This collection is made up of 2 collections of manuscript poems and 2 printed items. Many of the poems are elegies about loved ones' deaths, and many were copied from publications.
Language: The material is in English Repository: William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan
909 S. University Ave. The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1190 Phone: 734-764-2347 Web Site: www.clements.umich.edu
Cataloging funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). This collection has been processed according to minimal processing procedures and may be revised, expanded, or updated in the future.
Preferred Citation
Poetry Manuscripts, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan
The majority of these poems were culled from various publications, and most were originally written prior to 1852. Many were later set to music and published in 19th-century songbooks.
This collection is made up of 2 collections of manuscript poems and 2 printed items. Many of the poems are elegies about loved ones' deaths, and many were copied from publications.
The poems, which include previously published works, works set to music, and hymns, are collected in 2 loosely-bound groups. Many are elegies, laments, and narratives about death, often told from the point of view of a loved one facing an imminent loss. "James Bird," a narrative poem, pertains to a young man's death on Lake Erie during the War of 1812. Death and bereavement are the most prominent topics, but a few poems address children or pertain to love. One group of poems is bound in a copy of Philadelphia's Dollar Newspaper (November 13, 1850).
The printed items are a newspaper article about Nellie Grant Sartoris and her inheritance from her father-in-law, an Englishman ("One of Grant's Daughters") and "Quotations for Autograph Albums," which include proverbs and epigrams.