Helen Maud Merrill | |
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Born | Bangor, Maine | May 5, 1865
Died | DOD unknown |
Pen name | Samantha Spriggins |
Occupation | litterateur, poet |
Nationality | American |
Notable works | "The Angel in the Stone" |
Helen Maud Merrill (pen name, Samantha Spriggins; May 5, 1865 - unknown) was an American litterateur and poet from Maine. Her first published poem was in the Waterville Sentinel, in 1882. During the decade of 1882-1892, Merrill contributed numerous poems to the St. Nicholas Magazine , Portland Transcript, the Gospel Banner and other journals. She also engaged in editorial work. [1]
Helen Maud (or Maude) Merrill was born in Bangor, Maine, May 5, 1865. From 1881 to 1887, she lived in Bucksport, Maine. Delicate in her childhood, she was cared for by her mother. [2]
In 1889, Merrill removed to Portland, Maine. There, she soon became connected with several literary associations. Early on, she showed a talent for composition, and from 1882, she was a contributor, both in prose and verse, to the newspaper press. Her humorous sketches over the pen name "Samantha Spriggins" had extensive reading. In 1885, she wrote a poem on the death of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, which was forwarded to his widow, and a grateful acknowledgment was received by the author in return. Her memorial odes and songs written for the anniversaries of the Grand Army of the Republic were appreciated. In Poets of Maine, she received honorable mention, [2] and "The Angel in the Stone" was selected for insertion as a demonstration of her versification style. [3]
Elizabeth Akers Allen, was an American poet and journalist. Her early poems appeared over the signature of "Florence Percy", and many of them were first published in the Portland Transcript. She came to Portland, Maine in 1855, and a volume of her fugitive poems appeared in that city just before her marriage to Paul Akers, the sculptor, whom she accompanied to Italy, and buried there. For several years, she was on the editorial staff of the Portland Advertiser. She wrote for most of the leading magazines, and several editions of her collected poems were published. She later resided in Ridgewood, New Jersey for several years.
Rebecca Ruter Springer was an American author. She began to publish verses shortly after finishing school, and thereafter contributed to leading periodicals. Among her works is the Christian book Intra Muros, better known today as My Dream of Heaven. As the modern name implies, Springer claimed to have a vision of a Christian heaven, and she recounts this vision in her book as well as some personal insights.
Carlotta Perry, the pen name of Charlotte Augusta Perry, was an American writer of poetry and prose. She was among a group of premier women poets of the late 19th century. Her poems, children's stories, and short stories were published in many of the most read publications of the time including Harper's Magazine, Godey's Lady's Book and Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Some of her verse can still be found today in Christian newsletters and even in an ad for a paint company describing their shades of white. Known mostly for her poetry, she was also a journalist and was active in many of the journalism and women's organizations during her working life.
Rose Hartwick Thorpe was an American poet and writer, remembered largely for the narrative poem, Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight (1867), which gained national popularity. It was translated into nearly every language of the world, and was universally recognized as a veritable classic. Other poems followed, among them being "The Station Agent's Story," "Red Cross," and "In a Mining Town." Although a busy and prolific author, she was ill for some years. In 1888, she and her family removed to San Diego, California, living in Rosemere, Pacific Beach.
Nora Perry was an American poet, newspaper correspondent, and writer of juvenile stories, and for some years, Boston correspondent of the Chicago Tribune. Her verse was collected in After the Ball (1875), Her Lover's Friend (1879), New Songs and Ballads (1886), Legends and Lyrics (1890). Her fiction, chiefly juvenile, included The Tragedy of the Unexpected (1880), stories; For a Woman (1885), a novel; A Book of Love Stories (1881); A Flock of Girls and their Friends (1887); The New Year's Call (1903); and many other volumes.
Alice Williams Brotherton was an American author of poetry, essays, reviews, children's stories, and lyrics. Though she hailed from Indiana, she lived most of her life in Cincinnati, Ohio, serving as president of the Cincinnati Woman's Press Club. She wrote critical essays and addresses on Shakespeare, while many of her poems were set to music in the United States and in England. Contemporary poets of Ohio included Helen L. Bostwick and Kate Brownlee Sherwood.
Helen Hinsdale Rich, known as "The Poet of the Adirondacks", was a 19th-century American writer of poetry. She wrote and lectured in the causes of temperance and women's rights. She was the first woman of northern New York to embrace woman suffrage. Her poetry appeared in the Springfield Republican, Boston Transcript, the Overland Monthly, and other prominent journals. Her volume of poems, A Dream of the Adirondacks, and Other Poems, was compiled by Charles G. Whiting. Her Madame de Stael had the endorsement of eminent scholars as a literary lecture. Her "Grand Armies" was considered a brilliant Memorial Day address. She excelled in poems of affection. Her "Justice in Leadville", in the style of Bret Harte, was pronounced by The Spectator to be worthy of that poet or of John Hay. Rich died in 1915.
Helen Marr Hurd was an American teacher and poet with severe myopia. She taught in thirty schools—until her eyes made teaching impossible. Thereafter, she devoted her time to literary pursuits. She was the author of an illustrated volume of poems. Hurd died in 1909.
Harriet Pritchard Arnold was a 19th-century American author. Born in Connecticut, in 1858, she removed with her parents to Maine at a young age, with the greater portion of her life spent in Portland and vicinity. Her poems and short sketches appeared frequently in New England publications. Arnold died in 1901.
Frances Laughton Mace was an American poet. Her poems first appeared in The Journal of Commerce. She was best remembered for the poem and hymn "Only Waiting", written when she was 18, and published in the Waterville Mail. Its authorship, for a time, was confused. The work was included in her volume Legends, Lyrics, and Sonnets. Her later work was included in Under Pine and Palm (1888) and Wild Roses of Maine (1896). Mace died in 1899.
Julia Ditto Young was an American poet and novelist.
Jane Maria Read was an American poet and teacher.
Helen Taggart Clark was an American journalist and poet. She wrote a weekly column for the Sudbury, Massachusetts News, and was a contributor to Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, the Christian Union, the Woman's Journal, and the Springfield Republican. She died in 1918.
Emma B. Dunham was an American poet and teacher. She began writing for publication when very young, and continued to write for newspapers and magazines throughout her life. Some of her work was republished in Europe.
Helen A. Manville was an American poet and litterateur. Under the pen name of "Nellie A. Mann", she contributed largely for leading periodicals east and west, and obtained a national reputation as a writer of acceptable verse. At the zenith of her fame, she decided to renounce the pen name and assume her own. Acting upon that resolution, she had only succeeded in making the latter name familiar, virtually winning laurels for two cognomens, when ill-health and many cares necessitated a suspension of literary work. A collection of her poems was published in 1875, under the title of Heart Echoes, which contained a small proportion of her voluminous verse. Manville died in 1912.
M. Wintermute was an American author and poet whose poems appeared in The Youth's Companion, as well as other papers and magazines. She was a writer of some celebrity, and the author of a volume entitled Eleven Women and Thirteen Men (1887).
Emma Huntington Nason was an American poet, author, and musical composer. When only twelve years old, she began to write in verse. She devoted much time to literature, art and music, in each of which she excelled. Her works included, My Ancestors; Address and poem at the dedication of the Hallowell library, March 9, 1880 with historical sketch ..., 1880; Songs of the orient, 1892; The Tower, with Legends and Lyrics, 1895; Augusta centennial souvenir., 1897; Old colonial houses in Maine built prior to 1776, 1908; and Old Hallowell on the Kennebee, 1909.
Frances Brackett Damon was an American writer of poetry, short stories, essays, playlets, and novels. She was also an editor of the literary magazines, The Quiet Hours and The Tally Ho. She wrote many short stories for young persons, and some reform correspondence. Among her works are the poetry collection, The Bodfish Road (1901), the novel, Idlewise, the novelette, A Daughter of Pharaoh, and a long poem, “The Wind-Flower". Her songs were probably the best known of her verse, several having been used officially by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and two at least having been adopted by foreign countries and sung at World WCTU conventions.
Corelli C. W. Simpson was an American poet and cookbook author, who painted many artistic works in oil. In 1864, she opened the first kindergarten in Bangor, Maine.
Martha Pearson Smith was an American poet and musician. She made significant contributions in secular and sacred verse. One of her best songs was "Jennie and I", which was set to music by Prof. T. M. Towne. She was a champion of the cause of temperance and did much to advance the movement in Minnesota.