Rev. Athalia L. J. Irwin - A Bouquet of Verses

For those of you who read the UU history magazine, Rev Irwin was featured in an article in the last few years - certainly saved me a lot of research! As noted earlier in the blog, I went to her grave in Columbia, SC - and will at some point post pictures. On her tombstone is words to one of her poems, and this little book contains more. It was privately printed in 1905, dedicated to her friend of spiritual benefactor, the Rev. Quillen H. Shinn, D. D. As typical of poems of that era, they're sentimental - the Victorian era was known for that. I include below not the best poem, but a typical (and atypical shorter) one. She includes a poem written July 1898, when she left the Baptist Church - and one she wrote on the day she was ordained as an Universalist minister, November 30, 1902. Father Clayton didn't keep his Columbia SC Universalist Church open very long - but certainly Rev Irwin was one of the major highlites!