14 Facts About Sarah Dorsey

Sarah Anne Dorsey was an American novelist and historian.

Sarah Dorsey published several novels and a highly regarded biography of Henry Watkins Allen, governor of Louisiana during the years of the American Civil War.

Sarah Dorsey ended up living there the rest of his life.

In 1878, Sarah Dorsey realized she was terminally ill, rewrote her will, and bequeathed her property to Jefferson Davis.

Sarah Dorsey was born to Mary Malvina Routh and Thomas George Percy Ellis, a planter in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1829.

In 1852, Ellis married Samuel Worthington Sarah Dorsey, a former lawyer who was a planter in Tensas at the time of the marriage.

Sarah Dorsey wrote articles for the New York Churchman in the 1850s.

In 1866, Sarah Dorsey published a biography of Henry Watkins Allen, the wartime governor of Louisiana.

Sarah Dorsey used her study as a way to evaluate the role of women in the southern male-dominated society.

Sarah Dorsey invited him to visit at the plantation in December 1876.

Davis moved into Beauvoir on a permanent basis, where Sarah Dorsey provided him with a cottage on the grounds for his use.

Sarah Dorsey was instrumental in his success, organizing his day, motivating him to work, taking dictation, transcribing notes, editing and offering advice.

That summer, Sarah Dorsey nursed Varina through a long debilitating illness.

Sarah Dorsey bequeathed all her capital and Beauvoir, to Jefferson Davis.