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Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren (née Sarah Madeleine Vinton; pen names, Corinne, Cornelia; July 13, 1825 – May 28, 1889) was an American writer, translator, and anti-suffragist.
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Private life
Sarah Madeleine Vinton was born in Gallipolis, Ohio on July 13, 1825. She was the only daughter of Samuel Finley Vinton, who served a quarter of a century with much distinction as a Whig leader in Congress, and Romaine Madeleine Bureau. Her mother and brother died when she was six. Dahlgren studied at Charles and Marie Picot's boarding school in Philadelphia and the Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School. Her maternal ancestors were French. As soon as she was of age, Dahlgren served as hostess at her father's home in Washington, D.C..
At an early age, she became the wife of Daniel Convers Goddard, first assistant secretary, U. S. Department of the Interior, who left her a widow with two children: Vinton Augustine and Romaine, who married the Baron de Overbeck of Germany. In August, 1865, she became the wife of Admiral John A. Dahlgren, and had three children by that marriage:
Dahlgren built a house on Massachusetts Avenue, living there the rest of her life. Her country seat, Dahlgren, with chapel, was on South Mountain, Maryland, overlooking the battlefield.
Career
As early as 1859, Dahlgren contributed to the press prose articles under the signature "Corinne," and later, some fugitive poems. She also wrote under the pen-name Cornelia. In 1859, her volume, "Idealities," appeared. She made several translations from the French, Spanish and Italian languages, which brought her recognition, among others, an autograph letter from Pope Pius IX, the thanks from the Queen of Spain and a complimentary notice from President James A. Garfield. Her works include the "Biography of Admiral Dahlgren," a number of novels, among which are "South Mountain Magic," "A Washington Winter," "The Lost Name," "Lights and Shadows of a Life," "South Sea Sketches," and a volume on "Etiquette of Social Life in Washington." Social questions and the live topics of the day especially occupied her attention. Her poems found a place in the anthologies of poets. She was one of the founders and vice-president of the Literary Society of Washington, also one time president of the Ladies Catholic Missionary Society of Washington. She died on May 28, 1889 and is buried at South Mountain.