Frederick William Thomas (October 25, 1806 – August 27, 1866 in Washington, D.C.) was an American writer.

Biography

He was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, the son of Ebenezer Smith Thomas, a journalist and a nephew of printer Isaiah Thomas. He was educated in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, where he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1828. In 1830 he moved to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and assisted his father in editing the ''Advertiser'', in which appeared his song “'Tis said that absence conquers love.” He became an associate editor of the ''Democratic Intelligencer'' in 1834, and of the ''Evening Post'' in 1835. From 1841 until 1850, he was a clerk in the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

in Washington, D.C., for which he selected a library. In 1850 he returned to Cincinnati, entered the ministry of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

and preached in that city. Subsequently, he was professor of

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

and

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

in the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

, and in 1858 resumed the practice of law in Cambridge, Maryland. In 1860 he took charge of the literary department of the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

''Enquirer'', and afterward became editorially connected with the ''South Carolinian'' of Columbia. He traveled extensively through the southern states, was a successful lecturer, and occasionally took part in politics.

Works

* '' The Emigrant, Or, Reflections While Descending the Ohio'' (1832), a book of poetry about the Ohio River region * ''Clinton Bradshaw; or, The Adventures of a Lawyer'' (1835), famous for its

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

scene * ''East and West'' (1836), set in western Pennsylvania * ''Howard Pinckney'' (1840), a detective story. * ''The Beechen Tree, a Tale told in Rhyme, and other Poems'' (New York, 1844) * ''Sketches of Character, and Tales founded on Fact'' (Louisville, 1849) * ''John Randolph of Roanoke, and other Sketches of Character, including William Wirt; together with Tales of Real Life'' (Philadelphia, 1853) He maintained a correspondence with

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

and became his closest confidant.Meyers, Jeffrey. ''Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy''. New York: Cooper Square Press, 1992. . p. 128

References

External links

* * * John Hewitt turned the poe
When Thou Wert True
into a popular song in 1843. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Frederick William 1806 births 1866 deaths American male writers People from Providence, Rhode Island