Woman of the Century/Harriet Bunker Austin

HARRIET BUNKER AUSTIN. AUSTIN, Mrs. Harriet Bunker, author, born in Erie, Pa., 29th December, 1844, She is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John F. Bunker, descending from New England stock. Her great-grandfather, Benjamin Bunker, was a soldier of the Revolution, and was killed in the battle of Bunker Hill. The hill from which the battle was named comprised part of the Bunker estate. On her mother's side she is related to the Bronson Alcott and Lyman Beecher families. When quite young, she removed with her parents to Woodstock, McHenry county, III., where she has since resided. Her education was received in the Woodstock high school and Dr. Todd's Female Seminary. At the close of her seminary life she was married to W. B. Austin, a prosperous merchant of that city. She has been a prolific writer, many of her poems having been set to music and gained deserved popularity. She has always taken an active interest in every scheme for the advancement of women, and is ever ready to lend her influence to the promotion of social reforms.