Born on April 12, 1841, in Yarmouth, Maine, Jennie Drinkwater was educated in the schools of her native town and at Greenleaf╒s Institute in Brooklyn, New York. In her youth she began contributing pieces to religious periodicals, and beginning with Tessa Wadsworth╒s Discipline, 1879, she wrote more than 30 novels that attained considerable popularity with young readers. In March 1880 she married the Reverend Nathaniel Conklin of New Vernon, New Jersey. Her other books, published under her maiden name, were Electa, 1881, Bek╒s First Corner, 1883, The Fairfax Girls, 1886, From Flax to Linen, 1888, Marigold, 1889, Second Best, 1891, Looking Seaward, 1893, and Shar Burbank, 1898. In 1874 she originated the Shut-in Society, whose purpose was to provide comfort and amenities to invalids. The idea spread rapidly, and in 1885 the society was incorporated in New York State. Local Shut-In societies brought fruit, flowers, reading matter, and sometimes even food and medicine to those requiring care or simply company. Organized informally, the movement persisted in many communities. Conklin died on April 28, 1900.
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