Continuing a series on the strong women in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s life with a profile of his wife Lidian (Lydia) Jackson Emerson, who worked to relieve the suffering of people and animals while also managing a busy household and supporting her husband’s work. A co-founder of Concord’s Female Anti-Slavery Society, Lidian encouraged Emerson’s own involvement in the abolitionist movement.

Beginning a series on the strong women in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s life with a profile of his Aunt Mary Moody Emerson, who helped raise him after his father died and had a profound influence on his life and works. Credited as being his “earliest and best teacher,” Mary laid the foundation of Transcendentalism for her nephew and was an inspired writer in her own right. She was also active in the antislavery and women’s rights movements.

Emerson House guides share answers to some of the frequently asked questions by visitors to the house.

Emerson and Thoreau met in the spring of 1837 and became lifelong friends. In addition to their affinity for Concord, they shared a strong belief in the importance of nature in developing creative and independent thinking. Thoreau lived with the Emerson family for several years and built the cabin of Walden on land owned by Emerson.

Excerpts on the wonders of winter from Emerson’s poems, essays, and other writings, accompanied by recent photos of the snowy landscapes around his Concord home.

As part of the Concord Museum’s 2021 Holiday House Tour, the Emerson barn was decorated to reflect a nineteenth century holiday dining space.

A biographical profile of Lydia “Lidian” Jackson, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s second wife, whom he married on September 14, 1835. The newlyweds moved to their Concord home the following day, where they would remain together for the next 47 years.

On this day in 1854, Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden; or, Life in the Woods was published. Thoreau’s most famous work details his experiences living near Concord’s Walden Pond in a cabin built on a woodlot owned by his friend and mentor, Ralph Waldo Emerson.

This inaugural blog post shares a biographical profile of Ralph Waldo Emerson on the occasion of his 217th birthday.