Julia H. Thayer
- poet
- educator
Julia H. Thayer (1847–1944) was an American poet and educator. She served as president of the Chicago Female College, located in the Givins Beverly Castle, at Morgan Park, Chicago, Illinois.[1] Thayer's productions, chiefly poetical and religious, appeared in various papers and magazines.[2] She also wrote hymns,[3] and was an authority on Ancient Greek literature.[4]
Early life and education
Julia H. Thayer was born on October 6, 1847, in Keeseville, New York, a village near Lake Champlain.[2] Her parents were Gilbert and Adeline Maria (Foote) Thayer. Gilbert had been the instructor and principal of the Jacksonville Female Academy (now Illinois College). Julia's siblings were Emma, Henry, Frank, and Addie.[5]
At the age of ten, the family moved to Illinois. She was educated at her father's school in Morgan Park, the Chicago Female College.[2]
Career
Thayer's brother was the first person to whom she confided that she wrote poetry. Reading some of her works to an unsuspecting grandmother, Thayer was horrified that the grandmother too often pronounced Thayer's writing as but "silly trash," and rarely ascribed the praise of "very good," or, "I like that sentiment."[2]
She first published her verses anonymously, but since 1870, the productions, chiefly poetical, appeared in various papers and periodicals under her own name. She received flattering inducements to write prose but was most devoted to poetry. Her best works were religious poems and simple lyrics. She wore a plain gold ring on the third finger of her left hand, the first piece of precious metal she received for one of her poems. Thayer was not only a writer of lyrical poetry, but occasionally wrote prose, and was also a fine musician. [6]
After her father's death in 1892, Thayer became president of the nonsectarian[7] Chicago Female College,[4] in the Givens Castle, which she owned.
In Chicago, Thayer also directed the Studio of General Culture and Literature Training. She was a member of the Illinois Woman's Press Association and the National League of American Pen Women.[8]
Julia H. Thayer died in Little Neck, New York, on January 14, 1944.[8]
Selected works
Hymns
- "His Greeting"
- "I Am Trusting in the Darkness"
- "I’ve Found Him"
- "Missing"
- "There Is a Star That Gilds the Gloom"
- "Thou Art Mine"
References
- ^ "Chicago's Only Castle: The History of Givins' Irish Castle and Its…". Newberry Library. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d Moulton, Charles Wells (1889). "Julia H. Thayer". The Magazine of Poetry and Literary Review. C.W. Moulton: 191–93. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. - ^ "Julia H. Thayer". www.hymntime.com. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ a b Flynn, Carol (28 March 2023). "Famous poet writes her way into local history". The Beverly Review. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ Thayer, Bezaleel (1874). Memorial of the Thayer Name: From the Massachusetts Colony of Weymouth and Braintree, Embracing Geneological [!] and Biographical Sketches of Richard & Thomas Thayer, and Their Descendants from 1636 to 1874. R.J. Oliphant. p. 236. Retrieved 1 May 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Herringshaw, Thomas William (1890). Local and national poets of America, with biographical sketches and choice selections from over one thousand living American poets;. Chicago, American publishers' association. p. 47. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Being Part of the Message and Documents Communicated to the Two Houses of Congress at the Beginning of the Third Session of the Fifty-Third Congress: In Five Volumes. Volume V-In Two Parts, Part 2. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1895. Retrieved 1 May 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b "Obituary for Julia H. Thayer II". Chicago Tribune. 16 January 1944. p. 32. Retrieved 1 May 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
