Mary Canfield Ballard ( pen name Minnie C. Ballard; June 22, 1852 – September 7, 1927) was an American poet and

hymnwriter A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who composed many of ...

. She was a prolific contributor to periodicals, contributing occasionally to thirty of them.

Early life and education

Mary Canfield Ballard was born in

Troy, Pennsylvania Troy is a borough in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 1,354 at the 2010 census. Children residing in the borough are assigned to attend the Troy Area School District. History The borough ...

, June 22, 1852. Her parents were Orrin Porter Ballard and Eliza Ann Spalding Ballard. On her mother's side, Ballard was related to Colonel Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame. Her father was a

self-made man "Self-made man" is a classic phrase coined on February 2, 1842 by Henry Clay in the United States Senate, to describe individuals whose success lay within the individuals themselves, not with outside conditions. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Foun ...

and accumulated considerable property in

Bradford County, Pennsylvania Bradford County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, its population was 59,967. Its county seat is Towanda. The county was created on February 21, 1810, from parts ...

. She was sent to the Pennsylvania State Normal School when about fourteen years old, but, growing homesick, she returned to her home in Troy where she finished her education. Her early literary efforts were very ambitious ones. When she was only thirteen years old, she wrote a continued story about a hair-pin, managing to introduce an

elopement Elopement is a term that is used in reference to a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting ma ...

, an angry father, tears, repentance and forgiveness. She also wrote an essay on Sappho. She began to write poems at the age of sixteen.

Career

Ballard was the youngest of a large family, but, her brothers and sisters being married and her father and mother dead, she lived alone. She was devoted to painting, music and literature and was a prolific contributor to periodicals under the pen name "Minnie C. Ballard" ever since she sent her first poem to

William Cullen Bryant William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 – June 12, 1878) was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the ''New York Evening Post''. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poetry ...

, who gave it a place in the '' Evening Post''. Her first published productions made their appearance when she was 21 years old. Since her appearance in the poets' corner of the ''Evening Post'', she contributed occasionally to some thirty periodicals. Ballard published ''Idle Fancies'' (Troy, Pa., 1883), for private circulation, and a new edition for the general public (

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, 1884). She contributed to the ''

Philadelphia Times ''The Times'' was a daily newspaper published from March 13, 1875, to August 11, 1902, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The paper was founded by Alexander McClure and Frank McLaughlin as an independent voice against party machine politics and corru ...

'', ''

The Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, al ...

'', the ''

Louisville Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is the highest circulation newspape ...

'', ''

Godey's Lady's Book ''Godey's Lady's Book'', alternatively known as ''Godey's Magazine and Lady's Book'', was an American women's magazine that was published in Philadelphia from 1830 to 1878. It was the most widely circulated magazine in the period before the Civil ...

'', ''

Peterson's Magazine ''Peterson's Magazine'' (1842–1898) was an American magazine focused on women. It was published monthly and based in Philadelphia. In 1842, Charles Jacobs Peterson and George Rex Graham, partners in the '' Saturday Evening Post'', agreed ...

'', and the '' St. Louis Magazine''. She wrote the lyrics for the hymns, "Easter Hymn", first published in ''The International Lesson Hymnal'' (

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

: David C. Cook, 1878), number 108., music by E. B. Smith, 1878 and "Shall It Be You or I?".

Death

Ballard died September 7, 1927, and is buried at Saint Johns Cemetery, Troy, Pennsylvania.

Selected works

* ''... Idle Fancies'', 1884

References

Attribution

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballard, Mary Canfield 1852 births 1927 deaths 19th-century American poets 19th-century American women writers 19th-century pseudonymous writers People from Bradford County, Pennsylvania Poets from Pennsylvania American women poets American hymnwriters American women hymnwriters Pseudonymous women writers Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century