Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton
Encyclopedia
Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton (1759-May 14, 1846) was an American
poet
.
She was born in Boston
to a successful merchant family (descended from Charles Apthorp
). In 1781, she was married to Boston lawyer Perez Morton
at Trinity Church, Boston
, and the couple lived on a family mansion on State Street. The marriage began to deteriorate by 1788, however, when an affair between Perez and Sarah's sister Frances (Fanny) became public. The family backlash led to Frances' suicide. The couple were later reconciled, but Sarah lost three of the five children she carried.
In 1796, the couple moved to Dorchester
. From an early age, Sarah had begun writing poetry, but until 1788 her works had only circulated among her friends. She began publishing under the pen name Philenia, and her first book was printed in 1790. Her work was widely acclaimed, with Robert Treat Paine, Jr.
, in the Massachusetts Magazine
dubbing her the "American Sappho
". In 1792, she wrote an anti-slavery poem entitled "The African Chief", which was, in fact, an elegy on a slain African at St. Domingo in 1791.
At one time she was thought to be the author of The Power of Sympathy
(1789), but that has since been attributed to William Hill Brown
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
She was born in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
to a successful merchant family (descended from Charles Apthorp
Charles Apthorp
Charles Apthorp was a British-born merchant in 18th-century Boston, Massachusetts. He ran his import business from Merchants Row, and "in his day he was called the richest man in Boston." He acted for the British government, and supported King's Chapel.-Life and career:He was born in England in...
). In 1781, she was married to Boston lawyer Perez Morton
Perez Morton
Perez Morton was a lawyer and revolutionary patriot in Boston, Massachusetts.-Biography:Morton was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1751, and raised in Boston. His father, Joseph Morton, worked as a tavern-keeper at the White Horse Tavern. Perez attended the Boston Latin School starting around...
at Trinity Church, Boston
Trinity Church, Boston (Summer Street)
Trinity Church was an Episcopal church in Boston, Massachusetts, located on Summer Street. It housed Boston's third Anglican congregation...
, and the couple lived on a family mansion on State Street. The marriage began to deteriorate by 1788, however, when an affair between Perez and Sarah's sister Frances (Fanny) became public. The family backlash led to Frances' suicide. The couple were later reconciled, but Sarah lost three of the five children she carried.
In 1796, the couple moved to Dorchester
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...
. From an early age, Sarah had begun writing poetry, but until 1788 her works had only circulated among her friends. She began publishing under the pen name Philenia, and her first book was printed in 1790. Her work was widely acclaimed, with Robert Treat Paine, Jr.
Robert Treat Paine, Jr.
Robert Treat Paine, Jr. was an American poet and editor. He was the second son of Robert Treat Paine, signer of the Declaration of Independence...
, in the Massachusetts Magazine
Massachusetts Magazine
The Massachusetts Magazine was published in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1789 through 1796. Also called the Monthly Museum of Knowledge and Rational Entertainment, it specialized in "poetry, music, biography, history, physics, geography, morality, criticism, philosophy, mathematics, agriculture,...
dubbing her the "American Sappho
Sappho
Sappho was an Ancient Greek poet, born on the island of Lesbos. Later Greeks included her in the list of nine lyric poets. Her birth was sometime between 630 and 612 BC, and it is said that she died around 570 BC, but little is known for certain about her life...
". In 1792, she wrote an anti-slavery poem entitled "The African Chief", which was, in fact, an elegy on a slain African at St. Domingo in 1791.
At one time she was thought to be the author of The Power of Sympathy
The Power of Sympathy
The Power of Sympathy: or, The Triumph of Nature is an eighteenth-century American sentimental novel written in epistolary form by William Hill Brown; it is widely considered to be the first American novel. Published by Isaiah Thomas in January 1789, The Power of Sympathy was Brown's first novel...
(1789), but that has since been attributed to William Hill Brown
William Hill Brown
William Hill Brown was an American novelist, the author of what is usually considered the first American novel, The Power of Sympathy and "Harriot, Or The Domestick Reconciliation" as well as the serial essay "The Reformer" published in Isaiah Thomas' Massachusetts Magazine.In both, Brown proves an...
.
External links
- Sarah Wentworth Morton (1759-1846), The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Houghton Mifflin.
- Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton, 1759-1846, Dorchester Atheneum.
- Gilbert Stuart: Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton (Mrs. Perez Morton), 1802–20, Worchester Art.