Kate Slaughter McKinney
Kate Slaughter McKinney (February 6, 1859 – March 2, 1939) was a writer and poet who used the pen-name of Katydid. In 1931, she was elected Poet Laureate of the State of Alabama.
Early life
[edit]Kate Slaughter was born in London, Kentucky, on February 6, 1859, the daughter of James Love Slaughter and Lucinda Jane Price.[1][2] Her father was born in Booneville, Kentucky, and later moved to London and Richmond, Kentucky. From her father's side she was the great-granddaughter of Gov. Gabriel Slaughter and from her mother side she was the great-granddaughter of Gov. James Garrard. Her great-uncle was Gen. Theo Garrard.[3]
She first attended schools in Kirksville, Kentucky, and then graduated in 1876 from the Daughters' College, Harrodsburg, Kentucky.[1][3]
Career
[edit]Kate Slaughter McKinney wrote verses since she was fifteen years of age. The first were published in The Courier-Journal, from which they found a way into the leading newspapers and magazines.[1]
Dream I not of fame or fortune,
Only this I inward crave,
Sweet assurance,
Long endurance,
Of a love beyond the grave.
Should my songs die out and perish,
You'll my name repeat and cherish;
Though all trace is lost of me,
Still you'll call from tree to tree.
From the "To A Katydid" poem by Kate Slaughter McKinney[4]
McKinney got her inspiration from the trees and the flowers and the brooks. Her Kentucky home stood out with frequency in the pages of her published volume, Katydid's Poems (1887).[1] Her other books are: Palace of Silver (1927), The Silent Witness, a Tale of a Kentucky Tragedy (1906), The Weed by the Wall (1911).[2]
She had a lyric gift, and her poems had melody and sweetness.[1]
In 1931 she was elected Poet Laureate of the State of Alabama.[2]
Personal life
[edit]On May 7, 1878, she became the wife of James Isaac McKinney, the superintendent of the L. & N. R. R. in Montgomery, Alabama.[1][2]
She died in Montgomery on March 2, 1939, and is buried at Buffalo Springs Cemetery, Stanford, Kentucky.[5][6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Willard, Frances Elizabeth, 1839–1898; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice, 1820–1905 (1893). A woman of the century; fourteen hundred-seventy biographical sketches accompanied by portraits of leading American women in all walks of life. Buffalo, N.Y., Moulton. p. 488. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. - ^ a b c d "McKINNEY, KATE SLAUGHTER, 1859–1939". Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ a b Secrist, M. (2012). Laurel County, Kentucky: History Revealed Through Biographical and Genealogical Sketches of Its Ancestors. Lulu Press, Inc. p. 100. ISBN 9781105500381. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ Katydid's Poems: With A Letter By Jno. Aug. Williams, Courier-Journal Job Printing Company, 1887, pp. 7-8.
- ^ "librivox". Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ "Mrs. Kate S. McKinney". Montgomery Advertiser. March 4, 1939. p. 2. Retrieved July 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
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