Mary R. T. McAboy

Mary R. T. McAboy
BornFebruary 9, 1815
Bourbon County, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedApril 5, 1892 (aged 77)
Paris, Kentucky, U.S.
Pen name"M. R. M., Roseheath, Ky."
Occupationpoet
Notable worksRoseheath poems
Spouse
Paradise Lynn McAboy
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(m. 1839; died 1839)​
Signature

Mary R. T. McAboy (née, Thornton; pen name, M. R. M., Roseheath, Ky.; February 9, 1815 – April 5, 1892) was a 19th-century poet of the American south. From 1850,[1] she was a contributor to the press of Kentucky and elsewhere over the signature of "M. R. M., Roseheath, Ky."; her writings were universally popular.[2]

Biography

Mary Rootes Thornton was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky, February 9, 1815.[3][a] Her father was Peter Thornton of Caroline County, Virginia. Her mother's maiden name was Rowe. There were five siblings in this family: Sally Tunstall (Thornton), Mary Rootes (Thornton), Thomas; Callender, and Read.[5]

She was raised and educated by her uncle, Hon. John Rootes Thornton (1786–1873).[3] He was a prominent lawyer and a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives (1844), and State Senate (1829–33; 1833–37).[5]

On April 24, 1839, she married Rev. Paradise Lynn McAboy (1814–1839), of Washington, Mason County, Kentucky, a young Presbyterian minister. She was widowed four months later when the husband was killed by the falling of a large flour mill at Murphysville, Mason County, Kentucky, on August 29, 1839.[3]

McAboy's signature, “M. R. M., Roseheath, Ky.," was well known at intervals for thirty years to readers of the Louisville Journal, Paris Citizen, Paris True Kentuckian, Memphis Enquirer, Presbyterian Herald of Cincinnati, and other newspapers and monthlies.[3] She resided in the Thornton homestead in Paris, Kentucky where she entertained many distinguished men in the ministry of the church and state. It was George D. Prentice, who, while visiting her, named her homestead, "Roseheath".[6] McAboy died at "Roseheath", Paris, April 5, 1892.[4][2]

Selected works

Roseheath poems
  • Roseheath poems, 1884

Notes

  1. ^ According to Dearinger (2007), Mary Rootes Thornton was born February 6, 1815.[4]

References

  1. ^ Coggeshall 1861, p. 620.
  2. ^ a b "Deatah of Mrs. McAboy". The Frankfort Roundabout. 9 April 1892. p. 5. Retrieved 18 April 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d Collins 1882, p. 585.
  4. ^ a b Dearinger 2007, p. 280.
  5. ^ a b College of William and Mary 1898, pp. 240–41.
  6. ^ "Sweet Mary Barbee". The Indiana State Sentinel. 24 February 1892. p. 12. Retrieved 18 April 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

Attribution

  • Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Coggeshall, William Turner (1861). "Mary R. T. M'Aboy". The Poets and Poetry of the West: With Biographical and Critical Notices (Public domain ed.). Columbus, Ohio: Follett, Foster & Company.
  • Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: College of William and Mary (1898). "140, PETER THORNTON". William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine. Vol. 6 (Public domain ed.). The College.
  • Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Collins, Lewis (1882). "Mrs. Mary Rootes Thornton McAboy". History of Kentucky. Vol. 1 (Public domain ed.). Covington, Kentucky: Collins & Company.

Bibliography