Susan Rigby Dallam Morgan Explained

Susan Rigby Dallam Morgan (September 9, 1810 – June 3, 1887) was an American author and poet.^{[1] [2]}

Life and career

Susan Ribgy Dallam was born in Harford County, Maryland to Dr. William M. Dallam and Frances Smith, the eldest of six children. Her mother died when Susan was 20 years old, and the responsibility of taking care of her younger siblings fell to her.^[3]

In 1833, Dallam Morgan wrote an anonymous poem regarding a visit to the grave of the Female Stranger which was published in the Alexandria Gazette.^[4] She also wrote a guest column for the Philadelphia Saturday Courier, using the pen name "Lucy Seymour." Her writings contributed to the widely publicized legend of the Female Stranger. Dallam Morgan was a guest columnist and wrote short stories for periodicals including The Baltimore Monument, The Boston Evening Gazette, The Saturday Morning Visitor, and The Methodist Protestant.

In 1836, her book, The Swiss Heiress, Or, The Bride of Destiny: A Tale, was critiqued by Edgar Allan Poe in a review for the Southern Literary Messenger.^{[5] [6]} In his review, he wrote "[it] should be read by all who have nothing better to do."^{[7] [8]}

Marriage

On March 26, 1840, she married Lyttleton Morgan who served as chaplain to the U.S. House of Representatives and as first chairman of the board of trustees of Morgan State University. Shortly after her death, Lyttleton published a book containing over 90 of her poems.

Death

Dallam Morgan died in Baltimore in 1887 and is buried in Green Mount Cemetery.

Bibliography

Books

• The Swiss Heiress, Or, The Bride of Destiny: A Tale, 1836.^[9]
• The Polish Orphan, Or, Vicissitudes: A Tale, 1838^{[10] [11]}
• The Haunting Shadow, 1848^[12]

Poetry

• The Female Stranger, 1834.
• The Poems of Mrs. Lyttleton F. Morgan, with a Memoir by her Husband, 1888.

Short stories

• The Young Statesman, Or, Code of Honor, 1839
• Sister Ellen
• An Old Man's Story
• The Art of Shining
• The Deserter, a Tale of the Revolution
• Moral Ophthalmy

Notes and References

1. Web site: Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - People - Susan Rigby Morgan . 2022-11-08 . www.eapoe.org.
2. Book: Division, Library of Congress Catalog Publication . National Register of Microform Masters . 1983 . The Library . 203 . en.
3. Book: Morgan . Susan Rigby Dallam . Poems of Mrs. Lyttleton F. Morgan: With a Memoir by Her Husband ... . Morgan . Lyttleton F. . 1888 . D.H. Carroll . en.
4. "Poetry." Alexandria Gazette (Alexandria, VA) Wednesday, March 12, 1834.
5. Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, ed., The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Vols 2-3 Tales and Sketches), Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1978. (Second printing 1979)
6. Web site: Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Editions - The Collected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe - Vol. V: SLM (October 1836 (Texts)) . 2022-11-08 . www.eapoe.org.
7. Web site: Edgar Allan Poe's Hatchet Jobs . 2022-11-08 . The National Endowment for the Humanities . en.
8. Heartman, Charles F. and James R. Canny, A Bibliography of First Printings of the Writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Hattiesburg, MS: The Book Farm, 1943.
9. Book: Morgan . Mrs Lyttleton F. . The Swiss Heiress, Or, The Bride of Destiny . Morgan . Susan Rigby Dallam . 1836 . Joseph Robinson . en.
10. Book: Morgan, Susan Rigby Dallam . The Polish Orphan: Or, Vicissitudes: a Tale . 1838 . Research Publications . en.
11. Book: Frank, Frederick S. . Through the Pale Door: A Guide to and Through the American Gothic . 1990 . Greenwood Press . 978-0-313-25900-5 . 182 . en.
12. Book: Wright, Lyle Henry . American Fiction, 1774-1850: A Contribution Toward a Bibliography . 1939 . Huntington Library . 144 . en.