Mary R. T. McAboy (, Thornton;

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

, M. R. M., Roseheath, Ky.; February 9, 1815 – April 5, 1892) was a 19th-century poet of the American

south South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

. From 1850, she was a contributor to the press of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

and elsewhere over the signature of "M. R. M., Roseheath, Ky."; her writings were universally popular.

Biography

Mary Rootes Thornton was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky, February 9, 1815. Her father was Peter Thornton of Caroline County, Virginia. Her mother's maiden name was Rowe. There were five siblings in this family: Sally Tunstall (Thornton), Mary Rootes (Thornton), Thomas; Callender, and Read. She was raised and educated by her uncle, Hon. John Rootes Thornton (1786-1873). He was a prominent lawyer and a member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form ...

(1844), and State Senate (1829–33; 1833–37). On April 24, 1839, she married Rev. Paradise Lynn McAboy (1814–1839), of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, Mason County, Kentucky, a young

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister. She was widowed four months later when the husband was killed by the falling of a large flour mill at Murphysville, Mason County, Kentucky, on August 29, 1839. McAboy's signature, “M. R. M., Roseheath, Ky.," was well known at intervals for thirty years to readers of the Louisville '' Journal'', ''Paris Citizen'', ''Paris True Kentuckian'', Memphis ''Enquirer'', ''Presbyterian Herald'' of

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 other newspapers and monthlies. She resided in the Thornton homestead in Paris, Kentucky where she entertained many distinguished men in the ministry of the church and state. It was

George D. Prentice George Dennison Prentice (December 18, 1802 – January 22, 1870) was an American newspaper editor, writer and poet who built the ''Louisville Journal'' into a major newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Ohio River Valley, in part by the vir ...

, who, while visiting her, named her homestead, "Roseheath". McAboy died at "Roseheath", Paris, April 5, 1892.

Selected works

* ''Roseheath poems'', 1884

Notes

References

Attribution

* * *

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McAboy, Mary R. T. 1815 births 1892 deaths People from Bourbon County, Kentucky Poets from Kentucky American women poets 19th-century American poets 19th-century American women writers 19th-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers