Martha Summerhayes (1844 - 1926)

Martha Summerhayes (October 21, 1844 – May 12, 1926) was an American memoirist. She was a Nantucket, Massachusetts native who later on in life immigrated to Arizona. A well travelled and educated woman, Summerhayes spent two years, from 1871 to 1873, studying literature in Germany. Her passion for writing took her into a career as a writer. She became well known as a writer in Massachusetts, but she usually did her writing during the winter, which, in turn, led to her becoming interested in the warmer weather of Arizona.