Emily Dickinson: Individuality Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1830, to Edward Dickinson, a well-respected lawyer, and his wife Emily Norcross Dickinson, whom she was named after. She lived her whole life in the same house with her sister Lavina including after her parent’s death in her middle years. Her parents had been very traditional, as most people were in those days. Her father, along with the rest of the family, were Christians and she alone decided to rebel against that and reject the Church. She like many of her contemporaries had rejected the traditional views in life and adopted the new transcendental outlook. Massachu