Matilda Maranda Crawford

Matilda Maranda Crawford
"A woman of the century"
Born Matilda Maranda Quackenbush
(1844-07-21)July 21, 1844
Clay, New York, U.S.
Died December 24, 1920(1920-12-24) (aged 76)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Resting place Port Hope Union Cemetery
Pen name Maude Moore, M. M., Mrs. John Crawford
Occupation newspaper correspondent, poet
Language English
Nationality American-Canadian
Spouse
John Crawford
(m. 1871; d. 1912)

Matilda Maranda Crawford (pen names, Maude Moore, M. M. Mrs. John Crawford; 21 July 1844 – 24 December 1920) was an American-Canadian newspaper correspondent and poet.

Early years

Matilda (nicknames Mattie or Maty) Maranda Quackenbush was born in Clay, New York, near Syracuse, in 21 July 1844.[lower-alpha 1] She was of German ancestry. Her father, Garret Quackenbush, was a laborer, and her mother, Sarah Reese, was a tailor.[2]

In 1851, Crawford, her mother, and five older siblings removed to Consecon, Prince Edward County, Ontario, where Crawford attended a grammar school.[1][2] Quick to learn, at the age of twelve she stood at the head of her classes, but had never written a composition. Gifted with an active and retentive memory, each bit of poetry she heard was remembered, and when but a child, she recited at one time the whole of Oliver Goldsmith 's The Deserted Village.[3]

Career

As an adult, Crawford lived in Michigan for some time, and while there, she was engaged in teaching. It was at that time that she commenced to contribute to the literary press. In 1868, she returned to Canada, locating in Newtonville, Ontario. While there, she wrote for various Canadian and American newspapers as a pastime.[1]

In 1871, she married John Crawford (1840-1912), of Clarke, Ontario.[lower-alpha 2] For a few years, her literary efforts were laid aside, owing to domestic responsibilities. She had two children, a boy and girl (Maude). In 1887, an entire summer's illness afforded leisure her for literary work, and thereafter, she wrote for the press. She used various assumed names, including "Maude Moore", "M. M.", and "Mrs. John Crawford".[1][2]

Crawford died of a stroke in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 24 December 1920, and was buried at Port Hope Union Cemetery.[2]

Selected works

  • Songs of all Seasons
  • Climes and Times: a Motely Jingle of Jumbled Rhymes (1890)

Notes

  1. ↑ Willard & Livermore note the date of birth as 21 July 1850.[1]
  2. ↑ Moulton states John Crawford was of Clarke, Michigan.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Willard & Livermore 1893, p. 215.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Crawford, Matilda Maranda". Canada's Early Women Writers. SFU Library Digital Collections. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada. 1980-2014. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  3. 1 2 Moulton 1890, p. 224.

Attribution

  • This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Moulton, Charles Wells (1890). The Magazine of Poetry and Literary Review. Charles Wells Moulton.
  • 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.
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