CITY OF BEECH GROVE, IN
The Official Website of the City of Beech Grove, Indiana
  • Home
    • Map and Directions
    • Beech Grove Census Data
    • A Brief History of Beech Grove >
      • Beech Grove Street Names
      • Beech Grove Mayors
    • Terms and Use Policy
    • Add Listing to Community Events
  • Mayor's Office
    • 2020-2023From the Desk of the Mayor...
    • Mayor's Call Center
    • Franciscan Trail Project >
      • Franciscan Trail Project Maps
    • Clean Community Challenge
    • 2020-2023 Roadway Improvements, Stormwater and Sewer Projects
  • Clerk-Treasurer's Office
    • Sewage Works Payment Information/ Make a Payment
    • 2022 Year End and Annual Reports
    • 2023 City Meeting Minutes >
      • 2022 City Meeting Minutes
    • 2023 Financial Reports >
      • 2022 Financial Reports >
        • 2021 Financial Reports
        • 2020 Financial Reports
    • 2023 Civil City Budget >
      • 2022 Civil City Budget
    • Archived Documents 2008-2019
  • Government
    • 2020-2023 Document Center >
      • 2020-2023 Departmental Monthly Reports
      • 2020-2023 Meeting Information
    • ADA Coordinator >
      • Notice Under the Americans with Disabilities Act
      • ADA Grievance Procedure
      • ADA Transition Plan: Pedestrian Network
      • Beech Grove ADA Resolutions
    • Beech Grove Code of Ordinances
    • Beech Grove Common Council
    • Beech Grove City Court
    • Boards and Commissions >
      • Board of Sanitation/Board of Public Works and Safety
      • Board of Parks and Recreation >
        • 2016-2020 Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan
      • Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA)
      • Greenscape Commission >
        • Arbor Day
        • Tree Selection, Maintenance and Landscaping Resources
        • Street Tree Planting Permit
        • Community Resources - Greenscape
        • Tree City USA
        • Awards - Greenscape
        • Photo Gallery - Greenscape
        • 2009 Tree Inventory
      • Redevelopment Commission >
        • Redevelopment Information and Resources
    • Beech Grove TV >
      • 2023 City Meeting Videos
    • Building Commissioner / Licenses and Permits
    • Compliance Department
    • Parks Department >
      • Sarah T. Bolton Park >
        • Sarah T Bolton
      • Paw Patch Dog Park >
        • Paw Patch Brochure
        • Friends of Paw Patch
      • Hornet Park >
        • Community Center
        • Fitness Center
      • Don Challis Park
      • Hartman Park
      • Centennial Park
      • Parks Programs
      • Shelter Rental
      • Photo Gallery - Parks
      • GreenerBeechGrove Trees
    • Public Works Department >
      • Sanitary Sewer Information
      • Stormwater Management
      • Stormwater Utility FAQs
      • Trash Collection Guidelines
      • Marion County ToxDrop Program
    • Marion County Alcoholic Beverage Board / Beech Grove Representative
  • Public Safety
    • Indianapolis Fire Department
    • Beech Grove Police Department >
      • Abuse: Report Child,Domestic and Elder abuse
      • Amber Alert Indiana
      • Indiana Department of Homeland Security
      • VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday)
    • New Police Station Updates
  • Community
    • Community Events
    • Beech Grove Branch Library
    • Hornet Park Community Center
    • Elton H. Geshwiler Senior Center >
      • Seniors/Division on Aging/Family&Social Services
    • Community Resources
    • Youth Sports, Scouting, Clubs and Programs
    • Clubs and Civic Organizations
    • Holy Name Catholic School
    • Local Churches
    • Alzheimer Support
  • Beech Grove City Schools
    • Beech Grove High School
    • Beech Grove Middle School
    • South Grove Intermediate
    • Beech Grove Central Elementary
    • Hornet Park Elementary
    • Beech Grove Education Foundation

Sarah T. Bolton


Biography

Picture

Sarah Tittle Barrett Bolton (Dec. 18, 1814 - Aug. 4, 1893), poet, born in Newport, Ky., was the daughter of Jonathan Belcher and Esther (Pendleton) Barrett, pioneer settlers of Indiana. Her grandfather, Lemuel Barrett, was an Englishman who emigrated to New Jersey some time before 1754, and her mother's father, a cousin of James Madison. Her early days were spent in the wilderness, about six miles from Vernon, Ind., where her father had staked a farm.

Of this period her poems entitled "Our Pioneers" and "A Pioneer Grandmother" are reminiscent. When she was nine, her father sold his farm and moved to Madison. Here she got some knowledge in the schools, and as much outside. Before she was fourteen, verses from her pen had been published in the Madison Banner, and she soon became a regular contributor to the newspapers of her home town and Cincinnati. In her seventeenth year, October 1831, she married Nathaniel Bolton, a young newspaper man, and went to live in Indianapolis.

Thereafter her life was shaped by her husband's fortunes until his death in 1858. He was first editor of the Indiana Democrat; then proprietor of a farm outside the city, his house there a tavern which became a stopping place for distinguished men and something of a social center, Mrs. Bolton acting as housekeeper and cook, besides running a large dairy. Later he was state librarian, then clerk of a United States Senate committee, and finally consul at Geneva, which appointment gave Mrs. Bolton opportunity for extensive travel. Two children were born to her. About five years after his death, she married, Sept. 15, 1863, at Keokuk, Iowa, Judge Addison Reese, and for the next two years lived with him at his home in Canton, Mo. The climate there was not favorable to her health, and she returned to Indianapolis, where she made her home until her death, though she spent two or three years abroad. She was always known as Sarah T. Bolton, and used the name "Reese" only for business purposes.

Her writings and participation in public affairs made her a prominent figure in Indiana. She was interested in various reforms, and was an active aid to Robert Dale Owen [q.v.] in his effort to secure property rights for women in the constitutional convention of 1850. She was a true child of the rising West, an ardent democrat and champion of freedom, full of fiery patriotism and faith in the country's future.

These characteristics are reflected in many of her poems. As a whole these are of no great literary merit, but have the melody, sentimentality, and moral and religious flavor relished by the fireside magazine readers of their day. Paddle Your Own Canoe and a few others had wide popularity. Poems appeared in 1865, and a collection of her writings with a sketch of her career was published in 1880 under the title, The Life and Poems of Sarah T. Bolton. A volume of selections,Songs of a life time, edited by John Clark Ridpath, was published in 1892. It contains an introduction by Lew Wallace and a poem by James Whitcomb Riley.

Information taken from Dictionary of American Biography by McMillan who used the following:

[Ladies' Repository, Feb. 1852, pp. 69-73; Wm. W. Woollen, Biog. and Hist. Sketches of Early Indiana (1883); J.P. Dunn, Greater Indianapolis (1910); obituary in Indianapolis Sentinel, Aug. 5, 1893; and information furnished by Mrs. Adah Bolton Mann] H.E.S.



Picture
Erected by the Society of Indiana Pioneers, 1960

Paddle Your Own Canoe


Voyager upon life's sea, 
To yourself be true, 
And whatever your lot may be, 
Paddle your own canoe.
Never, though the winds may rave,
Falter or look back; 
But upon the darkest wave 
Leave a shining track. 
Paddle your own canoe.

Nobly dare the wildest storm, 
Stem the hardest gale,
Brave of heart and strong of arm 
You will never fail.
When the world is cold and dark,
Keep your aim in view; 
And toward the beacon work,
Paddle your own canoe. ... 

..Would you crush the giant wrong, 
In the world's free fight? 
With a spirit brave and strong, 
Battle for the right.
And to break the chains that bind
The many to the few
To enfranchise slavish mind,-
Paddle your own canoe.
Nothing great is lightly won, 
Nothing won is lost, 
Every good deed, nobly done, 
Will repay the cost.
Leave to Heaven, in humble trust, 
All you will to do:
But if succeed, you must
Paddle your own canoe. 


Sarah T. Bolton
Source: Beech Grove Public Library History Room

Terms and Use Policy