James Ewell Heath
James Ewell Heath was a significant figure in early nineteenth-century Southern literature, best known for his contributions to the literary scene in Richmond, Virginia. Born in 1792 in Northumberland County, Virginia, he had a background in politics, serving in the state legislature and as state auditor. Heath's literary career includes the publication of a biographical work in 1817 and the novel "Edge-Hill: Or, The Family of the Fitzroyals" in 1828, which features themes of love, reconciliation, and historical context during the Revolutionary War. He was also involved in the Southern Literary Messenger as its editor, where he published early works by Edgar Allan Poe. Heath's play "Whigs and Democrats: Or, Love of No Politics," published in 1839, faced challenges in being performed due to its politically sensitive content. Serving as a commissioner of pensions under President Millard Fillmore from 1850 to 1853, Heath's life concluded in Richmond in 1862 during the Civil War. While his literary output was modest, "Edge-Hill" has gained recognition for its diverse characters, including black and female figures, which may have contributed to its initial lack of popularity.
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James Ewell Heath
Writer
- Born: July 8, 1792
- Birthplace: Northumberland County, Virginia
- Died: June 28, 1862
- Place of death: Richmond, Virginia
Biography
James Ewell Heath was one of the early nineteenth century pioneers of Southern literature. Edgar Allen Poe described Heath in 1841 as “almost the only person of any literary distinction” living in Richmond, Virginia, where Heath lived and worked for most of his life.
Heath was born in 1792 in Northumberland County, Virginia, on the Chesapeake Bay, some seventy miles east of Richmond. His father, John Heath, had represented Virginia in the third and fourth sessions of Congress and had served as attorney for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Young Heath’s schooling consisted of several years at Ogilvie’s Academy in Richmond around the year 1807. In 1814, he was elected to the state legislature from Prince William County before becoming state auditor in1819, a position he held until 1849. Heath married his cousin, Fannie Weems, and after her early death he married Elizabeth Ann Macon in 1820; he and Macon later had two children.
Heath is generally believed to be the author of a straightforward biographical account, The Lives of Sir Walter and Capt. John Smith: With an Account of the Governors of Virginia to the Year 1781, which was published in 1817. The book is signed merely as “By a Virginian,” but that was how Heath’s first fiction also was signed. His only novel, Edge-Hill: Or, The Family of the Fitzroyals, was published in 1828 by his friend and publisher, Thomas Willis White. In 1834. White launched the Southern Literary Messenger, a literary journal seeking contributions primarily from Southern writers. White asked Heath to become its editor, which he did for the first nine issues. Although Heath was not a particularly successful editor, he did publish two of Poe’s early short stories. Eventually, Poe took over the editorship and did considerably better with the journal.
Heath’s other literary effort was a play, Whigs and Democrats: Or, Love of No Politics, a Comedy in Three Acts, published in 1839. Although the play was published in Richmond, it was considered too politically incorrect to be performed there, and it was first produced in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1844. From 1850 until1853, Heath served as commissioner of pensions for President Millard Fillmore. He died in Richmond in 1862 at the height of the Civil War.
His novel, Edge-Hill, is the most interesting work of his modest output. It is set during the Revolutionary War and its hero, Charles, fights with the Marquis de Lafayette, wins his true love, the orphaned Ruth, and is reconciled to his Loyalist father. Various historical personages appear in the story. Most notable, however, is the use of a black slave in a central supporting role and the importance of the women characters. The inclusion of these black and women characters may explain the book’s lack of popularity. Fortunately, several recent histories of Southern literature have rediscovered its significance.