“A New Place”

Edith knew she wanted to write and that she was intrigued by archival work. But after graduation all she wanted was to go home. With Salmon’s help she took a position at nearby Lyons Township High School, where she taught English and History together, as well as Latin and sometimes Greek. But then, in 1893, her mother died. Edith wanted to take her mother’s place and care for her younger sisters, only to have her father announce he was getting remarried. Feeling utterly betrayed, she transferred to Hyde Park High School and enrolled as a graduate student at the University of Chicago. Hers was not to be a primarily domestic life.