Cecilia Viets Jamison

Cecilia Viets Jamison, born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, in eighteen thirty-seven, was a prominent writer who made significant contributions to American literature. The daughter of Viets and Elizabeth Bruce Dakin, she moved to Boston with her family during her mid-teens, where her literary journey began to take shape. Her education spanned private schools in Canada, New York City, Boston, and even Paris, reflecting her diverse cultural influences.

After her first marriage, Jamison pursued her passion for art in Rome for three years. It was there that she encountered the esteemed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who became a mentor and supporter of her writing endeavors. His encouragement led to the publication of her book, Woven of Many Threads, in eighteen seventy-two. Upon returning to the United States, she became an active participant in the literary salon hosted by Mollie Evelyn Moore Davis, further establishing her presence in the literary community.

Jamison's early works, including Something to Do: A Novel and A Crown from the Spear, were primarily set in Europe and catered to an adult audience. However, in eighteen ninety-one, she shifted her focus to young readers with the publication of Lady Jane, a novel set in New Orleans that gained international recognition through translations into French, Italian, German, and Norwegian.

Throughout her life, Jamison was married twice; first to George Hamilton around eighteen sixty and later to Samuel Jamison, a lawyer from New Orleans, in eighteen seventy-eight. The couple initially resided near Thibodaux, Louisiana, before relocating to New Orleans in eighteen eighty-seven. Following her second husband's death in nineteen oh-two, she returned to Massachusetts, where she lived until her passing in Roxbury seven years later due to heart disease.