Anna Sewell in Old Catton, Sewell wrote the manuscript of "Black Beauty" – in the period between 1871 and 1877. During this time her health was declining; she was often so weak that she was confined to her bed. Writing was a challenge. She dictated the text to her mother and from 1876 began to write on slips of paper which her mother then transcribed. Although the book is now considered a children's classic, Sewell originally wrote it for those who worked with horses. She said "a special aim was to induce kindness, sympathy, and an understanding treatment of horses". In many
S. Anna Gordon S. Anna Gordon S. Anna Gordon (born January 9, 1832) was a physician and author of "Camping in Colorado with Suggestions to Gold Seekers, Tourists and Invalids" (1879). S. Anna Gordon was born in Charlemont, Massachusetts, on January 9, 1832. On her father's side she was a descendant of John Steele Sr (1591-1665), who established the town, now city, of Hartford, Connecticut. Among the distinguished persons in her family lineage was Noah Webster, the son of Noah Webster Sr. and Mercy Steele, a descendant of Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Colony. On her mother's side she is a descendant of