Melissa Elizabeth Banta
"A Woman of the Century"
"A Woman of the Century"
BornMelissa Elizabeth Riddle
March 27, 1834
Cheviot, Ohio, U.S.
DiedMay 9, 1907(1907-05-09) (aged 73)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Resting placeGreenlawn Cemetery, Franklin, Indiana, U.S.
Occupationpoet
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
Alma materWesleyan Female Institute, Female Collegiate Institute
Notable worksSongs of home
Spouse
Joseph I. Perrin
​
​
(m. 1852; died 1853)​
,
David D. Banta
​
​
(m. 1856; died 1896)​
,
Signature

Melissa Elizabeth Banta (née, Riddle; after first marriage, Perrin; after second marriage, Banta; pen name, M. E. Banta; March 27, 1834 – May 9, 1907) was an American poet. She also wrote letters of travel.

Early life and education

Melissa Elizabeth Riddle was born in Cheviot, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, March 27, 1834.[1] Her father, James Riddle, was of Scottish descent, and her mother, Elizabeth Jackson, a Quaker, was of English origin. Banta was the sole daughter of the house. She attended the Wesleyan Female Institute in Cincinnati until her fourteenth year, when, on the removal of the family to Covington, Kentucky, she was placed in the Female Collegiate Institute of that city, where she was graduated at the age of seventeen years.[1][2]

Career

On August 29, 1852,[3] she married Joseph I. Perrin, of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The young couple lived in Vicksburg, where the bride was a teacher in the public schools. He died of yellow fever at Vicksburgh, September 18, 1853.[3] The widow's recollections of that time were vivid. Her poem, "The Gruesome Rain", embodied a grief, a regret and a hint of the horrors of that season. Sophia Fox, hearing of Banta's situation, sent her carriage and servants a distance of 25 miles (40 km) to carry the young widow to her plantation at Bovina, Mississippi. There, she remained for two months, until her parents dared to send for her. Fox, with characteristic southern warm-heartedness, had supplied all her needs and refused all proffered remuneration on the arrival of Dr. Mount, the old family physician. A daughter who was born at that time died in a few weeks, after which, Banta returned to her father's house.

Banta traveled twice to Europe and visited notable places in the United States. She wrote letters of travel in addition to her poetry.[1][4]

Personal life

For the sake of an entire change of scene, her father disposed of his home and business interests in Covington, temporarily, and removed to Bloomington, Indiana. It was there that the widow met Judge David Demaree Banta (1833–1896),[5] whom she married June 11, 1856. Soon after the wedding, they went to Covington, Kentucky. He was admitted to the bar in 1857,[3] and in October, they removed to Franklin, Indiana. The Bantas had two sons and one daughter. [4][1] She died May 9, 1907, in Chicago, Illinois, after a long illness due to old age.[6] She was buried at Greenlawn Cemetery in Franklin, Indiana.[6]

Selected works

As M. E. Banta

  • Songs of home, 1895

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Moulton 1894, p. 140.
  2. ↑ Willard & Livermore 1893, p. 52.
  3. 1 2 3 Ridlon 1884, p. 307.
  4. 1 2 Willard & Livermore 1893, p. 53.
  5. ↑ "David Banta (1889–1896)". www.repository.law.indiana.edu. Law School Deans | Maurer School of Law: Indiana University. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Death of Mrs. Judge Banta". Franklin Democrat. 10 May 1907. p. 1. Retrieved 19 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

Attribution

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