Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1872-05-23
Death of T. B. Read-A Brief
Sketch of His Life.

Th0maS Bucnanan lead, the Amerl-
can painter-poet, died at the Astor
House, in New York, about eleven
O'Clock last Saturday night. He was
carried off by an attack of pleuro-
pneumonia, in the tifty-first year Of his
age. Since his arrival from Italy, o
week since, he has been lying prostrate
by illness, the severity of the disease
being still further aggravated by the
lingering effects of the Roman fever,
from which he suffered in the Holy
City. He left Rome month since, and
while crossing the Atlantic was pros
trated, and has been steadily growing
worse to the final moment of his de-
cease. For several days his condition
was critical, and on Tuesday night 9th
inst.) a change for the better was OBJ
served by the physicians, but at an early
hour Wednesday evening a change for
the worse took place and the patient
continued to sink to dissolution.
+ Thomas Buchanan Read was born in
the county of Chester, Pennsylvania,
on the 18th of March, in the year 1922.
The death of his father caused sepa-
ration of the family, and at an early
age young Read went to the western
country. Here, at different times, he
travelled very extensively and obtained
that familiarity with nature which en-
abled him in after years to reproduce
her features in songs that have won the
admiration of lovers of true poetry on
both sides of the Atlantic. In 1889 we
find him an art student in the atelier of
Clevenger, the sculptor, at Cincinnati,
where his fondness and aptitude for art
were first developed. His earliest pro-
ductions in painting, for that was the
branch which his taste hed him to cul-
tivate, were full of the fairest promise,
and attracted the attention of many
cOnnoisseurs i'm art, and procured him
orders for portraits from many eminent
men; among others the late President
Harrison. Making his way to the At
lantic sea-board, with some specimens
of his professional skill, after a few
months sejourn in New York, in 1S4l,
he removed to Boston and opened a
studio in that city. His fine coloring
and drawing of the head soon attracted
attention to his pictures. and sitters
whose patronage was indeed worth
having engaged his time and employed
his pencil. ...
Among the artists whose favorable
opinion and valuable counsel he secured
was Washington Allston, then drawing
near the end of a too early closed. An
ideal head of "Genevieve," well re-
membered by our art-loving citizens,
was one of the productions of this Pc
riod, and here, in 1912, Read made his
first attempt at poetical composition.
They were short lyrics, and first pub
lished in the Boston Courier in 1913. He
continued his contributions in IA. Most
of these pieces were afterwards collect
ed in an edition of his poems, published
in this city in 1s47, and are still popular
favorites. Mr.. Read drew his earliest
inspirations from familiar themes and
incidents. Pastoral landscapes, little
wayside dramas, the song of street
singer, summer shower, objects that
the unthinking world pass by as trivi-
alities, afforded him inspirations, and
were transmitted into music that still
finds an echo in our hearts.
In 1916 Mr.. Reed removed to Phila-
delphia and attained some of his finest
triumphs as an artist and writer, in the
municipal centre of Pennsylvania. He
brought out his ''Lays and Ballads" in
Philadelphia in the year 1913, and pub
lished "The New PASTORAL in the same
city i'll 1856. The blouse by the Sea"
appeared in 1856. This was followed
by other poems and songs at intervals,
and by contributions of acknowledged
worth and ability to the magazines.
He passed year in Florence, lS5l-52; !;
again visited Italy in 1858 and subse-
quent years. During the past few years
he has resided in Philadelphia and Gin
cinnati. Among his best known liter
ary productions are "Sheridan's Ride"
"The Female Poets of America" "The
Pilgrims of the Great st. Bernard, !"
''The New PASTORAL" "The Stayed
Curse, "Hero and Leader" and 1.-The
Blessed Dead" .
If we have, as nation, reason to feel
a pride in the success of Hiram Powers
as sculptor, L. Buchanan Read has a
claim upon our sympathies hardly less
honorable. A Young man, even at the
moment of his disease, he rose to an
eminent position in our literature, and
American art, song, and national inspi-
ration owe to his fine fancy and facile
pencil some of their trust offerings and
most original works; for had he never
produced writing except his grand
war song entitled "Sheridan's Ride, "
it would have been enough to immor-
talize his name as patriot in the same
degree as it warmed the heart Of the
civilized world to a sentiment apprecia-
ton of true liberty and manhood.