Laura Rosamond White (October 23, 1844 – July 4, 1922) was an American author and editor whose work was affiliated with the

Woman's Relief Corps The Woman's Relief Corps (WRC) is a charitable organization in the United States, originally founded as the official women's auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1883. The organization was designed to assist the GAR and p ...

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 ...

(W.C.T.U.), and the

Non-Partisan National Woman's Christian Temperance Union Non-Partisan National Women's Christian Temperance Union was an American temperance association organized at Cleveland, Ohio, January 22, 1890, as a protest against the attitude of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.) toward political ...

. She was also regarded as the poet of

Geneva, Ohio Geneva is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The area which would become Geneva was originally settled in 1805, and was incorporated as a city in 1958. It is named after Geneva, New York, Geneva, New York (state), New York. The pop ...

, and served as city editor of the ''Geneva Times''.

Early life and education

Laura Rosamond Harvey was born in

Otsego County, New York Otsego County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,524. The county seat is Cooperstown. The name ''Otsego'' is from a Mohawk or Oneida word meaning "place of the rock." History In 178 ...

, October 23, 1844. Her parents removed when she was one year old, and part of her childhood was passed in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and the remainder and her early girlhood in

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 ...

. She was descended from a family of Huguenots, named Hervé, who fled from France to England during a time of great persecution. One branch settled in England, one in Scotland, and from a Franco-English alliance descended Dr. Harvey, who discovered the circulation of the blood. The family name became Anglicized from Hervé to Hervey, and then to Harvey. Her ancestors were among the

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...

and pioneers of America. She early showed her fondness for intellectual pursuits, and was educated mostly in private schools and under private tutors.

Career

Her contributions appeared in many journals and magazines, and some of them were widely copied. She was a versatile writer, and excelled in poems that express sentiment suggested by humanity, friendship and patriotism. She was not confined to the didactic and sentimental, and most of the time, discarded that style. Then she produced her finest poetic work. She possessed an element of the humorous, as frequently shown. As a journalist, her prose articles covered a wide range of subjects. She was asked often to write for occasions such as the dedication of the National Woman's Relief Corps Home in

Madison, Ohio Madison is a village in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,184 at the 2010 census. Madison was incorporated as a village in 1867. Geography Madison is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the village ...

. She was a prominent writer for the W.C.T.U. and in the Woman's Relief Corps, serving as Press Reporter for the Bowers Relief Corps, Geneva, Ohio. She served as the editor of the ''Temperance Tribune'', the official organ of the Non-Partisan National Woman's Christian Temperance Union.

Personal life

In 1866, she married George W. White (1845-?) in

Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua (; ''Utaʼnaráhkhwaʼ'' in Tuscarora language, Tuscarora) is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,545 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrat ...

. Her home was in Geneva, Ohio. She died there July 4, 1922.

Selected works

Poems

* "I.", 1884 * "My Guest", 1885 * "Philosophy", 1886 * "Somewhere in the World", 1886 * "Bridal and Burial", 1892 * "Hi Mother's Pie", 1892 * "Poem of Welcome", 1892 * "Signs", 1892 * "Music 'Mid de Corn", 1893 * "New Business", 1893 * "A Martha Washington Party", 1897 * "Immortal White City", 1897 * "The Rich Man's Christmas Story", 1898 * "Broken Bow", 1899 * "The Color-Bearer", 1908 * "Books", 1916

Articles

* "Susie's Experiment", 1892

Short stories

* "An Easter Idol", 1903

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Laura Rosamond 1844 births 1922 deaths Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century People from Otsego County, New York Writers from New York (state) 19th-century American poets 19th-century American non-fiction writers 19th-century American women writers Woman's Relief Corps people Woman's Christian Temperance Union people