Hezekiah Butterworth was an American journalist and author. A widely traveled poet and hymnist, Butterworth was for 25 years connected with the Youth's Companion as a regular contributor and member of its editorial staff.
Background
Hezekiah Butterworth was born on December 22, 1839, at Warren, Rhod Island, of a substantial New England family whose ancestor had emigrated from England to Massachusetts before the middle of the seventeenth century. His father, Gardiner M. Butterworth, was a "good-natured, Bible-reading farmer", while from his mother, Susan (Ritchie) Butterworth, he inherited a poetic temperament.
In fact, the first Baptist church was founded at the home of his ancestor Deacon Joseph Butterworth in Massachusetts while the first Methodist Church was founded by his ancestor Daniel Gladding in Rhode Island.
Education
Hezekiah intended to go to Brown University after graduation from the high school at Warren, but never got beyond studying under the direction of one of the Brown professors.
There are few hard facts extant about his life until he left Rhode Island for Boston in 1870 and joined the Youth's Companion magazine. It is known that he taught in 1864-1865 at the Winter School of the East District in Warren (now Academy of Warren). During these years he also was employed by the local newspaper in Warren.
Late in the 1860s, he began to submit short stories to various religious magazines. The story of him selling his first work and getting $2 from the Watchman has been repeated over and over again in his biographies. For some of his material, he used stories that his Aunt Liza told him. Journals such as the Congregationalist, Appleton's Journal, the Reflector, and the New York Independent published his stories. In 1869 his story- Bunhill Fields appeared in the Freewill Baptist Quarterly.
Hezekiah moved to Boston in 1870 writing for several periodicals to support himself. He soon came to the attention of Daniel Sharp Ford editor of the Youth's Companion. Ford hired Butterworth as an assistant editor. Hezekiah remained with the Youth's Companion from 1870-1894. His charge was to widen the circulation of the Youth's Companion and to widen its appeal to all juveniles. He accomplished this with an increase in readership from 140,000 to 400,000 by 1887.
Hezekiah's first book the Story of the Hymns was published in 1874. This book was followed by numerous other religious, biographical, and travel/adventure books. Once ensconced at the Youth's Companion his writing flourished. His books articles, poetry, and song lyrics appeared in numerous formats. He was a frequent speaker and was a member of numerous organizations.
Much of Butterworth's work was characterized by an exaggerated sentimentality. The "touch of medieval asceticism" which his friends noted in him became very marked in his later years. He never lost his keen interest in the traditions of the locality in which he was brought up.
Also, most of his writings and his lectures took on a moral or religious tone, and he became especially known for his interest in church music. Butterworth injected heavy morality, particularly condemning how early white settlers treated Indians.
Quotations:
"Resolved, it is my purpose to give my whole heart and thought to my work with the pen and to write only that which will tend to make my readers better in heart and life and richer in spiritual knowledge."
Membership
Hezekiah Butterworth was a member of numerous organizations. He was the president of the anticigarette league and a vice-president of the American Peace Society and actually read the opening poem at the Peace Congress in Chicago. Hezekiah Butterworth was a member of the American Tract Society and The Captain Rice Club.
Personality
As a child, Butterworth was prevented by poor health from any extended schooling. Prolific in output, he lacked the ability to criticize himself. Hezekiah was different from the five other children of the family, a nervous, timid, superstitious boy, with a love for ghost stories.
Butterworth enjoyed traveling, so in the 1890's he went on a number of trips to research his books. In 1895 he spent time in Europe and Egypt, and then his publisher sent him to South America in 1898.
Butterworth, who earned a sizeable fortune, took time from writing to pursue other favorite causes, including peace and anti-smoking activism. He gave time and money freely to these causes and to relatives who asked him for help. In his later years, money was tight. He suffered from diabetes and died at his brother’s home.
Connections
Hezekiah Butterworth never married, and there is very little reference to love and marriage in his books.
Father:
Gardiner Butterworth
Mother:
Susan Ritchie Butterworth
References
Contemporary Authors New Revision Series
In response to the escalating need for up-to-date information on writers, Contemporary Authors New Revision Series (Volume 217) brings researchers the most recent data on the world's most popular authors.
DLB 42: American Writers for Children Before 1900
DLB Volume 42 deal with authors whose books were intended to bridge the gap. The writers in this volume are 18th and 19th century American childrens authors who set trends or modified and refined the art of writing for children.
1985
The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature
The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature provides an indispensable and fascinating reference guide to the world of children's literature.