 whether she found other pieces by Wells (172n10). An 1875 item in The Literary World states that Wells Smith first used the pseudonym in 1862. "Literary News," The Literary World 6 (Dec. 1, 1875): 103.
Wells Smith's letter was occasioned by a reviewer's comment that her choice of pseudonym had been influenced by Olive Thorne (the pseudonym of author Harriet Mann Miller). Mary responded that her pseudonym was in use before Olive Thorne and Date Thorne (the latter, another contributor to periodicals). P. Thorne, letter, in "Notes," The Independent 27 (Nov 18, 1875): 8.
 See A Preliminary Checklist of Mary P. Wells Smith's Publications for specific titles and dates of Springfield Republican pieces. The Christian Register has not been examined.
Mary's future brother-in-law, John Farwell Moors, was the chaplain of the regiment and later wrote its story in History of the Fifty-second Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers (Boston, 1893).
 See "Worship Services," The Universalist 45 (August 1, 2008), newsletter of Murray Unitarian Universalist Church..
 Susan S. Williams discusses what she calls the "cacoethes scribendi plot" in the first chapter of Reclaiming Authorship: Literary Women in America, 1850-1900 (U of Pennsylvania Press, 2006); one of her examples is Wells Smith's story.
Noah S. Wells household, 1870 U. S. Federal Census, Greenfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, Roll: M593_615; Page: 182A; Image: 367; Family History Library Film: 552114, Ancestry.com. Note that the census record also gives Mary's occupation as "bank clerk."
The contrast between Mary's census entry and that of her future husband, Fayette Smith, is striking. Mary's father owned real estate worth $3,000 and personal property worth an additional $5,000; their near neighbors had slightly greater net worth and several were also employed by the government -- the next household recorded was that of the Register of Deeds (real estate, $6000; personal, $500); then came the Probate Register (real estate, $18,000; personal, $5,000), followed by a machinist ($3500 total), a merchant ($2500 total), and a farmer ($6000 total).
In contrast, Fayette Smith, a lawyer, had $14,000 in real estate and $3000 in personal estate -- more than twice the monetary total of Mary's household; moreover, Fayette's first wife and his mother in-law, sharing the household, added another $10,000 worth of real estate. The Smith's closest neighbor was a retired stock broker (real estate $30,000; personal $1200); others nearby had combined estates totaling over $50,000. Although Mary would continue writing after her marriage, it was clearly not from economic necessity. Fayette Smith household, 1870 U. S. Federal Census, Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio; Roll: M593_1207; Page: 7A; Image: 18, Family History Library Film: 552706, ancestry.com.