Edward Eggleston

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Edward Eggleston, 1902

Edward Eggleston (born December 10, 1837 in Vevay ( Indiana ), † September 3, 1902 Joshua’s Rock ( New York )) was an American clergyman and writer. He wrote short stories from the world of American pioneers. In 1871 he published his main work The Hoosier School Master , which appeared in 1877 under the title Der Schulmeister von Flat Creek in the German Empire .

Live and act

As a child, Eggleston had a rather sickly constitution, which meant that he could not attend school regularly. Instead, he was tutored by his father. On the one hand there was a focus on reading texts in different languages ​​and on the other hand religion. Religious instruction was reinforced when his parents converted to Methodism , an instruction that was continued after his father's death through his stepfather, a Methodist preacher. In 1856 Eggleston was ordained a Methodist minister himself. He initially served as a circuit rider (circuit rider). When he married Lizzie Snyder in 1858, he was a preacher in various Minnesota churches . The marriage had four children. From 1866 Eggleston wrote for various Sunday school and youth magazines. In 1870 he became editor of the Independent in New York. In 1874 he broke with Methodism and founded the Church of Christian Endeavor in Brooklyn , of which he was pastor until 1879.

His career as an author began with journalistic contributions. His lifelike account of life in rural Indiana in The Hoosier School-Master , a publication that had received positive feedback when it appeared as a serialized story in House and Home and was published as a book in 1871, became a pioneer in local literature, the became very popular in America for the next three decades. In this novel, Eggleston processed the experiences of his brother George. His other works also often contain autobiographical elements. So he processed his experiences as a young Methodist preacher in the novel The Circuit Rider .

In addition to novels and youth novels, Eggleston's works also include two volumes on American history: The Beginners of a Nation (1896) and The Transit of Civilization (1901).

In 1891 Eggleston married a second time. The last years of his life were marked by illness. In 1899 he suffered a first stroke , which left him partially paralyzed. He died of a second stroke on September 3, 1902, in Joshua's Rock on Lake George , New York.

Since 1898 he was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters .

Works

  • The Hoosier School Master. 1871
  • The Mystery of Metropolisville. O. Judd, New York 1873
  • The Circuit Rider: A Tale of the Heroic Age. Scribner's, New York 1878
  • The Graysons: A Story of Illinois. Century, New York 1888
  • The Hoosier School Boy. Scribner, New York 1890
  • The Faith Doctor: A Story of New York. Appleton, New York 1891
  • Duffels. Appleton, New York 1893

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The information on the date of death vary. Both an obituary in the New York Times ( Edward Eggleston . In: New York Times , September 6, 1902) and Karl Bridges: 100 Great American Novels You've (probably) Never Read , pp. 59-61, refer to the 3rd edition September. In contrast, the Encyclopedia of World Biography specifies September 2 as the date of death.
  2. ↑ This section mainly follows Karl Bridges: 100 Great American Novels You've (probably) Never Read. Libraries Unlimited, Westport, Connecticut 2007, pp. 59-61 and Edward Eggleston. In: Encyclopedia of World Biography , encyclopedia.com, 2004.
  3. ↑ online , Gutenberg project.
  4. ↑ online , Smithsonian Libraries.
  5. ^ Members: Edward Eggleston. American Academy of Arts and Letters, accessed February 28, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Eggleston, Edward
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American poet and priest
DATE OF BIRTH December 10, 1837
PLACE OF BIRTH Vevay, Indiana
DATE OF DEATH September 3, 1902
Place of death Joshua's Rock , New York