History of Martins Ferry, (Belmont County) Ohio United States of America

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William Dean Howells, author, was born at Martin's Ferry, Ohio, March 1, 1837; son of William Cooper and Mary (Dean) Howells; grandson of Joseph and Anne (Ipeneas) Howells, and of John and Elizabeth (Dock) Dean. The Ipeneas family was of Welsh origin, the Dean, Irish, and the Dock, Pennsylvania German. His father, a native of Wales, was brought to Ohio by his .parents early in the century. He was proprietor of a country newspaper, the Intelligencer, at Hamilton, Ohio. Here young Howells bad his first and main schooling, and learned the trade of printer. In 1848 his father sold out his paper, removed to Dayton, and purchased the Transcript, a semi-weekly newspaper, which he turned into a daily, and after conducting it with the help of his sons for two years, the enterprise failed. The family then removed to a property on the Little Miami river, where he undertook to transform a saw-and grist-mill into a paper-mill. In 1851 they removed to Columbus, where the father was a reporter in the house of representatives, and William Dean worked as compositor on the Ohio State Journal, earning four dollars per week, which he contributed to the household expenses of the family, the same year the family removed to Ashtabula, where the father purchased the Sentinel, which, under his editorship, was subsequently transferred to Jefferson. In 1856 William Dean was Columbus correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette, and in 1859 news editor of the Ohio State Journal. He was U.S. consul to Venice by appointment of President Lincoln, 1861-65; editorial writer on the New York Times, and a salaried contributor to the Nation, 1865-66; assistant editor of the Atlantic Monthly, 1866-72; its editor-in-chief, 1872-81; in charge of "Editor's Study," in Harper's Magazine, 1886-92. And in 1901 he revived the "Easy Chair" left by Curtis. His poems: "The Poet's Friends," "The Pilot's Story," "Pleasure Pain," "Lost Beliefs," and "Andenken," appeared successively in the Atlantic Monthly. For his "Life of Abraham Lincoln," written to order in 1860, he received $160, and with it made his first visit to Montreal and Boston. He was married in Paris, Dec. 26, 1862, to Elinor G., sister of Larkin G. Mead, the sculptor. He received the honorary degree of A.M. from Harvard in 1867, and from Yale in 1881. His books include: Poems of Two Friends (1860); Life and Speeches of Abraham Lincoln (1860); Venetian Life (1866); Italian Journeys (1867); No Love Lost (1869); Surburban Sketches (1871); Their Wedding Journey (1872); Poems (1873); A Chance Acquaintance (1873); A Foregone Conclusion (1875); Sketch of the Life and Character of Rutherrord B. Hayes (1876); The Parlor Car (1876); A Day's Pleasure (1876); Out of the Question (1877); A Counterfeit Presentment (1877); The Lady of Aroostook (1879); The Undiscovered Country (1880); A Fearful Responsibility (1881); Doctor Breen's Practice (1881); A Modern Instance (1882); A Woman's Reason (1883); The Sleeping Car (1883); The Register (1884); Niagara Revisited (1884); Rise of Silas Lapham (1884); Three Villages (1884); A Little Girl among the Old Masters (1884); Indian Summer (1885); The Elevator (1885); The Garroters (1886); Tuscan Cities (1886); Poems (1886); The Minister's Charge (1887); Modern Italian Poets, Essays and Versions (1887); A Sea Change, or Love's Stowaways (1888); April Hopes (1888); Annie Kilburn (1889); The Mouse Trap (1889); A Hazard of New Fortunes (1890); The Shadow of a Dream (1890); A Boy's Town (1890); The Albany Depot (1891); Criticism and Fiction (1891); A Little Swiss Sojourn (1892); An Imperative Duty (1892); A Letter of Introduction (1892); The Quality of Mercy (1892); My Year in a Log Cabin (1893); The Unexpected Guests (1893); The Coast of Bohemia (1893); Evening Dress (1894); Christmas Every Day (1893); The World of Chance (1893); A Traveller from Altruria (1894); My Literary Passions (1895); Stops of Various Quills (1895); A Parting and a Meeting (1896); The Day of Their Wedding (1896); Impressions and Experiences (1896); A Previous Engagement (1897); The Landlord at Lion's Head (1897); Ragged Lady (1899); many plays and farces and over twenty books which he either edited or to which he prominently contributed.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Martins Ferry, (Belmont County) Ohio

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