Elizabeth M. Olmsted (, Allen; December 31, 1825 – February 7, 1910) was an American poet of the

long nineteenth century The ''long nineteenth century'' is a term for the 125-year period beginning with the onset of the French Revolution in 1789 and ending with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It was coined by Russian writer Ilya Ehrenburg and British Marxist his ...

. Her poems were well known 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 ...

, and appeared in the newspapers and magazines of that period.

Biography

Elizabeth Martha Allen was born in

Caledonia, New York Caledonia is a town in Livingston County, New York, United States. The population was 4,255 at the 2010 census. The town contains the village of Caledonia. The town is in the northwestern part of the county and is southwest of Rochester. It is ...

, December 31, 1825. Her ancestral stock was from

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

. Her father, Oliver Allen, belonged to the family of

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, American Revolutionary War patriot, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for ...

. She was educated carefully and liberally. She was a child of strong mental powers and inquiring mind. Her poetic trend was apparent in childhood, and in her youth she wrote poems of much merit. She married, in February, 1853, John R. Olmsted, of

Le Roy, New York Le Roy, or more commonly LeRoy, is a town in Monroe County, New York or Genesee County, New York, United States. The population was 7,641 at the time of the 2010 census. The town is named after one of the original land owners, Herman Le Roy. The ...

, and she resided in that town thereafter. The Olmsleds descended from the first settlers of

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, and pioneers of the Genesee valley. Elizabeth M

Olmsted contributed to the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

weekly ''

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

'' and other papers. During the civil war, she wrote many spirited war lyrics, among which was the once well-known "Our Boys Going to the War" and "The Clarion." Her poem, "The Upas," first appeared in the ''Independent'' of January 16, 1862. She published a number of excellent

sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...

s. Her productions were characterized by moral tone, fine diction and polish. She died at her son's home in Buffalo, February 7, 1910, and was buried at Machpelah Cemetery, Le Roy, New York.

Selected works

*
Poems of the house, and other poems
', 1903

References

Attribution

* * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Olmsted, Elizabeth M. 1825 births 1910 deaths 19th-century American poets 19th-century American women writers People from Caledonia, New York Poets from New York (state) American women poets Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century