Emma B. Dunham (, Sargent;

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

s, various, including Leoline; August 21, 1826 – September 14, 1910) was an American poet and teacher 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 ...

. 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.

Early life and education

Eunice Emma Bedelia Sargent was born in

Minot, Maine Minot is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,766 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of West Minot and Minot Center. It is part of both the Lewiston- Auburn, Maine metropolitan statistical a ...

, August 21, 1826. One of nine children, she was the fourth child in the family of Capt. Joseph Smith Sargent and Ann Hoyt Sargent. Her oldest brother was Judge Joseph Augustus Sargent of

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 ...

. Her younger brother, Judge William Griffith Sargent, was of

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

; 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 ...

, he was under

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

, made major. Dunham attended the district school. She moved with her parents to

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

, at the age of nine years. There, she attended public and private schools and had the benefit of private teachers. Her school education was finished in

Westbrook Seminary Westbrook College was a liberal arts college in Portland, Maine, founded 1831 as Westbrook Seminary in Westbrook, Maine. It closed in 1996 and merged with the University of New England, which uses its old campus. History In 1831, Westbrook Semin ...

. Her collection of natural curiosities was begun when she was about eleven years old.

Career

Children attended Dunham's school for the pleasure as well as instruction to be had there. Dunham began to write when very young, her first poems published before she was sixteen. She changed

s often, dreading to have the public know her as an author, until, after years of success, she gained courage to use her own name. Her writings consisted largely of poetry, but also included sketches on natural history, essays, letters of travel, and stories for children. Some of her songs were set to music. "Margaret, a Home Opera in Six Acts", is one of the best of her poetic productions. It was brought out in 1875. Her poems appeared in the ''Portland Transcript'', ''Press'', ''Argus'', ''Boston Journal'', ''Louie's Repository'', and many other well-known publications. For years, she was a regular contributor to the religious papers of the Universalist denomination.

Personal life

She married Rufus Dunham, of

Westbrook, Maine Westbrook is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States and a suburb of Portland. The population was 20,400 at the 2020 census, making it the fastest-growing city in Maine between 2010 and 2020. It is part of the Portland– South Portla ...

, August 25, 1845, a manufacturer of Britannia and silver-plated ware. They had three sons and two daughters. Four other children died young. At Dunham's suggestion, the All Souls Universalist Church was organized in 1881, she becoming one of the original members. Dunham eventually moved to

Deering, Maine Deering was a town in Cumberland County, Maine which was incorporated in 1871 and annexed by the neighboring City of Portland in 1899. Until 1871, the town was part of Saccarappa, which also included what is now neighboring Westbrook. In that ye ...

, and died there September 14, 1910. She was buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in Portland.

Notes

References

Attribution

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunham, Emma B. 1826 births 1910 deaths 19th-century American educators 19th-century American poets 19th-century American women writers 19th-century American women educators People from Minot, Maine Educators from Maine American women poets Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century