Other Early Contributions
Urania Nott
Urania Sheldon Nott attended the Troy Female Seminary led by Emma Willard as well, and she later founded three schools for women, including the Schenectady Female Seminary and the Utica Female Academy. Urania was remarkable in her contributions to women’s education, and she managed many of the finances of the college when Eliphalet’s health suffered in his later years. You can read a wonderful write-up about Urania written in 2014.
Document signed by Urania Sheldon Nott. From the Nott Family Collection, SCA-0294. Courtesy of the Department of Special Collections, Schaffer Library.
Portrait of Urania Sheldon Nott, undated. From the Picture File, SCA-1026. Courtesy of the Department of Special Collections, Schaffer Library.
Photograph of the garden at the Benedict House with unidentified woman, possibly Julia Benedict. Photograph from the Picture File (SCA-1026). Courtesy of the Department of Special Collections, Schaffer Library.
Untitled sketch by Julia Benedict. Courtesy of the Union College Permanent Collection.
Julia Benedict
Julia Benedict, daughter of Isaac Jackson, a prominent early faculty member and namesake of Jackson's Garden, is one such example of a woman that could be found around Union's campus in its early days. Most of her life was spent living on its grounds, and she had many talents, including singing and sketching. She carefully managed and guarded her Jackson's Garden after her father's death in 1877, and she is even said to have defended it by firing a shotgun "...on at least one occasion." As Somers tells us, she tried to raise money for the garden through selling puddings she'd made. 13
13 Somers, 96.