Kate Gannett Wells

Kate Gannett Wells (born Catherine Boott Gannett; April 6, 1838 – December 13, 1911) was an American writer and social reformer, and a prominent member of the anti-suffragist movement in the United States. Wells served on the Massachusetts Board of Education for twenty-four years beginning in 1888 and was a vice president of the New England Women's Club. She also published several books, including the novel In the Clearings (1884) and the nonfiction work Campobello: An Historical Sketch.

Early life and education

Wells born in London, England, on April 6, 1838. Her parents, Anna Tilden Gannett and Ezra Stiles Gannett, a prominent Unitarian minister, were both American, but were staying in England to facilitate her father's medical treatment. Wells was reportedly named for her father's doctor, a Dr. Boott, and her mother's sister, Catherine Tilden. Catherine Tilden would later serve as a mother figure to Wells and her two siblings following Anna Gannett's death on Christmas day in 1846, when Wells was eight years old.

On her father's side, Wells was descended from the early New England colonist Mary Chilton and former Yale College President Ezra Stiles.

On June 11, 1863, Wells married Boston lawyer Samuel Wells, Jr., the son of former Maine governor Samuel Wells, with whom she would have three children. The financial stability of the marriage allowed Wells to pursue a career in philanthropy, activism, and literature.

Philanthropy and activism

In 1868, Wells joined the newly established New England Women's Club, and became a vice president of the organization in 1878. She served as chair for the Club's Discussion Committee for several years.