Eunice Gibbs Allyn (, Gibbs;
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, (multiple); 1847 – June 30, 1916) was an American correspondent, author, songwriter, illustrator, and painter. She intended to become a teacher, but her mother dissuaded her so she remained at home, entering into society, and writing in a quiet way for the local papers while using various pen names in order to avoid displeasing one of her brothers, who did not wish to have a "
bluestocking
''Bluestocking'' is a term for an educated, intellectual woman, originally a member of the 18th-century Blue Stockings Society from England led by the hostess and critic Elizabeth Montagu (1718–1800), the "Queen of the Blues", including Eliz ...
" in the family.
Allyn served as the Washington
correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...
for the ''
Chicago Inter Ocean
The ''Chicago Inter Ocean'', also known as the ''Chicago Inter-Ocean'', is the name used for most of its history for a newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, from 1865 until 1914. Its editors included Charles A. Dana and Byron Andrews.
Histo ...
'', as well as a writer for the ''
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
The ''St. Louis Globe-Democrat'' was originally a daily print newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1852 until 1986. When the trademark registration on the name expired, it was then used as an unrelated free historically themed paper.
Orig ...
'' and the ''
New York World
The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publi ...
''. She won distinction as an artist and lecturer. For eight years, she served as president of the Dubuque branch of the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...
(WCTU).
Early life and education
Eunice Eloisae Gibbs was born in 1847,
in
Brecksville, Ohio
Brecksville is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb in the Greater Cleveland area. The city's population was 13,635 at the United States 2020 Census.
History
Brecksville was founded in 1811, four years after several me ...
, a suburb of
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. Her father, Dr. Sidney Smith Gibbs, hailed from
Schoharie County, New York
Schoharie County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,714, making it the state's fifth-least populous county. The county seat is Schoharie. "Schoharie" comes from a Mohawk word meaning "f ...
, and her mother, Eunice Lucinda Newberry, was from
St. Lawrence County, New York
St. Lawrence County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 108,505.
The county seat is Canton.
The county is named for the Saint Lawrence River, which in turn was named for the Christian saint La ...
. Dr. Gibbs was practicing medicine in Brecksville when he married Miss Newberry, who was a successful teacher. He was a relative of the Anglican cleric, wit, and writer,
Sydney Smith
Sydney Smith (3 June 1771 – 22 February 1845) was an English wit, writer, and Anglican cleric.
Early life and education
Born in Woodford, Essex, England, Smith was the son of merchant Robert Smith (1739–1827) and Maria Olier (1750–1801), ...
. Allyn was a niece of
Mary Newbury Adams.
Allyn's mother was a cousin of
Harriet Bishop
Harriet E. Bishop (January 1, 1817 – August 8, 1883) was an American educator, writer, Women's suffrage, suffragist, and temperance movement, temperance activist. Born in Panton, Vermont, she moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1847. There, she st ...
.
The family consisted of four children, of whom Eunice was the third. Adrian Hoxey Gibbs was a brother. After various changes of climate in search of health, Dr. Gibbs died young. The mother and children then moved from
Jackson, Michigan
Jackson is the only city and county seat of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534, down from 36,316 at the 2000 census. Located along Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127, it is approxi ...
, to Cleveland, where Eunice was graduated with honors from the high school.
Career
Allyn intended to become a teacher, but her mother dissuaded her and she remained at home, entering into society and writing quietly for the local papers. Her articles were signed using various pen names in order to avoid displeasing one of her brothers, who did not wish to have a "bluestocking" in the family. Her first published poems appeared in the Cleveland ''Plain Dealer'', when she was only thirteen years old. Besides composing poems for recitation in school, she often wrote songs, both words and music, when she could not find songs suited to various occasions.
In 1873, she married Glarence Gilman Allyn (1850–1911), of
Nyack, New York
Nyack () is a Village (New York), village located primarily in the Town (New York), town of Orangetown, New York, Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, Rockland County, New York (state), New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, it retai ...
. After spending several years at Nyack,
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...
, and
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...
, they moved to
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...
. Before her marriage she gained valuable experience as Washington correspondent of the ''Chicago Inter Ocean'', a position which she filled for a year, during which time she also wrote numerous articles for the ''St. Louis Globe-Democrat'', the ''New York World'', and before and since marriage, for various
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 ...
,
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
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 ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, and
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
journals. She was a pointed, incisive writer, and all her work, prose or poetry, had an aim, a central thought.
![The Cats' Convention (cover)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/The_Cats%27_Convention_%28cover%29.png)
Published in 1909 by Cochrane Publishing Co., ''The Cats' Convention'' was reviewed by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and
Watson's ''Jeffersonian Magazine''. The book is illustrated with drawings of many cats of various styles, some beautiful and others ugly, all created by Allyn. ''The Cats' Convention'' is included in the Iowa Collection, Historical Department of the State Historical Society of Iowa.
388
Allyn won distinction as an artist. Several of her
landscape painting
Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compos ...
s hung at the
1904 St. Louis World's Fair. In 1910, one of her paintings was hung with the permanent collection in the Art Room of Dubuque's
Carnegie-Stout Public Library
The Carnegie-Stout Public Library is located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. The public library had its beginnings with the Young Men's Literary Association, established in 1859, and their book collection was the basis for the library's collectio ...
.
Personal life
In Dubuque, she inaugurated many reforms and educational movements, doing the work, not for notoriety, but prompted by her inborn desire to do something towards lifting up humanity. Allyn was a prominent member of the Dubuque Ladies' Literary Union, and for eight years, she served as president of the Dubuque branch of the WCTU.
When she was a child, Allyn received a
daguerreotype
Daguerreotype (; french: daguerréotype) was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process.
Invented by Louis Daguerre an ...
of
Hole in the Day
Hole in the Sky (The Younger) (1825–1868) was a prominent chief of the Ojibwe, Native Americans of Minnesota. The Ojibwe pronunciation has been written in various spellings such as Bagone-giizhig, Bagwunagijik, Bug-o-nay-ki-shig, Pugonakeshig ...
from
Harriet Bishop
Harriet E. Bishop (January 1, 1817 – August 8, 1883) was an American educator, writer, Women's suffrage, suffragist, and temperance movement, temperance activist. Born in Panton, Vermont, she moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1847. There, she st ...
, the cousin of Allyn's mother. In 1903, Allyn presented the daguerreotype to the
Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehoo ...
.
[ ]
In religion, she affiliated with the
Episcopal Church but was also an ardent admirer of
Oriental philosophy
Eastern philosophy or Asian philosophy includes the various philosophies that originated in East and South Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Korean philosophy, and Vietnamese philosophy; which are dominant in East Asia, ...
.
Eunice Gibbs Allyn died at her home in Dubuque on June 30, 1916, following a lengthy illness. Allyn and her husband are buried at the city's
Linwood Cemetery. An effort began two years before her death to collect her literary works for preservation in the
Iowa state historical archives.
Selected works
* "Her one star" (words and music)
* "Vesper bells" (words and music)
* "The King of all painters", 1898 (words and music)
* "The Thanksgiving hymn of the Republic", 1898 (words and music)
* "One thousand smiles", 1898
* "The Evolution of the Greek Flat", 1907
[ ]
* "My Spirit Wife", 1909 (short story)
* ''The Cats' Convention'', 1909
References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs Allyn, Eunice
1847 births
1916 deaths
19th-century American women writers
19th-century American journalists
19th-century American women musicians
19th-century pseudonymous writers
20th-century American women
20th-century American painters
People from Brecksville, Ohio
People from Dubuque, Iowa
American women journalists
Woman's Christian Temperance Union people
American women songwriters
American women illustrators
American women painters
American landscape painters
Painters from Iowa
Writers from Iowa
Pseudonymous women writers
Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century