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Young Ewing Allison (December 23, 1853 – July 7, 1932) was an American writer and newspaper editor.
Born in
Text of the poem "The Derelict"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allison, Young E. 1853 births 1932 deaths Editors of Kentucky newspapers People from Henderson, Kentucky Writers from Louisville, Kentucky American male non-fiction writers American print editors Courier Journal people
Young Ewing Allison (December 23, 1853 – July 7, 1932) was an American writer and newspaper editor.
Born in Henderson, Kentucky
Henderson is a home rule-class city along the Ohio River and the county seat of Henderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 29,781 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is part of the Evansville–Henderson, IN–KY Combined Statis ...
, Allison was partially deaf from an early age and became a voracious reader. By the age of fifteen he was working as an editor for the Henderson ''News''; in 1873, he moved to Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...
, where he continued as a newspaper editor. The quality of his reporting caught the attention of the managing editor of the Louisville ''Courier-Journal
The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is a daily newspaper published in ...
'', and in 1880, Allison was taken on as city editor. In 1887 he founded a trade journal, ''The Insurance Field'' and was its editor until 1926.
Allison was a writer of prose and verse and is best remembered for his poem the "Derelict," written to complete the famous verse fragment by Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
in ''Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...
'', " Fifteen Men on the Dead Man's Chest." He also wrote the libretto to Henry Waller's ''The Ogallallas'', the first American-Indian opera, in 1890. He maintained a long correspondence with Eugene Field
Eugene Field Sr. (September 2, 1850 – November 4, 1895) was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. He was known as the "poet of childhood".
Early life and education
Field was born in St. Louis, Missouri ...
and James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...
, the latter of whom dedicated several volumes of poetry to Allison.
The last years of his life were spent exploring Kentucky's rich history, often with his close friend J. Christian Bay of Chicago. He wrote several articles on the Abbey of Gethsemani, a Trappist monastery in western Kentucky. Allison also played a prominent role in the establishment of Federal Hill, the mansion in Bardstown, Kentucky
Bardstown is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 13,567 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the list of counties in Kentucky, county seat of Nelson Count ...
that is said to have inspired Stephen Foster's song ''My Old Kentucky Home
"My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!", typically shortened to "My Old Kentucky Home", is a sentimental ballad and regional anthem of Kentucky. It was written by Stephen Foster, probably composed in 1852. It was published in January 1853 by Firt ...
'', as a state historic site in 1922.
Works
*''On the Vice of Novel-Reading'', 1897 *''Delicious Vice'', 1907–09 *''City of Louisville and a Glimpse of Kentucky'', 1887 *''Curious Legend of Louis Philippe in Kentucky'', 1924 *''Select Works of Young E. Allison'', 1935References
External links
* * *Text of the poem "The Derelict"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allison, Young E. 1853 births 1932 deaths Editors of Kentucky newspapers People from Henderson, Kentucky Writers from Louisville, Kentucky American male non-fiction writers American print editors Courier Journal people