Mary Elizabeth Hewitt (later, Mary Elizabeth Stebbins;

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 ...

s, Ione and Jane; 1818 – October 9, 1894) was an

American poet The poets listed below were either born in the United States or else published much of their poetry while living in that country. A B C D E F G H I–J K L M N O P Q *George Quasha (born 1942 in poetry, 1942) R ...

and editor who flourished in the 1840s and 1850s. She published: ''Memorial of F. S. Osgood''; ''Songs of Our Lord''; ''Heroines of History''; and ''Poems Sacred, Passionate, and Legendary''.

Early life

Mary Elizabeth Moore was born in 1818, in

Malden, Massachusetts Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden, a hilly woodland area north of the Mystic River, was settled by Puritans in 1640 on la ...

, a country town about five miles from

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- mo ...

. Her mother, left early a widow, removed to Boston.

Career

Hewitt lived in Boston with her until she married James Lang Hewitt, around 1827. His father was the musician,

James Hewitt James Lifford Hewitt (born 30 April 1958) is a British former cavalry officer in the British Army. He came to public attention in the mid-1990s after he disclosed an affair with Diana, Princess of Wales, while she was still married to then-Pri ...

; his brother was the composer,

John Hill Hewitt John Hill Hewitt (July 11, 1801, New York City — October 7, 1890, Baltimore) was an American composer, playwright, and poet. He is best known for his songs about the American South, including "A Minstrel's Return from the War", "The Soldie ...

, and his sister was the musician,

Sophia Hewitt Ostinelli Sophia Hewitt Ostinelli (1799-1845) was an American classical musician who was a child prodigy who later became the only woman ever employed as an organist and accompanist by the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston Massachusetts, Boston, Massachuse ...

. In 1829, the couple removed to city of

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 ...

. Hewitt's earlier poems appeared in ''

The Knickerbocker ''The Knickerbocker'', or ''New-York Monthly Magazine'', was a literary magazine of New York City, founded by Charles Fenno Hoffman in 1833, and published until 1865. Its long-term editor and publisher was Lewis Gaylord Clark, whose "Editor's Ta ...

'', ''

Southern Literary Messenger The ''Southern Literary Messenger'' was a periodical published in Richmond, Virginia, from August 1834 to June 1864, and from 1939 to 1945. Each issue carried a subtitle of "Devoted to Every Department of Literature and the Fine Arts" or some vari ...

'' ("A Bivouac in the Desert", July 1844), and other periodicals, under the signature of "Ione" and "Jane". In 1845, she published a small volume of poems, selected from her contributions to the various periodicals, entitled, ''Songs of our Land, and other Poems''. This volume confirmed the high opinions which had been formed of her abilities from the fugitive pieces that had been popularly attributed to her. Her compositions in this collection demonstrated that she has a fine and well-cultivated understanding, and they are distinguished in an unusual degree for lyrical power and harmony as well as for sweetness of versification. The verses were evidently the utterance of a warm and impassioned heart, and strong imagination. The thoughts were expressed gracefully and harmomoniously, and bore the stamp of truth and originality. Hewitt's poem "Harold the Valiant" appeared closely upon the date of

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

's "

The Skeleton in Armor The Skeleton in Armor is the name given to a skeleton associated with metal, bark and cloth artifacts which was unearthed in Fall River, Massachusetts in 1832. The skeleton was subsequently destroyed in a fire in 1843. It is also the name of a poem ...

" (1841), with which it had points of resemblance. In 1850, Hewitt edited a gift book, called ''The Gem of the Western World''; and the ''Memorial'', a tribute to the memory of her friend,

Frances Sargent Osgood Frances Sargent Osgood ( née Locke; June 18, 1811 – May 12, 1850) was an American poet and one of the most popular women writers during her time.Silverman, 281 Nicknamed "Fanny", she was also famous for her exchange of romantic poems with Edga ...

. In 1854, she married Russell Stebbins. Among the later productions of Hewitt were some elegant translations, which illustrated her taste and learning, and a fine command of language. Her last work was ''The Heroines of History'' (1856). Samuel Stillman Osgood's ''Portrait of Mrs. Mary E. Hewitt, (1818- .)'', oil on canvas, measuring 25 inches by 30 inches, was presented by Hewitt to the

New-York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. ...

on April 15, 1861. Painted circa 1850, the artist was the husband of Hewitt's friend Frances Osgood. She died October 9, 1894. She is buried at

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

Selected works

*''The Songs of our Land, and Other Poems'' (1846) *''The Gem of the Western World'' (editor, 1850) *''The Memorial: Written by Friends of the Late Mrs. Osgood'' (editor, 1851) *''Heroines of History'' (editor, 1852) *''Poems, Sacred, Passionate, and Legendary'' (1854) *''Lives of Illustrious Women of All Ages'' (editor, 1860)

Notes

References

Attribution

* * * * * *

Bibliography

* *
Portraits of American Women Writers
Accessed March 1, 2008
Worldcat
Accessed March 1, 2008

External links

* Sheet music fo
"Softly ye night winds"
Macon, GA: John W. Burke, from th
Confederate Imprints Sheet Music Collection
* Sheet music fo
"Sleeping I Dreamed Love"

Mary Elizabeth (Moore) Hewitt Stebbins manuscript poem: "The Lady to her Glove."
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewitt, Mary E. 1818 births 1894 deaths 19th-century American poets 19th-century American women writers American book editors People from Malden, Massachusetts American women poets