Florence Van Leer Earle Coates facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Florence Van Leer Earle Coates
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Florence Van Leer Earle Coates, pre-1916
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| Born | Florence Van Leer Earle July 1, 1850 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | April 6, 1927 (aged 76) Hahnemann Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
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Florence Van Leer Earle Nicholson Coates (born July 1, 1850 – died April 6, 1927) was an American poet. She was known for her many poems published in popular magazines. She also supported many good causes.
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Life of Florence Earle Coates
Florence Coates was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her family was well-known. Her grandfather, Thomas Earle, worked to end slavery and helped others. Her great-grandfather, Samuel Van Leer, was an officer in the American Revolutionary War. Florence was the oldest daughter of lawyer George Hussey Earle Sr. and Frances ("Fanny") Van Leer Earle.
Education and Early Career
Florence went to school in New England. She studied with Theodore Dwight Weld, who was a teacher and also worked to end slavery. She continued her education in Paris, France, at the Convent of the Sacred Heart. She also studied music in Brussels, Belgium.
Florence became famous for her poetry. She published nearly 300 poems in important literary magazines. These included Atlantic Monthly, Scribner's Magazine, and Harper's. Many of her poems were even set to music by composers like Amy Beach.
Friendship with Matthew Arnold
The famous writer Matthew Arnold encouraged Florence to write poetry. He stayed at her home in Germantown, Philadelphia, when he visited the city for his lectures. They first met in New York and became good friends. Arnold often wrote to Florence from his home in England. He remembered her "tulip-trees and maples" at her home, called "Willing Terrace." Florence rarely wrote prose, but she did write about Matthew Arnold in magazines in 1894 and 1909.
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Poetry and Inspiration
Between 1887 and 1912, Florence published many poems in The Century Magazine. She often wrote letters to the magazine's editor, Richard Watson Gilder. In one letter from 1905, she sent a poem inspired by a photo of Helen Keller holding a rose. Helen Keller gave Florence permission to use the photo for her poem. The poem, "Helen Keller with a Rose", was published that July.
The Coates family spent their summers at "Camp Elsinore" on Upper St. Regis Lake in the Adirondacks. They went there to relax and escape the summer heat in Philadelphia. They welcomed many friends, including famous actors and writers. Even Anna Roosevelt Cowles, the older sister of President Theodore Roosevelt, stayed at their camp. President Roosevelt's daughter, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, also visited. Many of Florence's poems about nature were inspired by the plants and animals of the Adirondacks. She wrote about her mountain cabin:
There's a cabin in the mountains, where the fare, dear,
Is frugal as the cheer of Arden blest;
But contentment sweet and fellowship are there, dear,
And Love, that makes the feast he honors—best!
Poetry and World Events
In 1913, a poet named William Stanley Braithwaite wrote a long review of Florence's poetry. He said she used her art to talk about "profound and vital problems." Many of Florence's later poems were written during World War I. She wrote about the war and supported America's involvement. Her pamphlet of war poetry, Pro Patria (1917), showed her concern. She also wrote other patriotic poems about the sacrifices made for freedom.
Clubs and Honors
Florence Coates helped start the Contemporary Club of Philadelphia in 1886. She was also one of the twenty founders of the Society of Mayflower Descendants in Pennsylvania in 1896. She was a descendant of the Pilgrim John Howland. She was president of the Browning Society of Philadelphia twice, from 1895 to 1903, and again from 1907 to 1908. In 1915, she was chosen as the poet laureate of Pennsylvania by the state's Federation of Women's Clubs. This means she was recognized as the state's official poet.
Family Life and Legacy
Florence married William Nicholson in 1872, but he passed away in 1877. On January 7, 1879, she married Edward Hornor Coates. Edward adopted Florence's daughter from her first marriage, Alice Earle Nicholson. Florence and Edward had one child together, Josephine Wisner Coates, but she sadly died as a baby in 1881.
Edward Coates was the president of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1890 to 1906. He passed away in 1921. In 1923, Florence gave The Edward H. Coates Memorial Collection to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. This collection included 27 paintings and 3 sculptures.
Florence Coates passed away at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia on April 6, 1927. She is buried in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, with her husband and other family members.
Published Works
Florence Earle Coates published several collections of her poems:
- POEMS. (1898)
- MINE AND THINE. (1904)
- LYRICS OF LIFE. (1909)
- THE UNCONQUERED AIR AND OTHER POEMS. (1912)
- POEMS. 2 vols. (1916)
- PRO PATRIA. (1917) (This was published privately.)
- Fugitive verse (other scattered poems).
- On Matthew Arnold. (1894, 1909)
Images for kids
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A platinum print photograph of Coates
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Edward Hornor Coates (1903) by Charles Grafly at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
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Digital drawing of the headstones of Coates and husband in Pennsylvania
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Hymn written for the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1900)
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See also
In Spanish: Florence Earle Coates para niños
