Anne Elizabeth Wilson (after marriage, Blochin; November 28, 1901 – October 17, 1946) was a 20th-century American-born Canadian writer of poetry and short stories, which appeared in Canada, England, and the United States. She was also a magazine and book editor. Wilson and her husband, Victor Blochin resided at Silverdale Farm, south of

Aurora, Ontario Aurora ( 2021 population: 62,057) is a town in central York Region in the Greater Toronto Area, within the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario, Canada. It is located north of the City of Richmond Hill and is partially situated on the Oak Ridge ...

, where their "Happy Woodland"

pet cemetery A pet cemetery is a cemetery for pets. Although the veneration and burial of beloved pets has been practiced since ancient times, burial grounds reserved specifically for animals were not common until the late 19th century. History Many hum ...

, opened in 1934, was believed to be the first of its kind in Canada. Wilson died in 1946.

Early life and education

Anne Elizabeth Wilson was born in

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city and the county seat, seat of Franklin County, Kentucky, Franklin County in the Upland Sou ...

, November 28, 1901. She was the daughter of Robert Burns Wilson, a poet-painter of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, and Anne (Hendrick) Wilson, a concert singer, and daughter of General William Jackson Hendrick, a former

Attorney General of Kentucky The attorney general of Kentucky is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of Kentucky, created by the Kentucky Constitution (Ky.Const. § 91). Under Kentucky law, they serve several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor (KRS 15.700), ...

. The family removed from Kentucky to New York in 1904. She was a granddaughter of William Jackson Hendrick, former

, and was a second cousin of

Thomas Nelson Page Thomas Nelson Page (April 23, 1853 – November 1, 1922) was an American lawyer, politician, and writer. He served as the List of United States ambassadors to Italy, U.S. ambassador to Italy from 1913 to 1919 under the administration of Presiden ...

. Her education was acquired at the Convents of the Sacred Heart and Holy Child,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

; the Model School and Erasmus Hall,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

; and

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

, New York.

Career

Even from early childhood, Wilson seems to have had a literary bent, taking a prize for a short story in ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly United States, American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. The publication ...

'' when she was only ten years old. In her early teens, she studied seriously for the stage, but delicate health obliged her to forego that career. She then turned her attention to literary work. Her poems and stories appeared in the well-known literary magazines of both countries. In the fall of 1924, her first book of poems, ''Eager Footsteps'', appeared in Canada, the United States and England. For the greater part, ''Eager Footsteps'' was a reprint of poems contributed by Wilson from time to time to various newspapers. There was nothing distinctively Canadian in any of her verse; her poems were a criticism of life. Of the book Dr. John Daniel Logan remarked:— "On the whole, or even through and through, ''Eager Footsteps'' is rare psychology, rare art and rare beauty—a wholly novel and lovely contribution to modern poetry." Wilson held several editorial positions, including: associate editor, ''Canadian Homes & Gardens''; associate editor; ''Mayfair'', editor, ''Chatelaine''; literary editor, Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

; literary editor, Musson Book Company, Toronto; and women's editor, ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

''. In 1924, Wilson wrote a lyric set to music by her aunt, Jacqueline Hoyt, to be introduced to a convention of dancing masters in New York, in the hope that a brand new dance step would evolve, based on an old triplet caprice. Wilson shared an intense interest in

spiritualism Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at leas ...

with author Jenny O'Hara Pincock and publisher Ellen Elliott.

Personal life

On July 6, 1929, at

St. Thomas, Ontario St. Thomas is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It gained its city charter on March 4, 1881. The city is also the seat for Elgin County, although it is independent of the county. At the time of the 2021 Census, the population of the city w ...

, she married Victor Paulovich Blochin (c. 1890- 1978), of

, a Russian barrister, and former lieutenant in the Imperial Russian Grenadier Artillery. The Blochins resided at Silverdale Farm, south of Aurora, where Victor bred

West Highland White Terrier The West Highland White Terrier (commonly shortened to Westie) is a dog breed, breed of dog from Scotland with a distinctive white harsh coat and somewhat soft white undercoat. It is a medium-sized terrier, though with longer legs than other ...

s at his Bencruachan Kennels. Their farm also included a rough-hewn stone house, a silver fox ranch, and housing for 1,600 hens and chickens. The farm's grounds also contained "Happy Woodland" pet cemetery, complete with tombstones marking dog, cat, horse, monkey, and bird graves. Following a lengthy illness, Anne Elizabeth Wilson Blochin died at St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, October 17, 1946. Interment was in Aurora Cemetery. Archival holdings are held by the

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly Undergraduate education, undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some Postgraduate education, graduate programs at the master's level and one at the Doctorate, doctor ...

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

, and

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

Selected works

* ''The Cookery Kitten'' (1920) * ''Young Folks Dialogues. Edited by A.E. Wilson'' (1922) * ''Canadian Treasury Reciter. Edited by A.E. Wilson'' (1922) * ''Eager Footsteps'' (1924) * ''The Bachelor Rabbit'' (1933) * ''That Dog of Yours'' (1941)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Anne Elizabeth 1901 births 1946 deaths People from Frankfort, Kentucky Writers from Kentucky 20th-century American poets 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American women writers American women poets American women short story writers American emigrants to Canada Barnard College alumni Convent of the Sacred Heart (NYC) alumni Erasmus Hall High School alumni