Lydia H. Tilton

Lydia H. Tilton (née , Heath; July 10, 1839 – July 26, 1915) was an American journalist and temperance worker.^[1][2] Also a poet, she was well known in literary circles.^[3] "Old Glory", lyrics by Tilton, set to the tune of "Dixie", was the national song of the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.).^[4][5]

Lydia H. Tilton
"A Woman of the Century"
Born	Lydia Priscilla Heath July 10, 1839 Tuftonboro, New Hampshire, U.S.
Died	July 26, 1915 Washington, D.C.
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery
Occupation	journalist temperance activist teacher poet lyricist
Alma mater	New Hampshire Conference Seminary
Spouse	Rufus Newell Tilton ​ ​ (m. 1866; died 1901)​
Children	2

Early life and education

Lydia Priscilla Heath^[6] was born in Tuftonboro, New Hampshire, July 10, 1839. Her mother was Chloe (Blake) Heath (1800-1877). Her father was Abel Heath (1797-1852),^[7] a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church,^[1][2] who was known to the Methodists throughout New England. He died during a Session of Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1852, leaving a widow and eight children. From this time, Lydia resided in Manchester, New Hampshire.^[3]

She was educated in the public schools of Manchester, and in the New Hampshire Conference Seminary.

Career

Tilton taught in the latter school, and in Henniker Academy.^[1][2][3]

In Manchester, on December 6, 1866, she married Rufus Newell Tilton (1840–1901),^[7] and thereafter resided in Washington, D.C.,^[1][2] as Mr. Tilton worked for the U.S. Treasury Department.^[8][9] They had two daughters, Emma (b. 1872) and Anna (b. 1874).^[8][7]

As a newspaper correspondent and as a writer of occasional poems, Tilton developed a large circle of literary friends.^[1][2]

Tilton served as the Corresponding Secretary^[10] and the Superintendent of Temperance Instruction of the Non-Partisan National Woman's Christian Temperance Union in Washington, D.C.^[11] Subsequently, she served as the national legislative secretary of the Non-Partisan National Woman's Christian Temperance Union, being active in its work.^[1][2]

Death

Lydia H. Tilton died in Washington, D.C., July 26, 1915.^[8] Burial was at Arlington National Cemetery.^[7]

Selected works

Poems

• "All Things" (1883)
• "The Bridal Wreath" (1883)
• "Furnishing the House" (1883)
• "The Kiss at the Door" (1883)
• "Words" (1895)
• "All Things" (1895)
• "The Sparrows" (1895)

Songs

• "Old Glory" (lyrics)

References

1. Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893). "TILTON, Mrs. Lydia H.". A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life. Charles Wells Moulton. pp. 716–17.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
2. Moulton, Charles Wells, ed. (1895). "LYDIA H. TILTON, by I. S. J.". The Magazine of Poetry and Literary Review. Vol. 7. Buffalo, New York. p. 98. Retrieved 12 August 2022.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
3. Chapin (compiler), Bela (1883). The Poets of New Hampshire. Claremont, New Hampshire: C. H. Adams. Retrieved 12 August 2022.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
4. "POLITICS IN THE AIR; "DAUGHTERS" ALERT". Evening Star. 18 April 1909. p. 5. Retrieved 12 August 2022 – via Newspapers.com.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
5. "Proceedings of the Eighteenth Continental Congress of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington, D. C., April 19th to 24th, 1909, Continental Memorial Hall". The American Monthly Magazine. National Society. 35: 102. 1909. Retrieved 12 August 2022.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
6. Blake, Carlton E. (1980). Descendants of Jasper Blake, Emigrant from England to Hampton, N.H., Ca. 1643, 1649-1979. Gateway Press. p. 68. Retrieved 12 August 2022. Lydia Priscilla Heath b. July 10, 1838 Tuftonboro; m. Rufus Tilton
7. "Lydia Priscilla Heath 10 July 1838 – 26 July 1915 • LV1P-KP4". ident.familysearch.org. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
8. "Mrs. Lydia H. Tilton". The Washington Times. 27 July 1915. p. 11. Retrieved 12 August 2022 – via Newspapers.com.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
9. Washington Academy of Sciences (Washington D.C.), ed. (1899). Directory of the Washington Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies: Comprising the Anthropological, Biological, Chemical, Entomological, Geographic, Geological, Historical, Medical, and Philosophical Societies. Joint Commission. p. 56. Retrieved 12 August 2022.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
10. Foster, Judith Ellen (1889). The Truth in the Case: A Concerning Partisanship and Non-partisanship in the W.C.T.U. J.E. Foster. p. 127. Retrieved 12 August 2022.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
11. Woman's Christian Temperance Union (1888). Minutes of the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union at The... Annual Meeting in ... with Addresses, Reports, and Constitutions. Chicago. Retrieved 12 August 2022.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

External links

•   Works related to Woman of the Century/Lydia H. Tilton at Wikisource

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