Poet and Author: Sarah Henderson Wiggins

Not all authors make a living from their work, but that does not make their work any less important. One such amateur poet and author buried in Crown Hill Cemetery is Sarah Henderson Wiggins (1847-1931). Born in New Castle, Ind., her family came to Indianapolis when she was just a toddler. Her father was a successful lawyer in the city. She attended the Moravian Seminary in Bethlehem, Penn., established in 1742; it was the first boarding school for girls in the colonies. Over time, it evolved from an elementary school to a secondary institution, and eventually merged with the Moravian College and Theological Seminary to become the first co-educational college in the Lehigh Valley.

After finishing school in Pennsylvania, Wiggins returned to Indianapolis and enjoyed a position of prominence in the social and club life of the city. After marrying merchant Joseph Wiggins, she delved into one of her major interests — journalism. Throughout her lifetime, she contributed a considerable number of articles, poems and stories to newspapers and magazines but never as a paid employee. She would send in her writings and request they be published, which they often were in national publications.