John Townsend Trowbridge
John Townsend Trowbridge was an American author born on September 18, 1827, in Ogden Township, New York. Despite facing challenges related to poor eyesight that led to a largely self-taught education, Trowbridge developed a diverse knowledge base, including languages like French, Latin, and Greek. He began his writing career in New York City around 1847, initially contributing to Dollar Magazine and later to notable periodicals such as The Atlantic Monthly and Our Young Folks. Trowbridge is particularly recognized for his adventure fiction aimed at young readers, with works like "Cudjo's Cave" reflecting his appeal to adolescent boys. Over his lifetime, he edited several periodicals and held the editorship of Our Young Folks from 1860 to 1873. Trowbridge experienced personal loss with the death of his first wife, Cornelia Warren, in 1864, before marrying Sarah Newton in 1873. He was well-connected in literary circles, befriending prominent figures such as Oliver Wendell Holmes and Walt Whitman. Trowbridge passed away in Arlington, Massachusetts, on February 12, 1916, leaving behind a legacy marked by both his novels and didactic poetry.
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John Townsend Trowbridge
American novelist
- Born: September 18, 1827
- Birthplace: Ogden Township, New York
- Died: February 12, 1916
- Place of death: Arlington, Massachusetts
Biography
John Townsend Trowbridge (TROH-brihj) considered his forty-odd novels as little more than hack work. He believed his only serious and great literary efforts were the series of volumes of didactic narrative poetry which later generations have forgotten, as they have almost forgotten his novels. Trowbridge was born on a farm in Ogden Township, New York, on September 18, 1827, and spent his childhood there. As he grew up, bad eyesight caused him difficulty in school. Because of his handicap, he was largely self-taught; nevertheless, he acquired a great deal of learning, including a knowledge of French, Latin, and Greek. After completing a year at the academy in Lockport, New York, Trowbridge traveled to the Midwest. He taught school in Illinois in 1845, then moved back to Lockport to teach school there for a year. In 1847 he went to New York City and began to make a reputation for himself as a writer, contributing his work principally to Dollar Magazine.
During the period from 1849 to 1860, Trowbridge edited periodicals and wrote for The Atlantic Monthly, the Youth’s Companion, and Our Young Folks. His interest in writing for boys and his success in pleasing their tastes won for him the editorship of Our Young Folks, a position he held from 1860 to 1873. He made his own a type of adventure fiction that was popular with adolescent boys and of interest to some adults; Cudjo’s Cave is an excellent example of the type.
In 1860 Trowbridge married Cornelia Warren, who died four years later, leaving two children. The following year Trowbridge moved his family to Arlington, Massachusetts, near Boston. His second marriage was to Sarah Newton, of Arlington, in 1873. Among Trowbridge’s friends were such diverse literary personalities as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Walt Whitman. He died at Arlington on February 12, 1916.
Bibliography
Sloane, David E. E. “John Townsend Trowbridge.” In Nineteenth-Century American Fiction Writers, edited by Kent P. Ljungquist. Vol. 202 in Dictionary of Literary Biography. Detroit: Gale Research, 1999.
Trowbridge, John Townsend. My Own Story: With Recollection of Noted Persons. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1903.
Wilson, Edmund. “Northerners in the South: Frederick L. Olmsted, John T. Trowbridge.” In Patriotic Gore: Studies in the Literature of the American Civil War. New York: W. W. Norton, 1994.