Julia Rush Cutler Ward (January 5, 1796November 9, 1824) was an American occasional poet. One of her poems is preserved in

Rufus Wilmot Griswold Rufus Wilmot Griswold (February 13, 1815 – August 27, 1857) was an American anthologist, editor, poet, and critic. Born in Vermont, Griswold left home when he was 15 years old. He worked as a journalist, editor, and critic in Philadelphia, Ne ...

's ''Female Poets of America'' (1878).

Early life

Julia Rush Cutler was born in

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- m ...

, January 5, 1796. She was the daughter of Benjamin Clark Cutler (b. 1756), of

Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The comm ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. Her mother, Sarah Marion Mitchell Hyrne Cutler, was the daughter of Thomas Mitchell and Esther (or Hester) Marion. Julia was the third child in the family. Her siblings included: Mary Ann, Mary Eliza, Rev. Benjamin Clark (of St. Ann's Church,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, beh ...

; brother-in-law of General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe), Charlotte, and Francis Marion. Julia's maternal ancestors were of

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, and her grandmother was the only sister of the partisan leader,

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Francis Marion Brigadier-General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the Swamp Fox, was an American military officer, planter and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. During the Amer ...

Career

In 1812, she married Samuel Ward, a banker of New York City. After marriage, she came to

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 ...

to reside at a time when

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend ...

James Kirke Paulding James Kirke Paulding (August 22, 1778 – April 6, 1860) was an American writer and, for a time, the United States Secretary of the Navy. Paulding's early writings were satirical and violently anti-British, as shown in ''The Diverting History of ...

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought ...

, and others, were making their first marks in literature, and her abilities, improved by the best culture, brought into her circle important people of the city. Ward wrote

occasional poems Occasional poetry is poetry composed for a particular occasion. In the history of literature, it is often studied in connection with orality, performance, and patronage. Term As a term of literary criticism, "occasional poetry" describes the wo ...

with grace, sincerity, and an impromptu ease. One of her poems is preserved in Griswold's ''Female Poets of America'' (

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. Sin ...

, 1878).

Personal life

On October 9, 1812, at the age of seventeen, she married Samuel Ward, head of the banking house of Prime, Ward & King, and as such was the most influential financier in America, enjoying a position of power and influence equal to that of J. Pierpont Morgan seventy years later. In the financial panic of 1837, Ward played a like part to that of Morgan in the panic of 1907. Samuel Ward, Henry Ward, Julia Ward (l-r)

Samuel Ward, Henry Ward, Julia Ward (l-r)

The Wards had seven children including: * Samuel ("Sam") Cutler Ward (1814–1884), a lobbyist who married Emily Astor (1819–1841), daughter of

William Backhouse Astor Sr. William Backhouse Astor Sr. (September 19, 1792 – November 24, 1875) was an American business magnate who inherited most of his father John Jacob Astor's fortune. He worked as a partner in his father's successful export business. His massive in ...

* Julia (b. 1816; died in infancy) * Henry Ward (1818–1839/40) *

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 pacifist Mother's Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism ...

(1819–1910), author of "

Battle Hymn of the Republic The "Battle Hymn of the Republic", also known as "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory" or "Glory, Glory Hallelujah" outside of the United States, is a popular American patriotic song written by the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe. Howe wrote her ...

", who married

Samuel Gridley Howe Samuel Gridley Howe (November 10, 1801 – January 9, 1876) was an American physician, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, and advocate of education for the blindness, blind. He organized and was the first director of the Perkins Sc ...

(1801–1876) * Louisa Cutler Ward (1823–1897), who married Thomas Gibson Crawford (1813–1857), a prominent sculptor. After his death, she married Luther Terry (1813–1900), an artist. * Francis Marion (1820–1847) * Louisa Cutler (1823–1857) * Anne Eliza Ward Maillard (born November 2, 1824) On a north corner of

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

stood the Ward house, a plain but dignified structure of brick with white marble trimmings. In 1819, the family lived at No. I Marketfield Street, on the north side, next to the corner of Broad Street. The family moved next to No. 5

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

, the "Steamship Row" of later days, where they had as neighbors John Hone, Elisha Riggs, and Stephen Whitney. Ward died November 9, 1824 at her Bowling Green home in New York City a week after her last child, Anne, was born.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Julia Rush Cutler 1796 births 1824 deaths 19th-century American poets 19th-century American women writers American women poets Writers from Boston Occasional poets