View source for Lydia Sigourney

{{short description|American poet}}{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name        = Lydia Huntley Sigourney
| image       = Lydia Sigourney.jpg
| caption     =
| birth_name  = Lydia Howard Huntley
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1791|9|1}}
| birth_place = [[Norwich, Connecticut]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1865|6|10|1791|9|1}}
| death_place = [[Hartford, Connecticut]], U.S.
| spouse      = Charles Sigourney (m. 1819)
| children    =
}}
'''Lydia Huntley Sigourney''' (September 1, 1791 – June 10, 1865), {{nee}} '''Lydia Howard Huntley''', was an American poet, author, and publisher during the early and mid 19th century. She was commonly known as the "Sweet Singer of [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]]." She had a long career as a literary expert, publishing 52 books and in over 300 periodicals in her lifetime. While some of her works were signed anonymously, most of her works were published with just her married name '''Mrs. Sigourney'''. During the [[lyceum movement]] that flourished in the United States in the 19th century, women named literary societies and study clubs in her honor.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Mrs. Sigourney was born in [[Norwich, Connecticut]], 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.
<blockquote>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). </blockquote>
===Education and the school for young ladies===
She was educated in [[Norwich, Connecticut|Norwich]] and [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]]. With her friend Nancy Maria Hyde, Sigourney opened a school for young ladies in Norwich in 1811<ref name="auto">"Lydia Sigourney" in ''Rhetorical Theory by Women before 1900: an Anthology''. Ed. Jane Donawerth. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002. pp. 141-143.</ref> 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. [[Frances Manwaring Caulkins]] entered the Norwich school in September 1811, and remained a very warm friend and frequent correspondent with Sigourney thereafter.<ref name="Andrew1869">{{cite book|last=Andrew|first=John Albion|title=THE NEW-ENGLAND HISTORICAL & GEOLOGICAL REGISTER AND ANTIQUARIAN JOURNAL|url=https://archive.org/details/newenglandhisto00andrgoog|edition=Public domain|year=1869|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newenglandhisto00andrgoog/page/n424 402]–}}</ref>
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 helped her set up a school for girls, arranging for daughters of his friends to attend.<ref>Haight, p. 9</ref>
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]]" and says that he "took upon himself the whole responsibility of contracting publishers, gathering subscriptions, and even correcting the proof sheets".<ref>Sigourney, p. 325</ref> She goes on to say that "He delighted in drawing a solitary mind from obscurity into a freer atmosphere and brighter sunbeam".<ref>Sigourney, pp. 325–326</ref>
===Marriage and married life===
On June 16, 1819, she married Charles Sigourney, and after her marriage chose to write anonymously in "leisure" time.<ref>Haight, pp. 33–34</ref> 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.<ref>Haight, p. 35</ref>
After her death, [[John Greenleaf Whittier]] composed a poem for her memorial tablet:
<poem>
: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.
</poem><ref>Wagenknecht, Edward. ''John Greenleaf Whittier: A Portrait in Paradox''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1967: p. 111.</ref>
==Writings and criticism==
[[File:Lydia Huntley Sigourney from American Women, 1897 - cropped.jpg|thumb|left|Engraving of Lydia Sigourney]]
The main themes of Sigourney's writing include [[death]], [[Moral responsibility|responsibility]], [[religion]] — a strong belief in [[God]] and the [[Christianity|Christian faith]] — and [[Wage labour|work]]. She often wrote [[elegy|elegies]] or poems for recently deceased neighbors, friends, and acquaintances. Some of her work exemplifies [[Victorian-era]] [[obituary poetry|death literature]] which views death as an escape to a better place, especially for children. There is also a strong flavour of patriotism with many poems linking to the formation of the Republic, and also a large number of poems based on a wide variety of historical subjects. She was particularly strong in her condemnation of slavery and the mistreatment of the indigenous Americans. Another aspect of her work is [[humour]], frequently expressed in poems such as {{ws|[[s:Poems Sigourney 1827/The Comet of 1825|The Comet of 1825]]}} (1827) and {{ws|[[s:Poems Sigourney 1834/Flora's Party|Flora's Party]]}} (1834); this extends to her children's verse, for example, {{ws|[[s:Poems for Children Sigourney/Baby's Note to a Baby, with a pair of Coral Bracelets|Baby's note to a Baby, with a pair of Coral Bracelets]]}} (1836). A contemporary critic called her work, infused with morals, "more like the dew than the lightning".<ref>Brooks, Van Wyck. ''The Flowering of New England''. New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, Inc., 1952. p. 163</ref>
She enjoyed substantial popularity in her lifetime and earned several nicknames, including "the American [[Felicia Hemans|Hemans]]", the "Sweet Singer of Hartford", and the "female [[John Milton|Milton]]".<ref>Watts, Emily Stipes. ''The Poetry of American Women from 1632 to 1945''. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1978: 83. {{ISBN|0-292-76450-2}}</ref> Her influences included the work of [[Hannah More]], [[William Wordsworth]], and [[William Cowper]].<ref>Watts, Emily Stipes. ''The Poetry of American Women from 1632 to 1945''. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1978: p. 84. {{ISBN|0-292-76450-2}}</ref>
===Conduct literature===
An advocate of [[Separate spheres|gendered spheres of society]], Sigourney followed the example of [[Hannah More]] in creating a gendered rhetorical theory.<ref name="auto"/> Sigourney wrote two [[conduct book]]s. 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 (process)#History|reading aloud]], and also offered advice in letter writing and memorization. Sigourney promotes the importance of being agreeable throughout the book, and suggests ways to [[Note-taking#History|take notes]], along with advice on how to paraphrase what one has read. Sigourney recommends that girls should form [[Book discussion club|reading societies]], and says that women should use their virtue to promote its appearance in others.<ref name="auto1">"Lydia Sigourney." Rhetorical Theory by Women before 1900: an Anthology. Ed. Jane Donawerth. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002. pp. 141-43.</ref>
In 1835, Lydia Sigourney published ''Zinzendorff, and Other Poems'' which featured a notable poem entitled "[[Garafilia Mohalbi]]".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ngMUAAAAIAAJ&dq=Lydia+Howard+Sigourney++Garafilia&pg=PA212 "Lydia Howard Sigourney"] ''Zinzendorff and Other Poems'' Routeledge 1835: p. 212</ref>  American painter and miniaturist [[Ann Hall]]
also featured the same subject in a miniature portrait which later became a popular engraving by E. Gallaudet an engraver from Boston. A mazurka was written by Carl Gartner entitled "Garafilia" and a ship also bore the same name.<ref>[https://www.loc.gov/item/sm1855.270730/ "Carl Gartner"] ''Garafilia'' Nathan Richardson
at the Musical Exchange 1855: p. 1</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=5HZHAQAAIAAJ&dq=Garafilia&pg=RA7-PA147 "U.S. Government"] ''United States Congressional Serial Set Volume 543'' US Congress 1849: p. 147</ref> Garafilia Mohalbi had been captured at the age of seven by the Turks during the Greek War of Independence. She was kidnapped and sold as a slave to an American Merchant Joseph Langdon. He freed her and adopted her as his daughter. Garafilia was sent to go live with his family in Boston.  Three years later Mohalbi died in 1830 at the age of 13 and became the subject of an artistic movement.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ASsTAAAAIAAJ&dq=Garafilia+Mohalbi&pg=PA9 "Stephen Henry Gimber"] ''The Youth's Keepsake A Christmas and New Year's Present'' Geo. A. Leavitt, publisher 1831: p. 9</ref>
Sigourney's second conduct book, ''Letters to My Pupils'', was published in 1837. In this book, Sigourney focuses on pronunciation and conversation, and claims that women should train 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 be 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.<ref name="auto"/>
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]], Sigourney stresses the importance of [[Emotion work|being agreeable in conversation]].<ref name="auto1"/>
==Legacy==
[[File:Lydia Sigourney - Brady-Handy.jpg|thumb|Sigourney, photographed by [[Mathew Brady]]]]
According to ''Nineteenth Century Criticism'', "recently... there has been a renewed interest in Sigourney, particularly among feminist literary scholars. Critics such as [[Annie Finch]], [[Nina Baym]], 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.<ref>Baym, Nina. "Reinventing Lydia Sigourney." American Literature 62.3 (1990): 385–404.JSTOR. Duke University Press. March 26, 2011.</ref>
She was one of the most popular writers of her day, both in the [[United States]] and in [[England]], and was called 'the American [[Felicia Dorothea Hemans|Hemans]].' Her writings were characterized by fluency, grace and quiet reflection on nature, domestic and religious life, and philanthropic questions; but they were also often sentimental, didactic and commonplace. Some of her blank verse and pictures of nature suggest [[William Cullen Bryant|Bryant]]. Among her most successful poems are 'Niagara'<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.niagarapoetry.ca/Contents.html#sigourney |title= Table of Contents|website=www.niagarapoetry.ca |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603121141/http://www.niagarapoetry.ca/Contents.html |archive-date=2008-06-03}}</ref> and 'Indian Names'. The latter was set to music by [[Natalie Merchant]] for the 2010 album, ''[[Leave Your Sleep]]''. Throughout her life, she took an active interest in philanthropic and educational work ([[11th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica|1911 Encyclopædia Britannica]]). Some of her most popular work deals with [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] issues and injustices. An early advocate for social reform in slavery and in internal migration, Sigourney felt obligated to use her position to help oppressed members of society. In her posthumously published autobiography, "Letters of Life", Sigourney stated that she wrote with the hope of 'being an instrument of good'.<ref>"Lydia Howard Huntley Sigourney." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym, Robert S. Levine, and Arnold Krupat. Vol. B. New York: W. W. Norton, 2007, pp. 1028-29.</ref>
Her influence was tremendous. She inspired many young women to attempt to become poets. According to Teed:<blockquote>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).</blockquote>
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 ([[11th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica|1911 Encyclopædia Britannica]]) and some 67 books.
In 1844, [[Sigourney, Iowa]], the county seat of [[Keokuk County, Iowa]], was named in her honor. A large oil-paint portrait of Lydia still graces the foyer of the county courthouse.
Her poem {{ws|[[s:Poems for the Sea/Hymn at Parting|"Sailor's Hymn At Parting"]]}}, from her book ''Poems for the Sea'' (1850) is repeatedly quoted in the 2019 film [[The Lighthouse (2019 film)|''The Lighthouse.'']]
===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]] that flourished in the United States in the 19th century, women named literary societies and study clubs in her honor, including the following examples:<ref>Scheetz, George H. "From Lyceum to Library: A Free Public Library for Batavia." ''Books Between Bites'' [Batavia (Ill.) Public Library lecture series], April 19, 2007.</ref>
* '''Sigourney Society''' ([[Oxford, New York]]) — founded at the Oxford Female Seminary, {{Circa|1836}}
* '''Sigourney Society''' ([[Gaffney, South Carolina]]) — founded at Limestone Springs Female High School in 1848 — Lydia Sigourney was invited to become an honorary member; she accepted
* '''Sigourney Society''' ([[Griffin, Georgia]]) — founded at Griffin Female College, ca. 1848–1858<ref>"Editors' Department,"
''[[Arthur's Lady's Home Magazine|The Lady's Home Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion]]'' (Philadelphia, T. S. Arthur & Co.), XII (August 1858): 98. Also known as ''Arthur's Home Magazine'' (index and running heads)</ref>
* '''Sigournian Literary Society''' (Pennsylvania) — founded as a society for young ladies at Glade Run Classical and Normal Academy (Glade Run Presbyterian Church) 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]], in 1919, is now the [[University of Evansville]].
* '''Sigournean Society''' ([[Indianapolis, Indiana]]) — founded by Lydia Short as the first literary society for women at North Western Christian University (now [[Butler University]]) in March 1859 — The society published a newsletter, ''The Sigournean Casket''.
* '''Sigournean Society''' ([[Greensboro, North Carolina]]) — founded at Greensboro Female College (now [[Greensboro College]]) prior to 1863 — also known as Sigournian Society and Sigourney Society
* '''Sigournean Society''' ([[Batavia, Illinois]]) — founded at the [[Batavia Institute]], circa March 1866
* '''Young Ladies' Sigournean Band''' ([[Kokomo, Indiana]]) — flourished circa 1870s
* '''Sigournean Club''' ([[Olathe, Kansas]]) — 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]]) — 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]]) — founded prior to 1899 — This club contributed a complete library of 50 books to the Kansas Traveling Libraries in 1899.<ref>"History of the Traveling Libraries." ''Eleventh Biennial Report of the Kansas Traveling Libraries Commission, 1918–1920.'' Topeka, 1920, p. 11.</ref>
There doubtless were many other such societies that were founded during the lyceum movement and named in honor of Lydia Huntley Sigourney.
==Selected works==
[[File:Landing at Jamestown.jpg|right|thumb|Landing at Jamestown, an engraving by [[A.L. Dick]], was used as the [[Book frontispiece|frontispiece]] of ''Pocahontas and Other Poems.'']]
{{main|Lydia Sigourney bibliography}}
*''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)
* ''Evening Readings In History'' (1833)
*''Letters to Young Ladies'' (1833), one of her best-known books
*''Sketches'' (1834)
*''Poems'' (1834)
*''Zinzendorff, and Other Poems'' (1836)
*''Poetry for Children'' (1836)
*''Olive Buds'' (1836)
*''Letters to Mothers'' (1838), republished in London
*''Pocahontas, and Other Poems'' (1841) New York.
*{{ws|[[s:Pocahontas, and Other Poems|''Pocahontas, and Other Poems'']]}} (1841) London. This edition for English readers differs considerably from that published in New York.
*''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
==Popular culture==
In 1837, [[Henry Russell (musician)|Henry Russell]] used Ms. Sigourney's poem for his song Washingtons Tomb.
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
*{{A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature|wstitle=Sigourney, Mrs. Lydia}}
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Sigourney, Lydia Huntley}}
==Further reading==
* Collin, Grace Lathrop. "Lydia Huntley Sigourney", a biography published in ''New England Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly, New Series'', republished in Vol. 27. Boston: America Company, 1902 (available at [https://archive.org/details/newenglandmagaz03projgoog Internet Archive]).
* [[Gordon S. Haight|Haight, Gordon S]]. ''Mrs. Sigourney, The Sweet Singer of Hartford''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1930.
* Hart, John Seely. ''The Female Prose Writers of America'' Philadelphia, 1857. At [https://archive.org/details/femaleprosewrit01hartgoog Internet Archive].
* Huntington, Rev. E.B. "Lydia H. Sigourney." ''Eminent women of the age, being narratives of the lives and deeds of the most prominent women of the present generation''. Hartford, Conn., 1868. [https://archive.org/details/eminentwomenage00partgoog Image at Internet Archive].
* Kolker, Amy Sparks. ''The Circumscribed Path: Nineteenth-Century American Poetesses.'' Diss. University of Kansas, 1999. Ann Arbor: UMI, 1999. 9941646.
* Mattheu, Elizabeth-Christina. ''"Britannia's Poet! Graecia's Hero, Sleeps! ...": Philhellenic Poetry by Women, 1817–1852''. Diss. University of Athens, 2001. Ann Arbor: UMI, 2001. 3015876.
* Sigourney, Lydia Howard Huntley. ''Letters of Life''. New York, 1867. [https://archive.org/details/lettersoflife00sigorich E-text at the Internet Archive].
* Sigourney, Lydia. ''Lydia Sigourney: Selected Poetry and Prose''. Gary Kelly Ed. Peterborough: [[Broadview Press]], 2008. {{ISBN|978-1-55111-620-4}}.
* Teed, Melissa Ladd. Work, ''Domesticity and Localism: Women's Public Identity in Nineteenth-Century Hartford, Connecticut''. Diss. University of Connecticut, 1999. Ann Arbor: UMI, 2000. 9949129.
==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Wikisource author}}
{{commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081201195757/http://www.usm.maine.edu/~afinch/lydia.htm Finch, Annie. "An Unsung Singer. "The Sentimental Poetess in the World: Metaphor and Subjectivity in Lydia Sigourney's Nature Poetry." Legacy, Fall 1987.]
* Griffin, George. [http://www.clements.umich.edu/Webguides/S/Sigourney.html Lydia H. Sigourney Papers]
* [http://www.enotes.com/nineteenth-century-criticism/lydia-howard-huntley-sigourney  "Lydia Sigourney."  Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism Article on Sigourney]
* {{Gutenberg author | id=9342}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Lydia Howard Sigourney}}
* {{Librivox author |id=1998}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080603121141/http://www.niagarapoetry.ca/Contents.html#sigourney Niagara Falls Poetry Project – Sigourney poems]
* [http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/sigourney/index.html The Victorian Web: Lydia Sigourney]
* [http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/mountholyoke/mshm247_main.html Sigourney correspondence at Mount Holyoke College]
{{Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigourney, Lydia}}
[[Category:1791 births]]
[[Category:1865 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Norwich, Connecticut]]
[[Category:American women poets]]
[[Category:American children's writers]]
[[Category:American essayists]]
[[Category:19th-century American memoirists]]
[[Category:American travel writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Connecticut]]
[[Category:American women travel writers]]
[[Category:19th-century American poets]]
[[Category:American women memoirists]]
[[Category:American women essayists]]
[[Category:American women children's writers]]
[[Category:19th-century American women writers]]