, daughter of Henry and Lucretia Henderson Finkle, was born in Ernest Town, Canada on October 12, 1801. Sarah and her sister Minerva were said to be, “probably the first women in Upper Canada to be sent out of the country by their family to be educated, and the first to receive higher academic training.” Whether they were the first two children to be sent out of the country for their education is uncertain, but it is known that in 1816 Sarah traveled to Litchfield, Connecticut with her sister Minverva. For the next two years she attended Sarah Pierce's Female Academy, and in 1824 she married Henry Gildersleeve of Gildersleeve, Connecticut. During their marriage Sarah and Henry had eight children, all of which were born in Kingston, Canada where they made their home. Sarah passed away on November 18, 1861.
Quotes:
"Tuesday I went to school and Mr. Brace called our names for us to chose our seats. I chose mine in the South East corner near Miss Pierce and Sarah Finkle chose hers next to me, for which I was very much pleased, as I think she is an excellent girl." - Eliza Ogden's 1816-1818 Journal, January 5, 1818 (Vanderpoel, Emily Noyes. Chronicles of A Pioneer School From 1792 to 1833. Cambridge, MA: The Univesity Press, 1903).
Education
Years at LFA:
1816-1818
Related Objects and Documents
In the Ledger:
help The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation.

Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
"Catalogue of the Ladies Academy in Litchfield" 1818 by J.A. Shepard (Litchfield Historical Society - Litchfield Female Academy collection).

Mentioned in Eliza Ogden's 1816-1818 journal (Vanderpoel, Emily Noyes. Chronicles of A Pioneer School From 1792 to 1833. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1903).

1816 Litchfield Female Academy Catalog (Vanderpoel, Emily Noyes. Chronicles of A Pioneer School From 1792 to 1833. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1903).

1817 Litchfield Female Academy Winter Session Catalogue (Vanderpoel, Emily Noyes. More Chronicles of A Pioneer School From 1792 to 1833. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1927).

"Catalogue of the Ladies Academy in Litchfield" 1818 by J.A. Shepard (Litchfield Historical Society ...
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