American painter Jennie August Brownscombe was born in Honesdale Pennsylvania in 1850. It’s believed her father William emigrated to the United States about 1840 and built the home she was born and raised in. Her mother, Elvira Kennedy Brownscombe, was a descendant of a Mayflower passenger. 

After her father's death in 1868, Brownscombe earned a living teaching high school in Honesdale and creating book and magazine illustrations. Her work was inspired by the streams and fields around her home and nearby Irving Cliff.

Brownscombe studied art for years in the United States and Paris. She was a founding member, student, and teacher at the Art Students League of New York. She made genre paintings, including revolutionary and colonial America, history, most notably The First Thanksgiving in 1914. 

She sold the reproduction rights to more than 100 paintings, and images of her work appeared on prints, calendars, and greeting cards. Her works are in many public collections and museums. In 1899, New York World described her as "one of America's best artists."

Jennie August Brownscombe died in Bayside New York on August 5^th, 1936, at the age of 85. She is buried alongside her parents in Dyberry Cemetery, in Honesdale, Wayne County, Pennsylvania.