Annis Boudinot Stockton

Who was Annis Boudinot Stockton?

Annis Boudinot Stockton was an American poet, one of the first women to be published in the Thirteen Colonies. From her home in Princeton, New Jersey, Stockton wrote and published her poems in leading newspapers and magazines of the day and was part of a Mid-Atlantic writing circle. She was the author of more than 120 works, but it was not until 1985, when a manuscript copybook long held privately was given to the New Jersey Historical Society, that most became known. Before that, she was known to have written 40 poems. The copybook contained poems that tripled her known work. A collection of her full works was published in 1995.

A member of the New Jersey elite, Stockton was the only woman to be elected as an honorary member of the American Whig Society, a secret revolutionary group. After the American Revolutionary War, they recognized Stockton's service in protecting their papers during the British attack on Princeton.

The wife of the prominent attorney Richard Stockton, Annis became known as the "Duchess of Morven", the name of their estate in Princeton, New Jersey. They entertained prominent guests, including George Washington, with whom she had a correspondence, sending him numerous poems as part of it.