Orelia Key Bell (April 8, 1864 – June 2, 1959) was an American poet and author whose work includes "Millennium Hymn" (1893) and "Poems" (1895). She lived for more than 50 years with her companion, Ida Jane Ash (1874–1948), first in Atlanta and then California, and they are buried alongside each other in the Atlanta's Historic Oakland Cemetery.

Early life

Orelia Key Bell was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, on April 8, 1864, to Colonel Marcus Aurelius Bell (1828–1885) and Mary Jane Hulsey (1837–1901), in the Bell mansion, a stately Southern home in the heart of the city built in 1860. The house became historic soon after Bell's birth, as the headquarters of General

William Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

's engineering corps led by Captain

Orlando M. Poe Orlando Metcalfe Poe (March 7, 1832 – October 2, 1895) was a United States Army officer and engineer in the American Civil War. After helping General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea, he was responsible for much of the early lig ...

, and the room in which she was born and spent the first three months of her life was that used by General Sherman as a stable for his favorite colt. The house was made of "plaster-covered stone marbleized in shades of blue, yellow, and red" and thus nicknamed the "Calico House". The house was demolished in 1925.

Career

Both sides of Bell's family were from the

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...

, and she was very thoroughly educated. Even when her family lost their financial security she managed to support herself and reach the fame through her poetry. Her warmest recognition from the press came from

Richard Watson Gilder Richard Watson Gilder (February 8, 1844 – November 19, 1909) was an American poet and editor. Life and career Gilder was born on February 8, 1844 at Bordentown, New Jersey. He was the son of Jane (Nutt) Gilder and the Rev. William Henry Gi ...

of ''

The Century Magazine ''The Century Magazine'' was an illustrated monthly magazine first published in the United States in 1881 by The Century Company of New York City, which had been bought in that year by Roswell Smith and renamed by him after the Century Associatio ...

'', Page M. Baker of the ''

New Orleans Times-Democrat ''The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate'' is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of ''The Times-Picayune'' (itself a result of th ...

'',

Charles Anderson Dana Charles Anderson Dana (August 8, 1819 – October 17, 1897) was an American journalist, author, and senior government official. He was a top aide to Horace Greeley as the managing editor of the powerful Republican newspaper ''New-York Tribune' ...

of the ''

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

'',

Miriam Leslie Miriam Leslie (née Folline; after first marriage, Peacock; after second marriage, Squier; after third marriage, Leslie; after fourth marriage, Wilde; claimed title, Baroness de Bazus; June 5, 1836 – September 18, 1914) was an American publisher ...

Henry W. Grady Henry Woodfin Grady (May 24, 1850 – December 23, 1889) was an American journalist and orator who helped reintegrate the states of the Confederacy into the Union after the American Civil War. Grady encouraged the industrialization of the Sout ...

, and Thaddeus E. Horton, and her own home paper, ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

''. Her poem "Maid and Matron" was used by actress

Hortense Rhéa Hortense Rhéa (born Hortense Barbe-Loret; 4 September 1844 – 5 May 1899) was a Belgian-born French actress whose popularity extended to the Russian Empire and later the United States of America. Early life Hortense Barbe-Loret was born in Bru ...

during her performances. Bell was friends with

Sue Harper Mims Sue Harper Mims (17 May 1842 - 30 January 1913), C.S.D., was a social leader in Atlanta, Georgia and the wife of Livingston Mims, the 37th mayor of Atlanta. She was a member of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and helped found its branch ch ...

, wife of Atlanta Mayor

Livingston Mims Livingston Mims (1833March 4, 1906) was an American politician who served as the 37th Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia during the early 20th century. Biography Born in Edgefield, South Carolina, Mims later moved to Mississippi and represented Hinds Co ...

. Sue Harper Mims was an influential teacher and lecturer in the early

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally know ...

movement in the South and founder of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Atlanta. To her Bell owed the inspiration of her most enduring work, the International Series of Christian Science Hymns. "Millennium Hymn", published in the February 1893 issue of ''

The Christian Science Journal ''The Christian Science Journal'' is an official monthly publication of the Church of Christ, Scientist through the Christian Science Publishing Society, founded in 1883 by Mary Baker Eddy. In 1942 she collaborated with British poet

Alfred Noyes Alfred Noyes CBE (16 September 188025 June 1958) was an English poet, short-story writer and playwright. Early years Noyes was born in Wolverhampton, England the son of Alfred and Amelia Adams Noyes. When he was four, the family moved to Abe ...

to publish a "patriotic leaflet". Her poem, "The Tocsin Sounds" is "dedicated to President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

as Commander in Chief". Later in life, she developed the art of transcribing her poems in

gold leaf Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

. Several works are exhibited at the

Atlanta Historical Society Atlanta History Center is a history museum and research center located in the Buckhead (Atlanta), Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The Museum was founded in 1926 and currently consists of nine permanent, and several t ...

, among other venues. She was awarded a bronze medal at the

Cotton States and International Exposition The Cotton States and International Exposition was a world's fair held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States in 1895. The exposition was designed "to foster trade between southern states and South American nations as well as to show the products an ...

in Atlanta. She was an early active member of Pasadena's

Browning Society Browning societies were groups who met to discuss the works of Robert Browning. Emerging from various reading groups, the societies indicated the poet's fame, and unusually were forming in his lifetime.Murray, H. (2002) ''Come, bright improvemen ...

, a poetry appreciation group.

Ida Ash

In 1895 Bell published ''Poems of Orelia Key Bell'', and the volume is dedicated, among others, to "Ida Ash, whose affection and encouragement have been among the chief sources of my inspiration". One poem, "Ida Ash", is under the section "The Heavenly Muse", and Ash is also named in the poem "At Mount Enota's Laurel'd Base" under the section "Melodies in Minor Key":

Ida Ash

:HOW did she come to me ? –or was it I :Who came to her? –or did we come together :Of one accord? I know nor whence nor whither :We twain were journeying was it yesterday, :Or some dim preexistence? –Destiny, :With iron tread –or Chance, blown like a feather– :Or clash of wandering stars or freak of weather, :That brought our hands to clasp in sympathy, :Our eyes to meet in music, and our souls :To leap en rapport? –Nay! as well divine :Which of two intermelting dewdrops rolls :First into the other. Whyfore seek a sign? :I only know, 'twas night: a voice: a flash :Of nereid eyes –then day– and Ida Ash.

At Mount Enota's Laurel'd Base

:AT Mount Enota's laurel'd base, :Where Hiawassee's waters flash, :'Twas there I met a mountain grace, :Beautiful Ida Ash. :As o'er the rocks, nereidianly, :She moved, with lissom step and proud, :Her eyes gleam'd like the Gemini :Beneath a shifting summer cloud. :The east-wind left its mourning cave :To nestle, dove-like, in her locks; :Tamed by her step, each madcap wave :Caress'd the conscious rocks. :The skylarks left their aery thrones :Amidst the serenading stars, :To catch her accent's Orphean tones :And beat its elegiac bars. :''Ah, I have sigh'd to rest me,'' sang :She from ''II Trovatore''; and thro' :A poet's heart the echo rang, :''Ah, I have sigh'd to rest me, too.'' :Sweet Ida Ash! life's hills are steep, :And Art a glad toil at its best; :Then rest thou in my heart, and I :Sweetly in thine will rest. :Teach me to sing as thou dost live, :A simple life of love and duty; :Then I at least to Art may give :One song of everlasting beauty. On October 12, 1895, at the closing session of the Professional Work of Women National Council's Work, a selection of poems by Bell were recited by Ash and by her pupils, Lucille Atkinson and Mamie Tolbert. A newspaper noted that Bell's "popularity in the literary world was evident from the representative number of literary people present who heard with deep appreciation the delicate expressions of her poetic mind".

Personal life

Orelia Key Bell never married and but lived with Ida Jane Ash. Newspapers tagged Ash as a lifelong friend and

amanuensis An amanuensis () is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another, and also refers to a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In one example Eric Fenby ...

. They moved to Pasadena prior to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and later lived at 2533 Greenbriar Lane,

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...

. Bell died on June 2, 1959, and is buried at

Oakland Cemetery (Atlanta) Oakland Cemetery is one of the largest cemetery green spaces in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded as Atlanta Cemetery in 1850 on six acres (2.4 hectares) of land southeast of the city, it was renamed in 1872 to reflect the large number ...

in the Bell family plot alongside Ash.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Orelia Key 1864 births 1959 deaths Writers from Atlanta American women poets Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century People born in the Confederate States