George Faunce Whitcomb
George Faunce Whitcomb (December 1, 1893 – October 12, 1969), was an American poet, known best for three books on poetry: Eagle Quills in 1919, Jewels Of Romance in 1922, and Serpent’s Credo in 1931. He was a publisher, epigrammatist, and long-time resident of Carmel Valley, California.
George Faunce Whitcomb | |
|---|---|
 Whitcomb in 1930 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 1, 1893 Roxbury, Massachusetts |
| Died | December 10, 1969 (aged 77) Los Angeles, California |
| Citizenship | American by birth |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Louise Robinson (1917) Marion Boisot (1946) |
| Children | Emily Faunce Whitcomb |
| Education | (Harvard, 1915) |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Known for | "Eagle Quills" (1919), "Jewels Of Romance" (1922), "Serpent’s Credo" (1931) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  |
| Branch/service |  |
| Years of service | 1918–1919 |
| Rank | Sergeant in the Motor Transport Corps |
Early life
George Faunce Whitcomb was born on December 1, 1893, in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He was the son of Harlan Page Whitcomb and Emily Crockett Faunce.[1] Whitcomb attended Roxbury College in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard University from 1912-14. After graduation, Whitcomb spent two years in Seattle, Washington and one year in San Diego, California in the real estate business.
On June 21, 1917, Whitcomb married Mary Louise Robinson at her family home in Seattle, Washington. She was the daughter of James Templeton Robinson. They had one child, Emily Faunce Whitcomb, born June 28, 1918.[2]
On April 1, 1920, Whitcomb offered a sterling silver medal in honor of his mother, to the undergraduate who has written the best poem published during the current year in the Harvard Advocate. The name of the medal was the Emily C Whitcomb Medal. The judges were the Editors and Mr. Whitcomb.[3]
On January 19, 1924, the Coronado Eagle and Journal reported: "Eastern Poet May Make Home In Coronado." Whitcomb used to be assoicated with David Charles Collier in 1914 from San Diego, California. The article prints two selections from Eagle Quills and Jewels Of Romance.[4]
Military
Then on April 23, 1918, Whitcomb enlisted as a private in the U. S. Army during World War I at Fort Holabird in Maryland and was transferred to the Motor Transport Corps on October 9, 1918. He was promoted to First Sergeant, Co. A., in the Motor Repair Unit. He was a Red Cross representative and was in charge of outfitting, training, and drilling all the units from Holabird before being sent overseas. Whitcomb was a drum major of the sixty-piece Holabird Band, which gave concerts in Baltimore and neighboring cities. He was also assistant to the camp Chaplain and helped start the Liberty Loan drives in the army camp and in the city of Baltimore, by reading some of his war poetry from a soap box on the street corners. Whitcomb was discharged on February 21, 1919 at Camp Holabird, Maryland.[2]
In 1942, Whitcomb registered for a United States World War II Draft Registration Card in Norfolk, Quincy, Massachusetts.[5]
Writer
When the war ended, one of Whitcomb's hobbies was to continue to write poetry. He once said:
My chief and most ingrowing hobby is writing poetry-not free verse, mark you, for I have my hair cut at proper intervals and wear a regular tie. I do not frequent "Bohemian" places either. I don't need to cover up my art under dirt.
One of his first publications were editorials and poems written for the weekly Holabird Spark and poems for the Seattle Town Crier a weekly paper.[2]
Eagle Quills
On September 22, 1919, Whitcomb wrote his first book of poems. The Harvard Advocate wrote the following review about Eagle Quills: "Whitcomb, who was a member of the class of 1916, has covered a large field in securing his inspiration. The first poems in his book, those that deal almost exclusively with incidents and emotions engendered by the war, show a firmer and more mature handling than do those that follow. While the material of all the poems can hardly be called original, nevertheless it is treated in a manner certainly not trite and for this reason the meagerness of the last few verses is to be regretted."[6]
On January 11, 1920, The Buffalo Courier wrote: "EAGLE QUILLS is a book of poems by George Faunce Whitcomb, and which comes from the Cornhill company, Boston Mass. Short opems, sonnets and quatrains of varying theme and moods, and possessing a certain charm are offered for the reader's entertainment and show the author to be retrospective and serene in style and expression without stiring any particular depths. The Churchill Company, Boston, Masss."[7]
Whitcomb gave a copy of the Eagle Quills to his friend Gamaliel Bradford, who placed his personal bookplate inside the book. There is an inscription inside, which says: "To Gamaliel Bradford with sincere appreciation for his unselfish interest in my behalf. George Faunce Whitcomb"[8] In 1925, he gave a copy of the book to Byington Ford and Marion, with the inscription: "To By and Marion – Riders of the Sunday Dawn, George Faunce Whitcomb."
Jewels Of Romance
In 1922, Whitcomb wrote his second book, Jewels Of Romance, which was a limited edition of 150 copies. This classic book has been republished by Leopold Classic Library.
On January 9, 1924, Mr. Whitcomb was quoted in the Coronado Eagle and Journal as saying:
Poetry is not poetry unless it can be sung and you can’t sing free verse.
It goes on to say, "Mr. Whitcomb has already produced two books of verse entitled, “Eagle Quills,” and “Jewels of Romance. Through the kindness of Mr. Whitcomb we are able to print two selections from these two truly meritorious books."[9]
Serpent's Credo
In 1931, Whitcomb wrote his third book of epigrams, Serpent's Credo with a pencil sketch by illustrator Wesley Dennis and forward by biographer and essayist Gamaliel Bradford. In The Editor; The Journal of Information for Literary Workers, the author says: An unsual dedication may be found in George F. "Whitcomb's Serpent's Credo": "I dedicate this book to myself, there being no other whom I would care to embrrass with so precarious an homage."[10]
Later years
Whitcomb divorced his first wife on November 15, 1927 in Seattle. In 1946, he married Marion Boisot Ernest in San Francisco, the daughter of Emile Kellogg Boisot. They later moved to Los Angeles and frequented Marion's ranch in Carmel Valley, California.
On November 16, 1951, The Carmel Spectator printed a Prayer For Thanksgiving written by George Faunce Whitcomb.
Whitcomb was a member of the Washington Lodge of Free Masons, Scottish Rite Masons at the Boston Masonic Temple, and Boston Masonic Club.[2]
Death
On October 12, 1969, at age 75, Whitcomb died at Orange, California. He is buried at the Los Angeles National Cemetery.[11]
Publications
Plays
- Greatest (The) of these, 1934 [15]
References
- Massachusetts Births, 1841-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FX6T-DPM : 1 March 2016), George Faunce Whitcomb, 01 Dec 1893, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts; citing reference ID #293, Massachusetts Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 1,651,223.
- "Harvard College Class of 1916 Secretary's Third Report". Harvard University. June 1922. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
- "The Harvard Advocate, Volume 106, Issues 1-10". Harvard College. 1920. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- Coronado Eagle and Journal, Volume XII, Number 37, January 19, 1924
- United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V128-G3G : 8 April 2016), George Faunce Whitcomb, 1942; citing NARA microfilm publication M1936, M1937, M1939, M1951, M1962, M1964, M1986, M2090, and M2097 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.)
- "The Harvard Advocate, Volume 106, Issues 1-10". Harvard College. 1919. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- Buffalo Courier, Sunday, January 11, 1920.
- "EAGLE QUILLS: HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY THIS VOLUME IS FROM THE LIBRARY OF GAMALIEL BRADFORD VI, 1863–1932". Google Books. Aug 30, 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- Coronado Eagle and Journal 19 January 1924
- The Editor; The Journal of Information for Literary Workers, Volumes 92-95, 1931
- California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPHC-45M : 26 November 2014), George F Whitcomb, 18 Oct 1969; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento
- George Faunce Whitcomb (1919), Eagle Quills, Boston, Massachusetts: The Cornhill Company
- George Faunce Whitcomb (1822), Jewels Of Romance, Boston, Massachusetts: The G. R. Willis & Co., Inc.
- George Faunce Whitcomb (1931), Serpent’s Credo, Boston, Massachusetts: [The American Authors' Associates]
- George Faunce Whitcomb (1934), Greatest (The) of these, US Government Printing Office: [Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 1]
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