Adelaide Day Rollston (née, Kidd; February 23, 1854 – January 7, 1941) was an American poet and author.
Adelaide Day Rollston | |
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![]() "A Woman of the Century" | |
Born | Adelaide Day Kidd February 23, 1854 near Paducah, Kentucky, U.S. |
Died | January 7, 1941 Paducah, Kentucky |
Resting place | Oak Grove Cemetery, Paducah, Kentucky |
Occupation |
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Language | English |
Genre |
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Spouse | Joseph L. Rollston
(m. 1874; died 1931) |
Children | 4 |
Adelaide Day Kidd was born near Paducah, Kentucky, February 23, 1854.[1] Her earliest years were spent in the countryside.[2] Her parents were, William Henry Kidd (1819-1864), a physician of good standing, and Elvira (Roberts) Kidd (1823-1895). Her siblings were, Sarah, Mary Marcellus, Cincinnatus, Eliza, Fannie, Edmonia, William, and John.[3]
At the age of twelve, her talent for writing verse began to manifest itself in brief poems published in the local press. Later, several appeared in the Saturday Star-Journal, of New York City. She was educated in St Mary's Academy, in Paducah, to which city her parents had removed when she was twelve years old.[4][2]
After completing her education, Rollston continued her contributions to the neighboring press, and frequently verses over her name appeared in The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky. They attracted little or no attention, until she found a friend and helper in the veteran of the Kentucky press, Col. H. M. McCarty, who blamed when necessary and gave praise when praise was due. Still, her writing career was a struggle. In 1877, she began to contribute to the Current, and since then, she received wide recognition as a contributor to Once a Week, Youth's Companion, Godey's Lady's Book, and other eastern periodicals. She also wrote several novelettes.[4][2] Her poems included, "His Second Wife", "One Woman's Story", "A Fragment", "If I Had Known", and "The Wanderers".[5]
On December 1874, in Massac County, Illinois, she married Joseph L. Rollston (1850–1931). They had four children, Guy, Vera, Ina, and Edward.[3]
Adelaide Day Rollston died at her home in Paducah, Kentucky January 7, 1941.[3] Burial was in the city's Oak Grove Cemetery.[6]