1911. Another heartwarming tale from the author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. In this story the reader follows a strong-willed widow, Nancy Carey, as she struggles for the future of her beautiful daughters Nancy and Kitty and her beloved son Peter. Good humor and folksy grit help Mother Carey keep poverty and the wrong fellows for her daughters at bay Kate Douglas Wiggin (September 28, 1856 - August 24, 1923) was an American educator and author of children's stories, most notably the classic children's novel Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. She started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878 (the Silver Street Free Kindergarten). With her sister during the 1880s, she also established a training school for kindergarten teachers. Kate Wiggin devoted her adult life to the welfare of children in an era when children were commonly thought of as cheap labour.