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1. Whitman's Entry from Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1889
Whitman, Sarah Helen, poet, b. in Providence, R.I., in 1803; d. there, 27 June, 1878. She was the daughter of Nicholas Power, of Providence, and in 1828 married John W. Whitman, a Boston lawyer, after whose death in 1833 she returned to her native city and devoted herself to literature. Mrs. Whitman was well known for her conversational powers. She was an admirer of Edgar A. Poe, with whom, about 1848, she entered into a conditional engagement of marriage. Though it was broken off soon afterward, her friendly feeling for Poe did not cease, and inspired several of her poems, notably the elegy "Resurgamus." Mrs. Whitman contributed to magazines prize essays on literary topics, including critical articles on European writers, and many poems, which have been admired for their tenderness, melody, and philosophic spirit. She published in book-form a collection of these, entitled "Hours of Life, and Other Poems" (Providence, 1853), and "Edgar A, Poe and his Critics," in which she defended her friend's character from harsh aspersions (New York, 1860). She was often called on for occasional poems, and one of these she read at the unveiling of the statue of Roger Williams in Providence in 1877. Parts of her "Fairy Ballads." "The Golden Ball," "The Sleeping Beauty," and "Cinderella" (1867) were written by her sister, Anna Marsh Power. After Mrs. Whitman's death a full collection of her "Poems" appeared (Boston, 1879).
2. Whitman's Entry from Cyclopaedia of American Literature, 1875 by Evert A. and George L. Duyckinck
Mrs. Whitman is a daughter of Mr. Nicholas Power, of Providence, a direct descendant of a follower of Roger Williams in his banishment. She was married in 1828 to Mr. John Winslow Whitman, a descendant of Governor Winslow, with whom she removed to Boston, where her husband practiced law with eminent success. In 1833 he was attacked by a disease which in a brief period closed his life. His widow returned to her native city of Providence, where she has since resided.
Mrs. Whitman published in 1853 Hours of Life and Other Poems, a few of which are translations from the German. She has also written in connection with her sister, Miss Anna Power, two fairy ballads entitled Cinderella, and The Sleeping Beauty. Revised editions of these, preparatory to their issue in an illustrated volume, were printed in 1867-8. She has also contributed to leading American periodicals elaborate critical articles on German and other authors of modern Europe, in the chief languages of which she is proficient.
Mrs. Whitman's volume of poems is a book of a rare passionate beauty, marked by fine mental characteristics. The chief poem, "Hours of Life," is a picture of the soul in its progress through time, and its search out of disappointment and experience for peace and security. Its learned philosophical spirit is not less remarkable than its tenderness and spiritual melody.
The volume also contains numerous descriptions of scenery and poems of sentiment, in which passion is intimately blended with nature. Several of these are devoted to the memory of the late Edgar A. Poe, whose wild poetic creations and melancholy career have awakened in the author's mind a peculiar sympathy and imaginative interest. In 1860 appeared Edgar Poe and his Critics, which Mr. George W. Curtis has termed "not a eulogy, but a criticism which is profound by the force of sympathy, and vigorous for its clear comprehension."
3. Whitman's Entry from National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1898
Whitman, Sarah Helen (Power), poet, was born in Providence, R. I., in 1803, daughter of Nicholas Power of Providence, a descendant of one of Roger Williams' companions in his exile from Massachusetts. In 1828 she was married to John Winslow Whitman, a lawyer of Boston, who was a descendant of Edward Winslow, first governor of Plymouth colony. In 1833 her husband died, and she returned to Providence to live and to make literature her life-work. Acquaintance with German, Italian and kindred languages, led her to contribute to periodicals, critical essays on modern European authors. She became well known through her gifts as a writer of verse, also, and often was requested to furnish poems for special occasions, as for instance, in 1877, when she was asked to compose lines to be read at the dedication of the statue of Roger Williams in Providence. About the year 1848, she became conditionally engaged to Edgar Allan Poe, and the engagement was soon broken; their friendship continued, and his death inspired several of her best poems, including the eulogy entitled "Resurgamus." She defended his memory against the attacks of his biographers, especially Griswold, and in 1859 published "Edgar Poe and his Critics," which George William Curtis termed "not a eulogy, but a criticism which is profound by the force of sympathy, and vigorous for its clear comprehension." Mrs. Whitman's first volume, entitled "Hours of Life and other Poems," was published in 1853. Her verse distinctly shows the influence of other contemporaneous poets; nevertheless it is ever graceful, melodious and inspired by a profound philosophical spirit. With her sister, Anna Marsh Power, she wrote "Fairy Ballads," "The Golden Ball," "The Sleeping Beauty," and "Cinderella" (1867). A complete collection of her poems was published in Boston in 1879. She was a favorite in society, and as a conversationalist was justly admired. She died in Providence, June 27, 1878.