Martina Swafford

Martina Swafford
A woman of the century
Born Marthena Funkhouser
July 26, 1845
Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S.
Died June 29, 1913(1913-06-29) (aged 67)
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Resting place Highland Lawn Cemetery, Terre Haute, Indiana
Pen name Belle Bremer
Occupation poet
Language English
Nationality American
Notable works Wych-elm, poems
Spouse
Benjamin Franklin Swafford
(m. 1862; d. 1900)

Martina Swafford (pen name, Belle Bremer; July 26, 1845 - June 29, 1913) was an American poet. Widely known by her pen-name, "Belle Bremer", her vision was greatly impaired, so much so that much of the time she was unable to read or write. Swafford was a native of Indiana, and by education, environment, and primary attachments, she was an Indiana poet. Yet she called herself semi-Southern, because of her Virginian parentage and her own yearly temporary home in the South. She spent her winters at Huntsville, Alabama, a noted health resort of the time, where much of her poetical work was done. It was said that the cheerful, hopeful tone of these poems, made more effective by an underlying pathos, was a pleasing contrast to the melancholy which marred the work of so many versemakers of the time.[1]

Early years

Marthena Funkhouser (nickname, "Aunt Mat") was born near Terre Haute, Indiana, in July 26, 1845.[2][3][4]

Her parents, John G. Funkhouser and Mary E "Polly" Martin, were Virginians. Her father, of German ancestry, was a large farmer of Vigo County, Indiana.[5] Her mother was of English descent.[6] Each year she spent part of her time in the South, generally passing the winters in Huntsville. She was reared in Terre Haute, and received a liberal education, which she supplemented by extensive reading and study.[7][3]

Swafford was troubled by an optical weakness, which at times made her unable to read or write, and her health was delicate. She was a precocious child and at an early age showed by her poetical productions which ranked her with the foremost of the rising authors of the Wabash Valley.[7]

Career

Letters, a poetic quote

I have brought them from their hiding,
Where they've lain these many years,
And have tried to read them over,
But I acnnot for the tears.[8]

Her first literary work was stories for the Philadelphia "Saturday Evening Post." She became a contributor to "Peterson's Magazine" and other periodicals, and her poems were extensively read and copied. The Atlanta "Constitution" introduced her to its extended southern constituency, and some of her best work appeared in that journal. Much of her work was done during her winter residence in Huntsville. In poetry, she belongs to the romantic rather than to the aesthetic school, though her verse was characterized by melody and a noticeable artistic treatment. Her muse was preëminently heroic and ideal, as her subjects generally indicated. She wrote of "The Norse King," "The Haunted Battlefield," "The Hesperides," "When My Ship Comes In," and other like matters, which appealed to the imagination of the reader. Among her most warmly-esteemed Southern literary friends was Henry W. Grady.[1] She published one volume of poems, entitled Wych Elm (Buffalo, 1891).[7][3][9]

Swafford was a charter member of the Western Association of Writers.[2][10][9]

Personal life

On May 8, 1862, she married Dr. Benjamin Franklin Swafford (died 1900), a prominent physician in Terre Haute.[2][1][11] Her home was a social and literary center, and her time was devoted to good works and literature.[7] She died June 29, 1913, in Indianapolis, and she was buried at Highland Lawn Cemetery in Terre Haute.[10][4]

Selected works

  • Wych-elm, poems, 1891

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hills 1891, p. 160.
  2. 1 2 3 Wabash College 1949, p. 310.
  3. 1 2 3 Moulton 1895, p. 459.
  4. 1 2 Zeutenhorst 1973, p. 17.
  5. ↑ Western Biographical Publishing Company 1880, p. 47.
  6. ↑ Moulton 1891, p. 217.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Willard & Livermore 1893, p. 701.
  8. ↑ Herringshaw 1892, p. 144.
  9. 1 2 Parker & Heiney 1900, p. 384.
  10. 1 2 "Marthena Swafford dies. (30 Jun 1913)". The Indianapolis News. 30 June 1913. p. 18. Retrieved 7 October 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Indiana Medical Journal Publishing Co. 1901, p. 318.

Attribution

  • This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herringshaw, Thomas William (1892). Poetical Quotations: Comprises Excellent and Appropriate Sentiments and Choice Selections Collected from the National, Local and Anonymous Verse-writers of America Now Living. American Publishers' Association.
  • This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Hills, William Henry (1891). The Author: A Monthly Magazine for Literary Workers. 2 (Public domain ed.). Writer Publishing Company.
  • This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Indiana Medical Journal Publishing Co. (1901). Indiana Medical Journal: A Monthly Journal of Medicine and Surgery. 19 (Public domain ed.). Indiana Medical Journal Publishing Co.
  • This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Moulton, Charles Wells (1891). The Magazine of Poetry. 3 (Public domain ed.). Charles Wells Moulton.
  • This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Moulton, Charles Wells (1895). The Magazine of Poetry and Literary Review. 7 (Public domain ed.). C.W. Moulton.
  • This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Parker, Benjamin Strattan; Heiney, Enos Boyd (1900). Poets and Poetry of Indiana: A Representative Collection of the Poetry of Indiana During the First Hundred Years of Its History as Territory and State, 1800 to 1900 (Public domain ed.). Silver, Burdett.
  • This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Western Biographical Publishing Company (1880). A Biographical History of Eminent and Self-made Men of the State of Indiana ... (Public domain ed.). Western Biographical Publishing Company.
  • This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893). A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life (Public domain ed.). Moulton.

Bibliography

  • Wabash College (1949). Indiana Authors and Their Books, 1816–1916: Biographical Sketches of Authors who Published During the First Century of Indiana Statehood, with Lists of Their Books. Wabash College.
  • Zeutenhorst, Charlotte Cooper (1973). Funkhouser: eight generations from Isaac and Catherine (Boyer) of Shenandoah and Augusta counties of Virginia. C.C. Zeutenhorst.
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