Elizabeth's brother died, and she wanted to fill his role for her disappointed father. Elizabeth was tutored by her pastor and was successful as a student. She was driven to change society's view of girls and seek equal rights. Read the excerpt from Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences, 1815-1897.

I still recall, too, going into the large darkened parlor to see my brother, and finding the casket, mirrors, and pictures all draped in white, and my father seated by his side, pale and immovable. As he took no notice of me, after standing a long while, I climbed upon his knee, when he mechanically put his arm about me and, with my head resting against his beating heart, we both sat in silence, he thinking of the wreck of all his hopes in the loss of a dear son, and I wondering what could be said or done to fill the void in his breast.