Rebecca Smith Pollard published a book of poems to mark the U.S. centennial in 1876, and also a novel with some questionable messages. She also developed a method to teach children to read that was ahead of its time.

Research:
Chetwynd, Sally Morong “Sam.” “Birth of Rebecca Smith Pollard, Education pioneer – Sept. 20, 1831.” Brass Castle Arts. 9/20/2014. https://brasscastlearts.blogspot.com/2014/09/birth-of-rebecca-smith-pollard.html
The Writer’s Almanac. “Tuesday, September 20, 2011.” https://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php%3Fdate=2011%252F09%252F20.html
History of Literacy. “Pollard Nominated to Reading Hall of Fame.” History of Reading News. Vol.XXVI No.1 (2002:Fall). Via Archive.org Wayback Machine. https://web.archive.org/web/20160729031119/https://historyliteracy.org/scripts/search_display.php?Article_ID=240
Haefner, Marie. “An American Lady.” The Palimpsest. The State Historical Society of Iowa. April 1957. The Palimpsest archive 38(4), 129-176. doi: https://doi.org/10.17077/0031-0360.22585
Pollard, Rebecca S. “The Prayers of Eleven Hundred Children.” Our Dumb Animals. Vol. 24, No. 8. January, 1892. https://archive.org/details/sim_animals_our-dumb-animals_1892-01_24_8/
The Catholic Educational Review. “Phonetics, Their Origin and Function.” Vol. 24. May 1926. https://archive.org/details/sim_catholic-educational-review_1926-05_24/
“Pollard’s Advanced Speller.” Education. Vol. 18, Issue 1. September 1897. https://archive.org/details/sim_education-us_1897-09_18_1/
Pollard, R.S. “Educational Appliance.” U.S. Patent No. 375,095. December 20, 1887.
Heilman, Arthur W. “Principles and practices of teaching reading.” Columbus, Ohio, C. E. Merrill Books. 1961.
Huey, Edmund Burke. “The History And Pedagogy Of Reading With A Review Of The History Of Reading And Writing And Of Methods Texts And Hygiene In Reading.” The Macmillan Company. 1915.
“A New Road to Learning.” The Des Moines Register. Page 23. 12/3/1911.
Wheatley, Jeffrey. “The Wrong Feeling of Feeling Right: Fanaticism and Sentiment in Anti-Abolitionist Novels.” From Religion and Social Change. Edited by Sabrina Danielsen. Journal of Religion and Society. Supplement 26 (2025.)
Harrington, Kate and Miss M.E. Wilson. “The Moonlight Tryst.” Louisville Journal. 1/7/1854.
Pollard, Rebecca S. “Emma Bartlett: or, Prejudice and fanaticism.” Cincinnati, Moore, Wilstach, Keys & Overend. 1856.
“Emma Bartlett: or, Prejudice and Fanaticism.” Ottumwa Semi-Weekly Courier. 4/16/1857.
Pollard, Rebecca S. “Centennial and Other Poems.” Philadelphia : Lippincott. 1876.
Kirkham, Samuel. “English Grammar in Familiar Lectures.” New York. Robert B. Collins.
“Portrait and Biographical Album of Lee County, Iowa.” Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1887. https://sites.rootsweb.com/~iabiog/lee/pbh1887/pbh1887-s.htm

Rebecca Smith Pollard published a book of poems to mark the U.S. centennial in 1876, and also a novel with some questionable messages. She also developed a method to teach children to read that was ahead of its time.
Research:
<ul>
<li>Chetwynd, Sally Morong &ldquo;Sam.&rdquo; &ldquo;Birth of Rebecca Smith Pollard, Education pioneer &ndash; Sept. 20, 1831.&rdquo; Brass Castle Arts. 9/20/2014. https://brasscastlearts.blogspot.com/2014/09/birth-of-rebecca-smith-pollard.html</li>
<li>The Writer&rsquo;s Almanac. &ldquo;Tuesday, September 20, 2011.&rdquo; https://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php%3Fdate=2011%252F09%252F20.html </li>
<li>History of Literacy. &ldquo;Pollard Nominated to Reading Hall of Fame.&rdquo; History of Reading News. Vol.XXVI No.1 (2002:Fall). Via Archive.org Wayback Machine. https://web.archive.org/web/20160729031119/https://historyliteracy.org/scripts/search_display.php?Article_ID=240</li>
<li>Haefner, Marie. &ldquo;An American Lady.&rdquo; The Palimpsest. The State Historical Society of Iowa. April 1957. The Palimpsest archive 38(4), 129-176. doi: https://doi.org/10.17077/0031-0360.22585</li>
<li>Pollard, Rebecca S. &ldquo;The Prayers of Eleven Hundred Children.&rdquo; Our Dumb Animals. Vol. 24, No. 8. January, 1892. https://archive.org/details/sim_animals_our-dumb-animals_1892-01_24_8/</li>
<li>The Catholic Educational Review. &ldquo;Phonetics, Their Origin and Function.&rdquo; Vol. 24. May 1926. https://archive.org/details/sim_catholic-educational-review_1926-05_24/</li>
<li>&ldquo;Pollard&rsquo;s Advanced Speller.&rdquo; Education. Vol. 18, Issue 1. September 1897. https://archive.org/details/sim_education-us_1897-09_18_1/</li>
<li>Pollard, R.S. &ldquo;Educational Appliance.&rdquo; U.S. Patent No. 375,095. December 20, 1887.</li>
<li>Heilman, Arthur W. &ldquo;Principles and practices of teaching reading.&rdquo; Columbus, Ohio, C. E. Merrill Books. 1961.</li>
<li>Huey, Edmund Burke. &ldquo;The History And Pedagogy Of Reading With A Review Of The History Of Reading And Writing And Of Methods Texts And Hygiene In Reading.&rdquo; The Macmillan Company. 1915.</li>
<li>&ldquo;A New Road to Learning.&rdquo; The Des Moines Register. Page 23. 12/3/1911.</li>
<li>Wheatley, Jeffrey. &ldquo;The Wrong Feeling of Feeling Right: Fanaticism and Sentiment in Anti-Abolitionist Novels.&rdquo; From Religion and Social Change. Edited by Sabrina Danielsen. Journal of Religion and Society. Supplement 26 (2025.)</li>
<li>Harrington, Kate and Miss M.E. Wilson. &ldquo;The Moonlight Tryst.&rdquo; Louisville Journal. 1/7/1854.</li>
<li>Pollard, Rebecca S. &ldquo;Emma Bartlett: or, Prejudice and fanaticism.&rdquo; Cincinnati, Moore, Wilstach, Keys &amp; Overend. 1856.</li>
<li>&ldquo;Emma Bartlett: or, Prejudice and Fanaticism.&rdquo; Ottumwa Semi-Weekly Courier. 4/16/1857.</li>
<li>Pollard, Rebecca S. &ldquo;Centennial and Other Poems.&rdquo; Philadelphia : Lippincott. 1876.</li>
<li>Kirkham, Samuel. &ldquo;English Grammar in Familiar Lectures.&rdquo; New York. Robert B. Collins.</li>
<li>&ldquo;Portrait and Biographical Album of Lee County, Iowa.&rdquo; Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1887. https://sites.rootsweb.com/~iabiog/lee/pbh1887/pbh1887-s.htm</li>
</ul>

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Rebecca Smith Pollard published a book of poems to mark the U.S. centennial in 1876, and also a novel with some questionable messages. She also developed a method to teach children to read that was ahead of its time.

Rebecca Smith Pollard, aka Kate Harrington

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d6fe8b0c-4b3b-4090-ad7b-b46b016c572e/transcript