Quick Facts
Biography
Lillian T. Rozell Messenger (pen name, Zena Clifton; 1844-1921) was an American poet from Kentucky. Tardy wrote in 1872 "Considering that Messenger never had ... the advantages to be derived from literary groups, but worked in isolation without help, it understandable that her verse did not exhibit a hopeful strain."
Among her first acknowledged poems were those later brought out in a volume entitled, "Threads of fate," 1872. Other volumes included "Fragments from an old inn," 1885; "The Vision of gold," 1886; "The Southern Cross," 1891; "Columbus," read by Governor Hoyt of Wyoming at the patriotic celebration in the woman's building at the Chicago world's fair, 1893. "In the heart of America," was read at the Atlanta exposition. Messenger contributed many poems to the "Louisville Journal," Memphis papers, and "New York Home Journal." Her most ambitious poems were lengthy, narrative ones. The theme of one was "Charlotte Corday ;" and "Penelope, the Wife of Ulysses," was another.
Early years and education
Lillian Rozell was born in Kentucky (Milburn, Kentucky; or Millersburg, Kentucky or Ballard County, Kentucky are recorded) in 1843, 1844, or 1853. Her parents, Dr. Francis Overton and Caroline (Cole) Rozell, were Virginians. The father, Dr. F. O. Rozelle, was a physician who was fond of poetry and music. Her paternal grandfather came from Nice, France, during the Napoleonic War and settled in Virginia. Her maternal ancestors were of English descent. All of her family were of a melancholy, sensitive, musical temperament; and she was not sanguine, and was often and suddenly the victim of depressing melancholy. There was at least one sibling, a sister, Virginia.
She moved in early life to Arkansas When she was a young child, she delighted in oratory, in climbing some hill and imitating speakers she had heard, in either prose or verse; and when not roaming, she loved to fly a kite and to shoot a bow and arrow. From these early years she was a poet; and the study of astronomy and natural philosophy dispelled so many fond illusions concerning the mystery of the clouds, that she almost regretted knowledge. Her early education was varied, and her country life made her familiar with nature. From reading poetry, she early began to make it. Her father died while she was in college, her education occurred at Forest Hill Seminary, near Memphis, Tennessee. It was here, after her father's death, that her poetry first attracted public attention. Not returning to school after the father's death, she started writing her first verses, the subject being "Night." She was 16 years old when her first poem was published.
Career
While still a school girl, she began her literary career, being encouraged and introduced by M. C. Galloway, Solon Borland, and Geo. D. Prentice. Colonel M. C. Gallaway was Messenger's "Fidus Achates." Her maiden poetry appeared in the "Memphis Avalanche," under the nom de plume of "Zena Clifton," but gaining confidence, she began writing under her own signature.
In 1861, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, she married North Allen Messenger, a native of Tuscumbia, Alabama, an editor. Their wedded life was brief, only lasting four years, when the husband died. During the American Civil War, when the Federal troops plundered Tuscumbia, they took a journal of manuscripts, principally lyrics, belonging to Messenger. General Dodge tried to recover it, but did not succeed.
For four years she resided at Tuscumbia, devoting her life to rearing her son, North Overton, and to an active literary career. She removed to Arkansas, 1868, and was the first woman elected to membership in the State press association. Later she removed to Washington, D. C., where for more than 30 years she was engaged in general literary work. She was one of the charter members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and belonged to other patriotic and literary organizations.
There were several principal works, including "Disappointment," "Importuning," "Halloween," and "The Southern Cross".
"Fragments from an Old Inn" (New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons) was a collection of prose and poetry, supposed to embody the heart's history of a beautiful, sad woman whom the author met at an old inn. The prose consisted of short paragraphs, generally embracing a single thought; the poems were brief, with such titles as "Old loves. An old story newly told," " A picture," "Autumn," "Disappointment," and so forth. The heroine of the Hudson (and other poems) (Richmond, Virginia, The Hermitage Press, 1906) was dedicated to the National society, Daughters of the American revolution. Of "The Vision of Gold," it was said that there was difficulty in detecting the meaning of her rhapsodies, as they were tangled meshes of rhetorical extravagances. "Columbus; or, It Was Morning" was first read on July 4, 1893, before the Woman's Building Congresses of the Columbian Exposition. Messenger was also a successful dramatic reader. She counted music and painting as favored recreations.
Selected works
- 1862, In Darkness
- 1873, Threads of Fate
- 1885, Fragments from an Old Inn
- 1886, The Vision of Gold and Other Poems
- 1891, The Southern cross and other poems
- 1896, In the heart of America
- 1906, The Heroine of the Hudson: (and Other Poems)
- 1914, Martha Sawyer Gielow ... A brief resumé of her achievements as author, dramatic reader, and founder of the Southern Industrial Educational Association,