Bella French Swisher (, French; December 1837 – September 28, 1893) was a 19th-century American author, editor, and litterateur. She was also the founder, publisher, and owner of a newspaper (''The Western Progress'') and a magazine (''American Sketch Book''). Swisher was connected with the ''Daily La Crosse Democrat'', ''The Western Progress'', ''Pioneer Press'', and the ''St. Paul Chronotype''. Besides her journalistic writings, she published several books of non-fiction, novels, and poetry. Some of them included, ''History of Brown County, Wisconsin'', in several volumes, ''Struggling up to the Lights'', ''Homeless Thought at Home'', ''Cassie'', ''The Story of a Woman's Love'', and ''Rocks and Shoals''. Swisher died in 1893.
Early life and education
Isabella (
nickname
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
, "Bella") French was born December 1837, at
Trenton, Georgia
Trenton is a city and the only incorporated municipality in Dade County, Georgia, United States—and as such, it serves as the county seat. The population was 2,195 at the 2020 census. Trenton is part of the Chattanooga, Tennessee–GA Metropo ...
. On her mother's side, she was related to Generals
Jacob Brown
Jacob Jennings Brown (May 9, 1775 – February 24, 1828) was known for his victories as an American army officer in the War of 1812, where he reached the rank of general. His successes on the northern border during that war made him a national ...
and
Henry Lee III
Henry Lee III (January 29, 1756 – March 25, 1818) was an early American Patriot and U.S. politician who served as the ninth Governor of Virginia and as the Virginia Representative to the United States Congress. Lee's service during the Amer ...
, of
Revolutionary era. Her grandfather, Capt. William Lee, commanded the first passenger boat that made the tour of the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
. Her father was an architect and inventor, of considerable renown, who was unfortunately stripped of quite a fortune by the great overflow of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
in
1851; and three years later, he started for England to recover some portion of his mother's estate, but was lost at sea, or supposed to have been, as he was never heard of thereafter. Then came, for the family, weary years of battle with want.
Before Bella was fourteen, she sewed from early morning till lights grew dim, at shirt making, to keep herself and family from starvation. Being obliged to leave school, she pursued her studies at night, with her books open before her while she worked. It is said "she made rhymes before she could speak plain, and played at writing stories before she could form a letter."
Career
After she went north with relatives, a sister died, then a brother during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, fighting for the
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
, and a few months later the mother died. Swisher taught a little school, and saved enough money to enable her to attend a course at the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...
, which fitted her for her destined work to be a poet.
In 1867,
Brick Pomeroy, recognizing her genius in a short story that she sent him, employed her on the ''Daily LaCrosse Democrat''. Two years later, she started ''The Western Progress'', a weekly newspaper at
Brownsville, Minnesota
Brownsville is a city in Houston County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 566 at the 2020 census.
History
A post office called Brownsville has been in operation since 1852. Brownsville was platted in 1854 by the brothers Job and Ch ...
, which she owned, and edited for two years, and then sold to take a position on the editorial staff of the ''
St. Paul Pioneer Press''. She was editor of the first literary magazine in
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, ''The Busy West'', also editor of the ''
St. Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
Chronotype''. In 1874, she started the ''American Sketch Book'', an eighty-page historical magazine, at
La Crosse, Wisconsin, which, on account of ill health, she removed to
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
in 1877, when she was forty years of age. During the same year, 1877, she was associate editor of the ''Texas New Yorker'' published at
Galveston
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...
, and editor of the ''Sketch Book'' in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
.
In October, 1878, she married Col.
John Milton Swisher
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
(1819–1891), of Austin, a man sympathetic in his literary tastes, and abundant in his material wealth.
Two years later, she established a health spa, the "Thermo Water Cure or Hot Air Bath and Hygienic Institute", for those who suffered from
neuralgia
Neuralgia (Greek ''neuron'', "nerve" + ''algos'', "pain") is pain in the distribution of one or more nerves, as in intercostal neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, and glossopharyngeal neuralgia.
Classification
Under the general heading of neural ...
,
paralysis, and
rheumatism.
In 1882, on account of family cares and sickness, she was obliged to suspend the ''Sketch Book''. Among her published works were the ''History of Brown County, Wisconsin'', in several volumes, ''Struggling up to the Lights'', ''Homeless Thought at Home'', ''Cassie'', ''The Story of a Woman's Love'', and ''Rocks and Shoals''. Her obituary in ''The Austin Weekly Statesman'' (1893) mentioned that two posthumous volumes would be published, one a work on the symbology of the Bible, the other a collection of poems.
Swisher and her husband were both members of the Texas Esoteric Society. She studied painting under some of the best artists in the United States, and painted landscapes and portraits that commanded admiration. She was remembered as a sort of universal genius: she cooked a dinner, made a dress, nailed up a broken fence, harnessed her horses for a drive, edited a paper, wrote a story, and then entertained with her verses in the afternoon. She was at one time a prominent lecturer.
Personal life
The couple resided in Austin until the husband died in 1890, when she removed to
Sausalito, California
Sausalito ( Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge.
Sausalito's ...
. She died September 28, 1893, at her residence in Sausalito, and was buried at
Mountain View Cemetery,
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
.
Selected works
* ''We shall meet and love in heaven'', 1873
* ''Menomonie and Dunn County, Wisconsin.'', 1875
* ''Struggling up to the light : the story of a woman's life'' 1876
* ''The American sketch book : an historical and home magazine'' (1878-1882)
* ''History of Austin, Travis County, Texas, with a description of its resources.'', 1880
* ''Why editors and authors go insane'', 1881
* ''History of San Antonio, Texas : with a description of its resources'', 1881
* ''Rocks and shoals in the river of life'', 1889
* ''Florecita'', 1899
* ''The sin of Edith Dean'', 1890
Notes
References
Attribution
*
*
*
*
Bibliography
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swisher, Bella French
1837 births
1893 deaths
19th-century American newspaper founders
19th-century American newspaper editors
19th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
19th-century American women writers
People from Trenton, Georgia
Poets from Georgia (U.S. state)
American women non-fiction writers
Women newspaper editors
19th-century American businesswomen
19th-century American businesspeople