Susan Rigby Dallam Morgan (September 9, 1810 – June 3, 1887) was an American author and poet.

Life and career

Susan Ribgy Dallam was born in

Harford County, Maryland Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is al ...

to Dr. William M. Dallam and Frances Smith, the eldest of six children. Her mother died when Susan was 20 years old, and the responsibility of taking care of her younger siblings fell to her. In 1833, Dallam Morgan wrote an anonymous poem regarding a visit to the grave of the

Female Stranger The Grave of the Female Stranger is a famous historical oddity as well as a local landmark and visitor's attraction in St. Paul's Cemetery of St Paul's Episcopal Church in Alexandria, Virginia. The grave is the resting place of an unnamed indi ...

which was published in the ''

Alexandria Gazette The '' Alexandria Gazette'' was a succession of newspapers based in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. The newspaper offers an important source of information for events in Alexandria, particularly in the nineteenth century. The newspaper served ...

''."Poetry." Alexandria Gazette (Alexandria, VA) Wednesday, March 12, 1834. She also wrote a guest column for the ''Philadelphia Saturday Courier,'' using the pen name "Lucy Seymour." Her writings contributed to the widely publicized legend of the Female Stranger. Dallam Morgan was a guest columnist and wrote short stories for periodicals including ''The Baltimore Monument, The Boston Evening Gazette, The Saturday Morning Visitor,'' and ''The Methodist Protestant.'' In 1836, her book, ''The Swiss Heiress, Or, The Bride of Destiny: A Tale,'' was critiqued by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

in a review for the

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 ...

. In his review, he wrote " tshould be read by all who have nothing better to do."

Marriage

On March 26, 1840, she married

Lyttleton Morgan Lyttleton Morgan was the first chairman of the board of trustees of Morgan State University, which was renamed in his honor (it was founded as the Centenary Biblical Institute). Career Rev. Morgan was "station-preacher" meaning that he generally t ...

who served as chaplain to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and as first chairman of the board of trustees of Morgan State University. Shortly after her death, Lyttleton published a book containing over 90 of her poems.

Death

Dallam Morgan died in Baltimore in 1887 and is buried in Green Mount Cemetery.

Bibliography

Books

* ''The Swiss Heiress, Or, The Bride of Destiny: A Tale'', 1836. * ''The Polish Orphan, Or, Vicissitudes: A Tale,'' 1838 * ''The Haunting Shadow,'' 1848

Poetry

* ''The Female Stranger,'' 1834. * ''The'' ''Poems of Mrs. Lyttleton F. Morgan, with a Memoir by her Husband,'' 1888.

Short stories

* ''The Young Statesman, Or, Code of Honor,'' 1839 * ''Sister Ellen'' * ''An Old Man's Story'' * ''The Art of Shining'' * ''The Deserter, a Tale of the Revolution'' * ''Moral Ophthalmy''

References

1810 births 1887 deaths 19th-century American people Poets from Maryland {{Maryland-stub