1889-06-20: Mary Louisa Mitchell Williamson, Poem
This document is a poem transcribed by Mary Louisa Mitchell Williamson on June 20, 1889, at her home in Verbena, Ala. The poem is addressed to her son Mitchell Williamson and seems to console him in not having found a wife by age 25. It is unclear whether she composed the poem herself or copied one...
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| Format: | Electronic |
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Auburn University Libraries
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| Online Access: | http://content.lib.auburn.edu/u?/fmw01,72 |
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Electronic |
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| collection |
Fitzpatrick-Mitchell-Williamson Papers Collection |
| building |
Auburn University Digital Library |
| publisher |
Auburn University Libraries |
| topic |
Family letters |
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Family letters 1889-06-20: Mary Louisa Mitchell Williamson, Poem Williamson, Mary Louisa Mitchell |
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Family letters Williamson Family; Mitchell Family; Fitzpatrick Family; Alabama--Social life and customs--19th century; Poetry; Peoples -- Domestic Life; History -- 1875-1929: The New South Era; Arts & Literature -- Poetry; |
| title |
1889-06-20: Mary Louisa Mitchell Williamson, Poem |
| titleStr |
1889-06-20: Mary Louisa Mitchell Williamson, Poem |
| description |
This document is a poem transcribed by Mary Louisa Mitchell Williamson on June 20, 1889, at her home in Verbena, Ala. The poem is addressed to her son Mitchell Williamson and seems to console him in not having found a wife by age 25. It is unclear whether she composed the poem herself or copied one written by someone else. The Fitzpatrick family emigrated from Ireland to the Virginia colony in the early 1700s. Over time, the family moved from Virginia through the Carolinas and into Georgia before finally settling in Line Creek, Alabama and Verbena, Alabama. Several members of the family were active politically including William Fitzpatrick, who served in the Georgia legislature, and Benjamin Fitzpatrick, who served two terms as governor of Alabama. Sarah Fitzpatrick, a descendant of this family, married Columbus White Mitchell who was from a prominent Alabama family. The couple had ten children, seven of whom survived infancy. Three of their sons served in the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy (Phil F. Mitchell, Joseph A. Mitchell, and Columbus White Mitchell). Their daughter Mary Louisa, a central figure of this collection, married Dr. Samuel "Trinley" Thomas Williamson in September 1861 shortly after the war began. Williamson was a medical doctor who also fought in the Confederate armed forces. With Williamson and the three Mitchell brothers away fighting, Mary Louisa was left home to run the household with only the help of her sick mother and her sisters. At this time she was also pregnant with her first child who was born in 1862. All three brothers and Williamson survived the war. The family continued to live in Alabama following the Civil War. Since the mid-1900s, some branches of the family have spread out while some continue to live in Alabama. This item has been aggregated as part of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL)'s "Deeply Rooted: The Agricultural & Rural History of the American South" project. |
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Williamson, Mary Louisa Mitchell |
| author_facet |
Williamson, Mary Louisa Mitchell |
| id |
AUfmw0172 |
| url |
http://content.lib.auburn.edu/u?/fmw01,72 |
| thumbnail |
https://cdm17353.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getthumbnail/collection/fmw01/id/72 |
| _version_ |
1705449246565597184 |
| spelling |
1889-06-20: Mary Louisa Mitchell Williamson, PoemThis document is a poem transcribed by Mary Louisa Mitchell Williamson on June 20, 1889, at her home in Verbena, Ala. The poem is addressed to her son Mitchell Williamson and seems to console him in not having found a wife by age 25. It is unclear whether she composed the poem herself or copied one written by someone else. The Fitzpatrick family emigrated from Ireland to the Virginia colony in the early 1700s. Over time, the family moved from Virginia through the Carolinas and into Georgia before finally settling in Line Creek, Alabama and Verbena, Alabama. Several members of the family were active politically including William Fitzpatrick, who served in the Georgia legislature, and Benjamin Fitzpatrick, who served two terms as governor of Alabama. Sarah Fitzpatrick, a descendant of this family, married Columbus White Mitchell who was from a prominent Alabama family. The couple had ten children, seven of whom survived infancy. Three of their sons served in the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy (Phil F. Mitchell, Joseph A. Mitchell, and Columbus White Mitchell). Their daughter Mary Louisa, a central figure of this collection, married Dr. Samuel "Trinley" Thomas Williamson in September 1861 shortly after the war began. Williamson was a medical doctor who also fought in the Confederate armed forces. With Williamson and the three Mitchell brothers away fighting, Mary Louisa was left home to run the household with only the help of her sick mother and her sisters. At this time she was also pregnant with her first child who was born in 1862. All three brothers and Williamson survived the war. The family continued to live in Alabama following the Civil War. Since the mid-1900s, some branches of the family have spread out while some continue to live in Alabama. This item has been aggregated as part of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL)'s "Deeply Rooted: The Agricultural & Rural History of the American South" project. [page 1]
[type-written]
Twenty five years old and still fancy free.
Well my son, that is no regret to me.
The more you are free from cupid's dart,
The more hold we will have on your loving heart.
You know the old "adage", about a "son and his wife"
That a daughter is a daughter the whole of her life.
Marriage by some is called "a leap in the dark",
You must be guided by the head as well as the heart.
An attractive girl full of grace and charm,
Can develop in a wife traits that alarm;
In taking that step devine aid implore,
When at no turn in life is it needed more.
In future days some girl you'll meet,
Who will beguile you with her way so sweet,
Then I hope to say in all truth, "All is well".
Heaven bless the girl whose magic spell,
Has thrown rapture and peace and joy,
O'er the life of Mitchell, My own dear boy.
Your Mother,
June 20, 1889,
Mary Louisa Mitchell Williamson.
Verbena, Ala.
[page 2]
[hand-written on reverse side of page 1]
Written to Brother Mitchell
By my mother1889-06-20Williamson, Mary Louisa MitchellWilliamson Family; Mitchell Family; Fitzpatrick Family; Alabama--Social life and customs--19th century; Poetry; Peoples -- Domestic Life; History -- 1875-1929: The New South Era; Arts & Literature -- Poetry;Verbena, Chilton County, Alabama, United States1889-06-20Fitzpatrick-Mitchell-Williamson Family Papers, 1850-1989, Auburn University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives, Auburn University, Auburn, AlabamaRecord Group 1223, Fitzpatrick-Mitchell-Williamson Papers, Folder 512 pages; 28 cmengAuburn, Ala. : Auburn University LibrariesThis image is the property of the Auburn University Libraries and is intended for non-commercial use. Users of this image are asked to acknowledge the Auburn University Libraries. For information about obtaining high-resolution copies of this and other images in this collection, please contact the Auburn University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Department at archives@auburn.edu or (334) 844-1732.Stillimage; Text;1889-06-20_WilliamsonMLM_Poem.pdfapplication/pdfDeeply RootedAuburn University Librarieshttp://cdm17353.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/fmw01/id/72 |