About Author Sandra Weber

I was born Sandra Johnson in Corning, NY, the youngest of seven children and grew up in the house my father built on seven acres of woods. It seems I was destined to end up Rock Bottom, my old log cabin perched on a boulder in the Adirondack woods.  

Professional Bio:

Sandra Weber has authored several books about Adirondack history, mountain hiking, and women. Her book Breaking Trail: Remarkable Women of the Adirondacks (with Peggy Lynn) profiles the diverse lives of 25 women (new edition in 2025 from Purple Mountain Press). Two in the Wilderness (with photos by Carl Heilman) describes the adventures of Sandra and her 11-year-old daughter as they backpack through the High Peaks together. She is also well-known for her dramatic portrayals of Mary Brown in “Times of Trouble” and of Mother Johnson, Jeanne Robert Foster, Grace Hudowalski and other women in “Remarkable Women."
 
Sandra's book The Woman Suffrage Statue (2016) focuses on a marble sculpture, The Portrait Monument to Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, which stands in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. The statue symbolizes the struggles and triumphs of the women’s movement, from the right to speak in public to the right to vote to the Equal Rights Amendment. It represents womanhood---all women of the past, present, and future—and the unfinished work of woman.
  
For the last ten years, the John Brown Farm and everything related to it has grabbed Sandra's attention.

Everything around John Brown:

• Studied and wrote articles about John Brown history for 30+ years
• Studied and authored history books about nearby areas of the Adirondacks (Mount Marcy, Whiteface Mountain, Heart Lake)
• Portrayed Mary Brown and Kate Field at various venues
• Artist-in-Residence at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, October 2001
• Knew farm caretaker/John Brown scholar Ed Cotter and Lake Placid-North Elba Historian Mary MacKenzie
• Attended numerous John Brown Lives! events and conferences
• Presented paper about Mary Brown at 150th Anniversary Conference in Harpers Ferry and performed "Times of Trouble" program
• Interviewed for regional documentaries about Mary Brown, Kate Field, and related topics 
• Member of Northern Light choir performing in Timbucto folk opera
• Lives 25 miles from the John Brown Farm

Background:

• Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science, Clarkson University, 1983.
• Master's in Business Administration, Temple University, 1990.
• Worked as Instructor of Computer Science and as Technical Writer in computer and finance industries in suburban Philadelphia, PA.
• Freelance writer in Elizabethtown, NY, since 2012. 
• Mother of two daughters, Emily Anna and Marcy Weber.
• Partner of musician David Hodges.
• Finished climbing all forty-six high peaks in 2003 to become Adirondack Forty-Sixer #5227.

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Book Credits:

• John Brown in New York: The Man, His Family, and the Adirondack Landscape. Excelsior Editions, SUNY Press, 2025. 
• Portrait Monument to Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. History of sculpture in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol. McFarland Publishers, 2016.
• Adirondack Roots: Stories of Hiking, History and Women. Collection of writings by Sandra Weber. The History Press, 2011.
• Two in the Wilderness: Adventures of a Mother and Daughter in the Adirondack Mountains. Calkins Creek Books/Boyds Mills Press, 2005.
• Breaking Trail: Remarkable Women of the Adirondacks (co-author, Peggy Lynn). Profiles of twenty-five extraordinary mountain women from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Purple Mountain Press, 2004. New edition, Purple Mountain Press, 2025.
• The Personal Computer (Transforming Power of Technology series). Chelsea House Publishing, 2003.
• The Internet (Transforming Power of Technology series). Chelsea House Publishing, 2003.
• Yemen (Creation of the Modern Middle East series). Chelsea House Publishing, 2002
• Mount Marcy, The High Peak of New York. Comprehensive history of the highest mountain in New York State. Purple Mountain Press, 2001.
• The Finest Square Mile: Mount Jo and Heart Lake. Purple Mountain Press, 1998.
• The Lure of Esther Mountain: Matriarch of the Adirondack High Peaks. Purple Mountain Press, 1995. 

More Author Information:

• "Going Wild Over Thoreau," reprinted in Adirondack Reader, third edition by Adirondack Mountain Club, 2008.
• "At Rock Bottom," in Lives Lived, Lessons Learned, RA Press, 2020.
• Editor/designer of Champlain Valley Centennial Suffrage Auto Tour booklet.
• Articles published in magazines such as Civil War Times magazine, The NYS Conservationist, Adirondack Life, Adirondack Explorer newspaper, Adirondac    magazine, Backpacker magazine, Pennsylvania Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, Highlights For Children, and Cobblestone.​​

Performance/Exhibit Experience:

• Lecturer, Storyteller, Dramatist at museums, libraries, schools, and other venues.
• “Mountain Women” with Peggy Lynn. Songs and stories about remarkable Adirondack women. Performed at SUNY Oswego, Adirondack Museum, Field, Forest & Stream Festival, Adirondack Mountain Club, Adirondack Research Consortium, Schroon Lake Folk Festival, Paul Smith’s College, Chronicle Book Fair, and many others.
• “Times of Trouble” with David Hodges. Portrayal of Mary Brown, wife of abolitionist John Brown. Performed at Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, John Brown Farm Historical Site, Will Rogers Institute, and Lake Placid Elderhostel.
• “Remarkable Women of the Adirondacks.” Exhibit incorporating photos, text, and artifacts. Presented at Adirondack History Center Museum (Elizabethtown, NY) and Tannery Pond Community Center (North Creek, NY).

 
Awards and Honors:

• Fellowship, U.S. Capitol Historical Society, Washington, DC, September 2012.
• Window of Opportunity Grant, The Leeway Foundation, 2004.
• Artist-In-Residence, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, October 2001.
• Runner-Up Award, Nonfiction, Work-In-Progress Grant, Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, 2003.
• Silver Award for General Feature, International Regional Magazine Association, 2002.
• Finalist, Nonfiction, Work-In-Progress Grant, Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, 2001.