The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-09-02
TWO AMERICAN POETS.
JOHN JAMES PlATT AND MRS. S. M.
B. PlATT AND THEIR WORK.
Brief Sketch of Their Life-The Sue
cessfUI Experiment of the Marriage of
Two Poets-Their Home in Queenstown,

Especial Correspondence


NEW YORK, Aug. 23-John James Piatt is
western product, as is his cousin, Dom
Piatt, the well known journalist. The family
originally came from France, and came in a
hurry. They were Huguenots, and therefore
not popular with the governing element of
France in the early part of the last century.
They emigrated to the island of st. Thomas,
in the West Indies. From thence John Piatt,
the founder of the Piatt family in America,
came to this country and located in New Jer
sey, twenty-five OF thirty years previous to
the revolutionary war.
At the beginning of that war several of his
sons, including the greatgrandfather of Mr..
John James Piatt, entered the Continental
army and served until It's close, each attain
ing the rank of captain. William Piatt,
greatgrandfather of the subject of this
sketch, subsequently became, with his elder
brother, an original member of the Society of
the Cincinnati Several years after the close
of the revolutionary war he raised a company
of men near Scotch Plains, N. j., his home,
for service against the Indians in the North
west territory, and, joining the army of Gen.
st. Clair at Fort Washington NOW Cincin-
NATL, was killed at ST. Clair's defeat in No
vember, 1891.
/ Mr.. Piatt's greatgrandfather was, there
fore, first of the name to become associated
with the affairs of Cincinnati, where several
of the family, sons and grandsons of his
younger brother, Capt. Jacob Piatt includ-
ing Col Dom Piatt, Gen. Abram S. Piatt
and Maj. Benjamin NJ. Piatt, have taken
prominent parts in its political and military
history during the past half century. The
Piatts had the French love of arms in them.
Capt. james Piatt, grandfather of John
James, also raised company of men IN New
Jersey at the outbreak of the second war of
Independence, in 1872, and served until its
close.
Mr. John Piatt, the poets father, settled in
Dearborn county, Indiana, few miles north
of Rising Sun, and there the poet was born in
1885. When he was years old his parents
went to Columbus, O., where they resided
until 1886, when they removed to central
Illinois.
Huguenot blood grated on New Jersey
stock makes a Puritan money-getUer. In
John James Piatt the French blood proves
too much for the Jersey traits, and he makes
good poetry instead of bad money, He at
tended various schools, the most beneficial, it
might be said, being the printing office of his
uncle, Charles Scott, for many years the pub
Usher of the leading Wing newspaper there,
The Ohio State Journal Later he entered
Kenyon college, but did not graduate. Leav-
ing the college with "little Latin and less
Greek" in 1853, he began to write verses
He rapidly rose to be an editor and handled
the magic 1--WE" with the deXterity of an old
master. In his uncle's printing Office, where
both were employed, he made the acquaint-
ance and won the lifelong friendship of
W. D. Howells, who writes such pleasing
though bloolless and eventess novels. The
two published, in 1860, volume of poems en-
titled "Polms of Two Friends" 1t quite sur
prised the critics by its refined simplicity.
Longfelow said it was the first poetical prod
uct Of the west that escaped scarlet fever.