When They Were Girls

by Rebecca Deming Moore

It was an eventful day in the Mitchell home. The parlor window had been taken out and the telescope mounted in front of it. Twelve-year-old Maria, at her father’s side, counted the seconds while he observed a total eclipse of the sun.

Not every twelve-year-old girl could be trusted to use the chronometer, an instrument which measures the time even more accurately than a watch. Maria, however, had been helping her father in his study of the stars ever since she could count. Before many years this little girl beside the telescope became America’s best-known woman astronomer.

On the little three-cornered island of Nantucket, off the coast of Massachusetts, Maria Mitchell was born, August 1, 1818. With its broad sandy beaches, its wide moors, and ocean breezes, the island was a delightful spot in which to grow up.

The Mitchell home was a pleasant place, filled with the laughter and fun of a large family of children. Due to the mother’s careful planning, the wheels of the household machinery ran very smoothly. No one would have guessed, by seeing the cheerful, comfortable home, how far Mrs. Mitchell had to stretch a tiny income.

Work and play were happily mingled. Little Maria, with her sisters, learned to cook and sew. Maria was always ready to do her share of the household work. If she swept a room, she did it thoroughly. When she arranged the furniture it might not be done artistically, but every piece was straight. She could not bear to have things crooked. This exactness about little things was one of the qualities that made it possible for this girl to become a great astronomer.

There were always good books in the Mitchell home. They were read over and over, and were very carefully handled. One textbook, an algebra, was used by eight children, in succession, each child adding his name inside the cover.

Mr. Mitchell, who was a Quaker, enjoyed quoting to his children from the Bible and from the poets. He was particularly fond of references to his beloved stars. He often said that an astronomer could not fail to believe in God. One of the earliest poems that Maria learned was about the heavens, beginning, “The spacious firmament on high.” She used to like to say it over to herself when, in later years she was frightened or troubled.

The most unusual object in Maria’s home was her father’s telescope. On pleasant evenings it was set up in the back yard. Ever since boyhood Mr. Mitchell had been interested in the stars and had made astronomy his special study. Every clear evening he observed the heavens. Maria was always glad to help him. Soon she took as keen a delight in watching the sky as he.

The chronometers of all the whale ships which sailed into Nantucket were brought to Mr. Mitchell to be “rated,” as it was called. Maria used to help her father with this; and at a very early age learned how to use a measuring instrument called the sextant.

There was no school at this time where Maria Mitchell could be taught astronomy. Even Harvard University had no better telescope than her father’s. Maria, however, had an excellent teacher in him. Many scientists sought out Mr. Mitchell in remote Nantucket, and Maria had the benefit of their conversation.