By Virginia McConnell Simmons It was sometimes said that she was frail, but in fact she was a tough survivor, her weapons being a sharp mind and a sharp pencil to protect her financial and psychological survival. As a girl, a photograph shows Augusta Pierce with an unsmiling expression and a thin body, a description that would fit her the rest of her life. As a baby, Augusta (1833-1895) received the name of the growing state capital, Augusta, Maine, where her father was a prosperous quarry owner. She grew up with the rock-solid New England virtues of living thriftily and…
