Anne Virginia Culbertson (November 16, 1857 – December 7, 1918) was an American writer, known chiefly as the author of

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

poems, and as a public reader of her own productions. Culbertson attempted numerous dialects; however, her work was not confined to dialect alone; she also wrote a good deal of serious verse. Others writings included occasional short stories and articles to various publications including the ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'', '' Munsey's'', '' Pearson's'', the ''Puritan'', ''

Outing Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia in order to discredit political opponents or to com ...

'', ''Dixie'', the ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...

'', and prominent newspapers, such as the ''

Boston Transcript The ''Boston Evening Transcript'' was a daily afternoon newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, published from July 24, 1830, to April 30, 1941. Beginnings ''The Transcript'' was founded in 1830 by Henry Dutton and James Wentworth of the firm of D ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', and ''

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''.

Early life and education

Anne Virginia Culbertson was born in

Zanesville, Ohio Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 census, down from 25,487 as of the 2010 census. Historically the state capita ...

, November 16, 1857. She came from a family prominently identified with Ohio. Her grandfather, the Rev. James Culbertson, came from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

to Zanesville in the early part of the nineteenth century and for 30 years was recognized as an eminent and scholarly divine in this section. He was popularly known all over the state as "Parson Culbertson". Her father, Capt. Howard Culbertson, M.D. (1828–1890), was a surgeon who served through the Revolutionary War and afterward in the regular army. On his retirement, he became a noted specialist in diseases of the eye and at one time occupied the chair of ophthalmology in Columbus Medical College. Her father being a military man, Anne's childhood was spent in going from one military post to another. Her mother, Louisa Maria (Safford) (1836–1885), was a Southener, hence Anne's interest in Southern dialects. Anne had several siblings including Herbert, Ernest, Sydney, Lewis, Cornelia, and Claude. Culbertson was educated in the common schools and Putnam Female Seminary, Zanesville, Ohio. Later, she studied in Washington.

Career

Since completing her education, Culbertson passed much of her time in

eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

cities and in the "back districts" of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, and other states, where she studied the lives and folklore of the

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, poor whites, and Native Americans at first hand. She spent a summer in the

Great Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge ...

of North Carolina in order to study the folklore of the Native Americans in that specific locale. Since 1893, Culbertson was engaged as a writer and author-reader, giving entertainments in which she read her own writings and poems and dialect songs. She contributed to magazines and papers in verse and dialect stories chiefly in the ''

negro In the English language, ''negro'' is a term historically used to denote persons considered to be of Black African heritage. The word ''negro'' means the color black in both Spanish and in Portuguese, where English took it from. The term can be ...

'' dialect and dialect of mountain people of the South and French

patois ''Patois'' (, pl. same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon o ...

. Culbertson was the author of ''Lays of a Wandering Minstrel'' (1896), ''At the Big House'' (1904), and ''Banjo Talks'' (

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, Bobbs, Merrill Co., 1905), the latter being a popular book of dialect verse. Some of her best poems were unpublished and were written during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. She belonged to The Vigilantes, a national society of poets and writers, formed during the World War to write patriotic articles and poems to stimulate patriotism. A number of these patriotic poems were published in newspapers and magazines and reprints sent to the sick and wounded soldiers in the U.S. and Europe. She was honored by being invited to make a contribution to the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

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, the invitation being extended through M. Rene Larvelle, a member of the

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of France and a collector of note. She also enjoyed a wide reputation as an impersonator and was very successful as an elocutionist in parlor lectures.

Personal life

She numbered among her friends such great writers as

Joel Chandler Harris Joel Chandler Harris (December 9, 1848 – July 3, 1908) was an American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a planta ...

Ella Wheeler Wilcox Ella Wheeler Wilcox (November 5, 1850October 30, 1919) was an American author and poet. Her works include the collection '' Poems of Passion'' and the poem "Solitude", which contains the lines "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you ...

, and

James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...

. Anne Virginia Culbertson died in

Delaware, Ohio Delaware is a city in and the county seat of Delaware County, Ohio, United States. Delaware was founded in 1808 and was incorporated in 1816. It is located near the center of Ohio, is about north of Columbus, and is part of the Columbus, Ohio m ...

, December 7, 1918.

Selected works

Books

* ''Lays of a Wandering Minstrel'' (1896)
Text
* ''At the big house : where Aunt Nancy and Aunt 'Phrony held forth on the animal folks'' (1904)
Text
* ''Banjo Talks'' (1905)
Text
* ''Down in old Virginia'' (1914)

Short stories

* "How Mr. Terrapin Lost His Beard" (1924) * "The Woman Who Married an Owl" * "Mr. Hare Tries to Get a Wife"

Poems

* "Whar Dem Sinful Apples Grow" * "Quit Yo' Worryin'" * "When We Hear the Organ Down the Street"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Culbertson, Anne Virginia 1857 births 1918 deaths Writers from Ohio Poets from Ohio 19th-century American writers 19th-century American short story writers 19th-century American poets 19th-century American women writers 20th-century American writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers American women poets American women short story writers People from Zanesville, Ohio