Julia Louisa Corry Dumont (1794–1857) was born in Marietta, Ohio. Heralded in her own day as the “first lady” of the Ohio River Valley, she wrote about the lives of ordinary pioneers and settlers when the area was still known as the West. Her early romantic style was typical of the era, depicting river boatmen and Native Americans like Tecumseh. Her stories represent village life and women’s plight as victims, as in her masterpiece Aunt Hetty.