Mary E. Hewitt

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Mary E. Hewitt

Mary Elizabeth Hewitt (later, Mary Elizabeth Stebbins; pen names, Ione and Jane; 1818 – October 9, 1894) was an American poet and editor who flourished in the 1840s and 1850s.Template:Sfn She published: Memorial of F. S. Osgood; Songs of Our Lord; Heroines of History; and Poems Sacred, Passionate, and Legendary.Template:Sfn

Early life

Mary Elizabeth Moore was born in 1818,Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:EfnTemplate:Efn in Malden, Massachusetts,Template:Sfn a country town about five miles from Boston.Template:Sfn Her mother, left early a widow, removed to Boston.Template:Sfn

Career

Hewitt lived in Boston with her until she married James Lang Hewitt, around 1827.Template:Sfn His father was the musician, James Hewitt; his brother was the composer, John Hill Hewitt, and his sister was the musician, Sophia Hewitt Ostinelli. In 1829, the couple removed to city of New York City.Template:Sfn

Hewitt's earlier poems appeared in The Knickerbocker, Southern Literary Messenger ("A Bivouac in the Desert", July 1844),Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

Hewitt's poem "Harold the Valiant" appeared closely upon the date of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Skeleton in Armor" (1841), with which it had points of resemblance.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn In 1854, she married Russell Stebbins.Template:Sfn

Among the later productions of Hewitt were some elegant translations, which illustrated her taste and learning, and a fine command of language.Template:Sfn Her last work was The Heroines of History (1856).Template:Sfn

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 on April 15, 1861.Template:Sfn Painted circa 1850, the artist was the husband of Hewitt's friend Frances Osgood.

She died October 9, 1894.Template:Sfn She is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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)

References

Attribution

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Bibliography

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

External links

• Sheet music for "Softly ye night winds", Macon, GA: John W. Burke, from the Confederate Imprints Sheet Music Collection
• Sheet music for "Sleeping I Dreamed Love"
• Mary Elizabeth (Moore) Hewitt Stebbins manuscript poem: "The Lady to her Glove."

• Works with text by Ms Hewill on IMSLP