Hannibal Hamlin Garland (September 14, 1860 – March 4, 1940) was an American novelist, poet, essayist, short story writer, Georgist, and psychical researcher. He is best known for his fiction involving hard-working

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

farmers.

Biography

Hannibal Hamlin Garland was born on a farm near

West Salem, Wisconsin West Salem is a village in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, along the La Crosse River. It is part of the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,799 as of the 2010 Census. History West Salem was p ...

, on September 14, 1860, the second of four children of Richard Garland of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

and Charlotte Isabelle McClintock. The boy was named after

Hannibal Hamlin Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809 – July 4, 1891) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 15th vice president of the United States from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln's first term. He was the first Republican ...

, the vice-president under

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. He lived on various Midwestern farms throughout his young life, but settled in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1884 to pursue a career in writing. He read diligently in the

Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse'') of the Commonwea ...

. There he became enamored with the ideas of

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...

, and his Single Tax Movement. George's ideas came to influence a number of his works, such as ''

Main-Travelled Roads ''Main-Travelled Roads'' is a collection of short stories by the American author Hamlin Garland. First published in 1891, the stories are set in what the author refers to as the "Middle Border," the northwestern prairie states of Wisconsin, Nebr ...

'' (1891), ''Prairie Folks'' (1892), and his novel '' Jason Edwards'' (1892). ''Main-Travelled Roads'' was his first major success. It was a collection of short stories inspired by his days on the farm. He serialized a biography of

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 ...

in ''

McClure's Magazine ''McClure's'' or ''McClure's Magazine'' (1893–1929) was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism ( investigative, wat ...

'' before publishing it as a book in 1898. The same year, Garland traveled to the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

to witness the Klondike Gold Rush, which inspired ''The Trail of the Gold Seekers'' (1899). He lived on a farm between Osage, and

St. Ansgar, Iowa St. Ansgar is a city in Mitchell County, Iowa, Mitchell County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,160 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History St. Ansgar is named for the St. Ansgar, patron saint of Scandinavia, a French peop ...

for quite some time. Many of his writings are based on this era of his life. In 1893, Hamlin moved to Chicago, where he lived at 6427 South Greenwood Avenue in the Woodlawn neighborhood. He is considered "a significant figure in the Chicago Literary Movement" and "one of Chicago's most important authors". Moccasin Ranch Park, located near address, is named in his honor. In Illinois, Garland married Zulime Taft, the sister of sculptor

Lorado Taft Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860, in Elmwood, Illinois – October 30, 1936, in Chicago) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. His 1903 book, ''The History of American Sculpture,'' was the first survey of the subject and stood for deca ...

, and began working as a teacher and a lecturer. A prolific writer, Garland continued to publish novels, short fiction, and essays. In 1917, he published his autobiography, ''A Son of the Middle Border''. The book's success prompted a sequel, ''A Daughter of the Middle Border'', for which Garland won the 1922

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

for Biography. After two more volumes, Garland began a second series of memoirs based on his diary. Garland became quite well known during his lifetime and had many friends in literary circles. He was made a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

in 1918. After moving to

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, in 1929, he devoted his remaining years to investigating

psychic phenomena A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws ...

, an enthusiasm he first undertook in 1891. In his final book, ''The Mystery of the Buried Crosses'' (1939), he tried to defend such phenomena and prove the legitimacy of psychic mediums. A friend,

Lee Shippey Henry Lee Shippey (February 26, 1884 – December 30, 1969), who wrote under the name Lee Shippey, was an American author and journalist whose romance with a French woman during World War I caused a sensation in the United States as a "famous w ...

, columnist for the ''Los Angeles Times,'' recalled Garland's regular system of writing:

. . . he got up at half past five, brewed a pot of coffee and made toast on an electric gadget in his study and was at work by six. At nine o'clock he was through with work for the day. Then he breakfasted, read the morning paper and attended to his personal mail. . . . After luncheon he and Mrs. Garland would take a long drive . . . . Sometimes they would drop in on Will Rogers,
Will Durant William James Durant (; November 5, 1885 – November 7, 1981) was an American writer, historian, and philosopher. He became best known for his work '' The Story of Civilization'', which contains 11 volumes and details the history of eastern a ...
,
Robert Benchley Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at ''The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, thro ...
or even on me, for their range of friends was very wide. . . . After dinner they would go to a show if an exceptionally good one were in town, otherwise one of their daughters would read aloud.

Garland died at age 79, at his home in Hollywood on March 4, 1940. A memorial service was held three days later near his home in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

. His ashes were buried in Neshonoc Cemetery in West Salem, Wisconsin, on March 14; his poem "The Cry of the Age" was read by Reverend John B. Fritz. The

Hamlin Garland House The Hamlin Garland House is a historic house at 356 West Garland Street in West Salem, Wisconsin, USA. It was from 1893 to the 1910s the principal residence of writer Hamlin Garland (1860–1940). Garland was a prominent and well-regarded writ ...

in West Salem was designated as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1971.

Works

*''

'' (1891) *'' Jason Edwards: An Average Man'' (1892) *'' A Member of the Third House'' (1892) *''A Little Norsk'' (1892) *''A Spoil of Office'' (1892) *''Prairie Folks'' (1893) *''Prairie Songs'' (1893) *''

Crumbling Idols ''Crumbling Idols'' is a collection of 12 essays written and completed by Hamlin Garland in 1894. Garland was one of the most prominent American authors of the early 20th century, and contributed heavily to the literary movement known as American ...

'' (1894) *''Rose of Dutcher's Coolly'' (1895) *''Wayside Courtships'' (1897) *''The Spirit of Sweetwater'' (1898) *''Ulysses S. Grant: His Life and Character'' (1898) *''Boy Life on the Prairie'' (1899) *''The Trail of the Gold Seekers'' (1899) *''The Eagle's Heart'' (1900) *''Her Mountain Lover'' (1901) *''Delmar of Pima'' (1902) *''The Captain of the Gray-Horse Troop'' (1902) *''Hesper'' (1903) *''The Light of the Star'' (1904) *''The Tyranny of the Dark'' (1905) *''Witch's Gold'' (1906) *''The Long Trail'' (1907) *''Money Magic'' (1907) *''The Shadow World'' (1908) *''The Moccasin Ranch'' (1909) *''Cavanagh, Forest Ranger'' (1910) *''Other Main-Travelled Roads'' (1910) *''Victor Ollnee's Discipline'' (1911) *''The Forester's Daughter'' (1914) *''They of the High Trails'' (1916) *''A Pioneer Mother'' (1922) *''The Book of the American Indian'' (1923) *''The Westward March of American Settlement'' (1927) *''Prairie Song and Western Story'' (1928) *''Iowa, O Iowa'' (1935) *''Joys of the Trail'' (1935) *''Forty Years of Psychic Research'' (1936) *''The Mystery of the Buried Crosses'' (1939)

Middle Border series

* ''A Son of the Middle Border'' (1917) * ''A Daughter of the Middle Border'' (1921) (1922 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography) * ''Trail-Makers of the Middle Border'' (1926) * ''Back-Trailers from the Middle Border'' (1928)

Memoirs

* ''Roadside Meetings'' (1930) * ''Companions on the Trail'' (1931) * ''My Friendly Contemporaries'' (1932) * ''Afternoon Neighbors'' (1934)

References

External links