Isabel Richey | |
---|---|
Born | Isabel Grimes June 16, 1858 Lancaster, Missouri, U.S. |
Died | November 13, 1910 Plattsmouth, Nebraska, U.S. | (aged 52)
Occupation | poet |
Spouse | Justus G. Richey |
Isabel Richey ( née, Grimes; June 16, 1858 – November 13, 1910) was an American poet of the long nineteenth century. She was "perhaps the first woman in Nebraska to publish books of poetry". [1]
Isabel Grimes was born in Lancaster, Schuyler County, Missouri, [2] June 16, 1858. [3] [a] Her father, Henry Clay Grimes (1832-1903), was a Kentuckian and her mother, Mary Frances (Tipton) Grimes (1836-1909), was of the Tipton family of Virginia. [4]
Owing to disturbances caused by the American Civil War her father, who was a merchant, removed his family to Ottumwa, Iowa, when Richey was three years old. In her new home, the child began her education and was a quick and earnest pupil, always winning the good will of her instructors. A year before the time for graduation, her parents moved to the town of Afton, Iowa. Here, she finished in the high school. [2]
For two years after graduation, she taught in the home schools. [5]
After marrying Justus G. Richey on December 24, 1878, in Afton, Iowa, [4] they resided in Plattsmouth, Nebraska. It was through the grief that followed the death of her first child, a son, Welch Richey (1880-1885), that Richey became aware of her skill in poetry. In 1888, she had another son, Justus Livingston Richey (1888-1957). [5] [2] [4]
The first sign of her poetical ability exhibited itself in fugitive verse, [2] but she only wrote when in the mood to do so, and only a small portion of her work was offered for publication. Her first work was published in Omaha, Nebraska papers, [6] writing for the press starting in 1892. From 1893, Richey published two volumes of verse. [7] In 1895, she published through the press of Charles Wells Moulton, of Buffalo, New York, A Harp of the West, which volume of poems received flattering notices at the hands of William Dean Howells, Joaquin Miller, Prof. Herbert Bates, "Ironquill" ( Eugene Fitch Ware), James Whitcomb Riley, and other authors and critics of the day. [5] She provided the lyrics for 'The Wood Nymph's Song', set to music by W. W. Abbott and published in 1896. [8]
Richey's poems were generally serious, reflective, womanly; at times, they were tinged with a faint suspicion of weariness and sadness. She sought no startling effect or vivid denouements. Her versification was smooth; she never forced rhymes and accents. Her poems appeared in Everywhere, the Omaha Bee, the Omaha World-Herald, Woman's Tribune (Washington), the Magazine of Poetry, the Nebraska State Journal, the Woman's Weekly, and other periodicals. [5]
Isabel Richey died at Plattsmouth, November 13, 1910. [4]