Hezekiah Butterworth (December 22, 1839 – September 5, 1905) was an American author and poet.

Biography

Butterworth was born in

Warren, Rhode Island Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2020 census. History Warren was the site of the Pokanoket Indian settlement of Sowams located on a peninsula within the Pokanoket region. The re ...

. He was a platform lecturer, speaking on education, hymnology, and his travels, which included tours in Europe, South America, Cuba, and Canada. Most of his books were written for young readers, including several volumes of ''Zig-Zag Journeys'', the ''Knight of Liberty'', ''In the Boyhood of Lincoln'', ''Great Composers'', ''The Patriot Schoolmaster'', ''Songs of History'', ''The Wampum Belt; or, The Fairest Page of History'' (about

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

and his 1682 treaty with the

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

people), ''Poems and Ballads'', and ''Boys of Greenway Court''. He also wrote several

cantatas A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of th ...

. In early life, he began to contribute to the leading newspapers, among them the ''New York Independent''. In 1870, he became connected with the '' Youth's Companion''. He wrote 17 volumes of ''Zig-Zag Journeys'', which sold 250,000 copies. He wrote the ''Story of the Hymns'' for the American Tract Society in 1875, and won the George Wood Gold Medal for it. He later prepared a companion volume called ''The Story of the Tunes''. He prepared several cantatas for George F. Root's music, and ''Under the Palms'' had a great popularity in England. He wrote for the ''

Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', '' Harper's'' publications, the '' Christian Union'', and other periodicals. Volumes of his published poems include ''Poems for Christmas, Easter and New Year's'' and ''Songs of History''. He was also one of the editors of ''

The Youth's Companion ''The Youth's Companion'' (1827–1929), known in later years as simply ''The Companion—For All the Family'', was an American children's magazine that existed for over one hundred years until it finally merged with '' The American Boy'' in 1929 ...

''. Butterworth owned a farm on the Mt. Hope Lands in

Bristol, Rhode Island Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, US as well as the historic county seat. The town is built on the traditional territories of the Pokanoket Wampanoag. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. The population of B ...

, and he had a cottage at Belleview, Florida. He died at his brother's home in Warren, Rhode Island on September 5, 1905.

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External links

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Hezekiah Butterworth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butterworth, Hezekiah American children's writers 1839 births 1905 deaths

Biography

References

Further reading

External links