Lydia Sigourney - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Lydia Huntley Sigourney (September 1, 1791 – June 10, 1865), née Lydia Howard Huntley, was a popular American poet during the early and mid 19th century. She was commonly known as the "Sweet Singer of Hartford

Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

". Most of her works were published with just her married name Mrs. Sigourney.

Early life

Mrs. Sigourney was born in Norwich, Connecticut

Norwich, Connecticut

Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...

to Ezekiel Huntley and Zerviah Wentworth. Their only child, she was named after her father's first wife, Lydia Howard, who had died soon after marrying Ezekiel.

In her autobiography Letters of Life Sigourney describes her relation to her parents, her decision to care for them, and her intent to avoid marriage because it would interfere with this relationship.

I had . . . reason for avoiding serious advances. My mind was made up never to leave my parents. I felt that their absorbing love could never be repaid by the longest life-service, and that the responsibility of an only child, their sole prop and solace, would be strictly regarded by Him who readeth the heart. I had seen aged people surrounded by indifferent persons, who considered their care a burden, and could not endure the thought that my tender parents, who were without near relatives, should be thrown upon the fluctuating kindness of hirelings and strangers. To me, my father already seemed aged, though scarcely sixty; and I said, in my musing hours, Shall he, who never denied me aught, or spoke to me otherwise than in love-tones, stretch forth his hands in their weakness, "and find none to gird him"? (241).

Education and the school for young ladies

She was educated in Norwich

Norwich, Connecticut

and Hartford

Hartford, Connecticut

. With her friend Nancy Maria Hyde, Sigourney opened a school for young ladies in Norwich in 1811 The school was forced to close when Hyde became ill and was no longer able to teach. After the close of the Norwich school, she conducted a similar school in Hartford in the home of Daniel Wadsworth from 1814 until 1819.

When she was quite young, one of her neighbors, the Widow Lathrop, was friendly with her and encouraged her to develop. After her friend Madam Lathrop died, Lydia was sent to visit Mrs. Jeremiah Wadsworth, an acquaintance of the Widow Lathrop in [Hartford, Connecticut]. This visit put her in contact with Daniel Wadsworth

Daniel Wadsworth

Daniel Wadsworth of Hartford, Connecticut, was a traveler, amateur artist and architect, and arts patron. He is most remembered as the founder of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art....

. Daniel helped her set up a school for girls, arranging for daughters of his friends to attend. In 1815, he also helped her publish her first work, Moral Pieces in Prose and Verse, arranging the publishing and performing the initial editing himself. Sigourney described Wadsworth as her "kind patron

Patrón

Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...

" and says that he "took upon himself the whole responsibility of contracting publishers, gathering subscriptions, and even correcting the proof sheets". She goes on to say that "He delighted in drawing a solitary mind from obscurity into a freer atmosphere and brighter sunbeam".

Marriage and married life

On June 16, 1819, she married Charles Sigourney, and after her marriage chose to write anonymously in "leisure" time. It was not until her parents were in dire need and her husband had lost some of his former affluence that she began to write as an occupation. When she was referred to as the probable author of the anonymous Letters to Young Ladies, By a Lady she admitted authorship and began to write openly as Mrs. Sigourney.

After her death, John Greenleaf Whittier

John Greenleaf Whittier

John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets...

composed a poem for her memorial tablet:

She sang alone, ere womanhood had known

The gift of song which fills the air to-day:

Tender and sweet, a music all her own

May fitly linger where she knelt to pray.

Writings and criticism

This passage outlines her main themes including old age, death

Death

Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....

, responsibility

Moral responsibility

Moral responsibility usually refers to the idea that a person has moral obligations in certain situations. Disobeying moral obligations, then, becomes grounds for justified punishment. Deciding what justifies punishment, if anything, is a principle concern of ethics.People who have moral...

, religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

- a strong belief in God

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

and the Christian faith

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

- and work

Wage labour

Wage labour is the socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer, where the worker sells their labour under a formal or informal employment contract. These transactions usually occur in a labour market where wages are market determined...

(Victorian Web). She often wrote elegies

Elegy

In literature, an elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The Greek term elegeia originally referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets and covering a wide range of subject matter, including epitaphs for tombs...

or poems for recently deceased neighbors, friends, and acquaintances. Her work is one example of Victorian-era death literature

Obituary poetry

Obituary poetry, in the broad sense, includes any poem that commemorates a person or group of people's death: an elegy.In its stricter sense, though, it refers to a genre of popular verse or folk poetry that had its greatest popularity in the nineteenth century, especially in the United States of...

which views death as an escape to a better place, especially for children. A contemporary critic called her work, infused with morals, "more like the dew than the lightning". She enjoyed substantial popularity in her lifetime and earned several nicknames, including "the American Hemans

Felicia Hemans

-Ancestry:Felicia Heman's paternal grandfather was George Browne of Passage, co. Cork, Ireland; her maternal grandparents were Elizabeth Haydock Wagner of Lancashire and Benedict Paul Wagner , wine importer at 9 Wolstenholme Square, Liverpool. Family legend gave the Wagners a Venetian origin;...

", the "Sweet Singer of Hartford", and the "female Milton

John Milton

John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...

". Her influences included the work of Hannah More

Hannah More

Hannah More was an English religious writer, and philanthropist. She can be said to have made three reputations in the course of her long life: as a poet and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, as a writer on moral and religious subjects, and as a practical...

, William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....

, and William Cowper

William Cowper

William Cowper was an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry...

Conduct Literature

An advocate of gendered spheres of society, Sigourney followed the example of Hannah More

Hannah More

in creating a gendered rhetorical theory. Sigourney wrote two conduct books. Her first, Letters to Young Ladies, was published in 1833 and was printed more than twenty-five times. This book argued that women should practice reading aloud, and also offered advice letter writing and memorization. Sigourney promotes the importance of being agreeable throughout the book, and suggests ways to take notes, along with advice on how to paraphrase what one has read. Sigourney recommends that girls should form reading societies, and says that women should use their virtue to promote its appearance in others.

Sigourney's second conduct book, Letters to My Pupils, was published in 1837. In this book, Sigourney focuses on pronounciation and conversation, and claims that women should trained in enunciation even if they are not going to be speaking publicly. According to Sigourney, women's conversation should adhere to three rules: It should give pleasure; it should be instructive; and it should comforting. Sigourney also made a case for the value of silence at times, and argued that part of a woman's role is to be a good listener

In both of these books, Sigourney advocates traditional 19th century gendered spheres of society, but she also suggests that women can influence society through their teaching, conversation, and letter writing. Like Madeleine de Scudéry

Madeleine de Scudéry

Madeleine de Scudéry , often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer. She was the younger sister of author Georges de Scudéry.-Biography:...

, Sigourney stresses the importance of being agreeable in conversation

Legacy

Since her death, her writings largely have been forgotten. When remembered, she has been criticized for being shallow or for catering to the society in which she lived where women were expected to avoid public lives. For example, much of her writing is referred to as "hack work" by Haight, her only biographer. Others have attributed her influence to her relationships with wealthy, powerful people of her day or to good business sense. Kolker points out that much of the criticism has come from modern ideas of finding a personal voice through poetry while Sigourney's avowed intent was to benefit others (66). This purpose would mean that she had no need to find a personal voice.

However, according to "Nineteenth Century Criticism," "recently . . . there has been a renewed interest in Sigourney, particularly among feminist literary scholars. Critics such as Annie Finch

Annie Finch

Annie Finch is an American poet. She is author of numerous books of poetry as well as poetry translation, poetry anthologies and criticism, opera libretti, and poetic collaborations with visual art, music, theater, and dance. Her writings on poetry address topics including meter and prosody,...

, Nina Baym

Nina Baym

Nina Baym is an American literary critic and literary historian. She was professor of English at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign between 1963 and 2004....

, and Dorothy Z. Baker have studied Sigourney's successful attempt to establish herself as a distinctly American and distinctly female poet." Nina Baym writes about Sigourney's construction of her own identity that through 'canny participation, it continued throughout her lifetime .

"She was one of the most popular writers of her day, both in America and in England, and was called 'the American Hemans.' Her writings were characterized by fluency, grace and quiet reflection on nature, domestic and religious life, and philanthropic questions; but they were too often sentimental, didactic and commonplace to have much literary value. Some of her blank verse and pictures of nature suggest Bryant

William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post.-Youth and education:...

. Among her most successful poems are 'Niagara' and 'Indian Names.' The latter was set to music by Natalie Merchant

Natalie Merchant

Natalie Anne Merchant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.-Early life:...

for the 2010 album, Leave Your Sleep
Leave Your Sleep
-Inspiration:The sleeve notes credit inspiration for the songs of this album as follows:* Adventures of Isabel - Ogden Nash* Autumn Lullaby - Anonymous* Bleezer's Ice-Cream - Jack Prelutsky* Calico Pie - Edward Lear...

. Throughout her life she took an active interest in philanthropic and educational work" (1911 Encyclopædia Britannica). Some of her most popular work deals with Native American

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

issues and injustices. An early advocate for social reform in slavery and emigration as well, SIgourney felt obligated to use her position to help oppressed members of society. In her posthumously published autobiography, "Letters of Life", Sigourney wrote that she wrote with the hope of 'being an instrument of good' .

Her influence was tremendous. She inspired many young women to attempt to become poets. According to Teed:

As a dedicated, successful writer, Lydia Sigourney violated essential elements of the very gender roles she celebrated. In the process, she offered young, aspiring women writers around the country an example of the possibilities of achieving both fame and economic reward (19).

Rev. E. B. Huntington wrote a small consideration of Mrs. Sigourney's life shortly after her death. He thought that her success came "because with [her] gifts and [her] success, she had with singular kindliness of heart made her very life-work itself a constant source of blessing and joy to others. Her very goodness had made her great. Her genial goodwill had given her power. Her loving friendliness had made herself and her name everywhere a charm" (85). She wrote to inspire others and Huntingdon felt that she had been successful.

She contributed more than two thousand articles to many (nearly 300) periodicals (1911 Encyclopædia Britannica) and some 67 books.

In 1844, Sigourney, Iowa

Sigourney, Iowa

Sigourney is a city in Keokuk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,059 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Keokuk County.-History:...

, the county seat of Keokuk County, Iowa

Keokuk County, Iowa

-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 10,511 in the county, with a population density of . There were 4,931 housing units, of which 4,408 were occupied.-2000 census:...

, was named in her honor. A large oil-painted portrait of Lydia still graces the foyer of the county courthouse.

Lyceum Movement

Sigourney's commitment to education, writing, and charity was testimony to women’s possibilities for self-betterment and, no doubt, a role model for women. When Sigourney gave up her anonymity for good, she became the most widely known "authoress" and "poetess" in America. As a result, during the lyceum movement

Lyceum movement

The lyceum movement in the United States was a trend in architecture inspired by Aristotle's Lyceum in ancient Greece....

that flourished in the United States in the 19th century, women named literary societies and study clubs in her honor, including the following examples:

Sigourney Society (Oxford, New York
Oxford, New York
Oxford is a town in Chenango County, New York, United States. The town contains a village named Oxford. Oxford is an interior town in the south-central part of the county, southwest of the City of Norwich. At the 2000 census the town population was 3,992...

) — founded at the Oxford Female Seminary, ca. 1836
Sigourney Society (Gaffney, South Carolina
Gaffney, South Carolina
Gaffney is a city in and the county seat of Cherokee County, South Carolina, United States, in the upstate region of South Carolina. Gaffney is also sometimes referred to as the Peach capital of South Carolina. The population was 12,414 at the 2010 census...

) — founded at Limestone Springs Female High School in 1848 — Lydia Sigourney was invited to become an honorary member; she accepted
Sigourney Society (Griffin, Georgia
Griffin, Georgia
Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 23,643.-Geography:Griffin is located at ....

) — founded at Griffin Female College, ca. 1848–1858
Sigournian Literary Society (Pennsylvania) — founded as a society for young ladies at Glade Run Classical and Normal Academy (Glade Run Presbyterian Church) in ca. 1851 — There is a Glade Run Presbyterian Church in Valencia, Pa., in Butler County, and a West Glade Run Presbyterian Church in Kittanning, Pa., in Armstrong County. The Glade Run Academy was founded in the Presbytery of Kittanning, and some sources reference Armstrong County.
Sigournian Society (Centreville, Indiana) — founded at White Water College in 1856
Sigournean Society (Moore’s Hill, Indiana) — founded as a women’s literary society at Moore’s Hill Male and Female Collegiate Institute (later Moore’s Hill College) in 1857 — The society, which was known for a time as the Sigs, ultimately became the Chi Epsilon Chapter of Chi Omega Sorority; the college, which relocated to Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...

, in 1919, is now the University of Evansville
University of Evansville
The University of Evansville is a small, private university with approximately 3,050 students located in Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College, it is located near the interchange of the Lloyd Expressway and U.S. Route 41. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church...

.
Sigournean Society (Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

) — founded by Lydia Short as the first literary society for women at North Western Christian University (now Butler University
Butler University
Butler University is a private university located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university offers 60 degree programs to 4,400 students through six colleges: business, communication, education, liberal Arts and sciences, pharmacy and health...

) in March 1859 — The society published a newsletter, The Sigournean Casket.
Sigournean Society (Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...

) — founded at Greensboro Female College (now Greensboro College
Greensboro College
Greensboro College is a four-year, independent, coeducational liberal-arts college, also offering four master's degrees, located in Greensboro, North Carolina, and affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1838...

) prior to 1863 — also known as Sigournian Society and Sigourney Society
Sigournean Society (Batavia, Illinois
Batavia, Illinois
Batavia was founded in 1833, and is the oldest city in Kane County, Illinois, with a small portion in DuPage County. During the Industrial Revolution, Batavia became known as ‘The Windmill City’ for being the largest windmill producer of the time...

) — founded at the Batavia Institute
Batavia Institute
The Batavia Institute is a Registered Historic Place located in Batavia, Illinois.- Batavia Institute :Batavia Institute, a private academy, was chartered on 12 February 1853 by 13 men, including Rev. Stephen Peet, the Congregational minister, Elijah Shumway Town, Joel McKee, John Van Nortwick,...

, circa March 1866
Young Ladies' Sigournean Band (Kokomo, Indiana
Kokomo, Indiana
Kokomo is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States, Indiana's 13th largest city. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Howard and Tipton counties....

) — flourished circa 1870s
Sigournean Club (Olathe, Kansas
Olathe, Kansas
Olathe is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. Located in northeastern Kansas, it is also the fifth most populous city in the state, with a population of 125,872 at the 2010 census. As a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, Olathe is the fourth-largest city in the...

) — founded as a women’s study club in 1890 and apparently survived until the 1970s — According to its constitution, "The object of this club shall be the attainment of a higher plane of life through broad culture, free discussion and mutual helpfulness."
Sigournean Club (Winfield, Kansas
Winfield, Kansas
Winfield is a city situated along the Walnut River in the west-central part of Cowley County, located in South Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,301...

) — organized as an afternoon study club in 1898 — The main purpose of the club was to further the study of art and literature.
Sigournean Club (Ottawa, Kansas
Ottawa, Kansas
Ottawa is a city situated along the Marais des Cygnes River in the central part of Franklin County, located in east-central Kansas, 50 miles southwest of Kansas City, Mo., in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,649. It is the county seat and most populous...

) — founded prior to 1899 — This club contributed a complete library of 50 books to the Kansas Traveling Libraries in 1899.

There doubtless were many other such societies that were founded during the lyceum movement and named in honor of Lydia Huntley Sigourney.

Selected works

Moral Pieces in Prose and Verse (1815)
Traits of the Aborigines of America (1822), a poem
A Sketch of Connecticut Forty Years Since (1824)
Poems (1827)
Letters to Young Ladies (1833), one of her best-known books
Sketches (1834)
Poetry for Children (1834)
Zinzendorff, and Other Poems (1835)
Olive Buds (1836)
Letters to Mothers (1838), republished in London
Pocahontas, and Other Poems (1841)
Pleasant Memories of Pleasant Lands (1842), descriptive of her trip to Europe in 1840
Scenes in My Native Land (1844)
Letters to My Pupils (1851)
Olive Leaves (1851)
The Faded Hope (1852) in memory of her only son, who died when he was nineteen years old
Past Meridian (1854)
The Daily Counsellor (1858), poems
Gleanings (1860), selections from her verse
The Man of Uz, and Other Poems (1862)
Letters of Life (1866), giving an account of her career

External links

For additional works available online as images, see the Bibliography.