Daguerreotype

Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett, as she was born, was a namesake of her father, Dr. Theodore Jewett, and grandfather, retired seaman and prosperous business owner, Captain Theodore Jewett. She was also the namesake of her paternal grandmother, Sarah Orne Jewett, who died before she was born. Seeming to have always been called Sarah by family and friends, Jewett dropped the Theodora entirely by adulthood. However, her birth name was in some ways prophetic; Jewett was at once tomboy, with one friend nicknaming her “Dear Boy,” and comfortable in the feminine realm, admiring her sister Mary’s purchase of blue silk for her dress and playing with dolls.