Mary Holden Coggeshall Seward
| Mary Coggeshall Seward | |
|---|---|
circa 1898
|
|
| Born |
Mary Holden Coggeshall July 9, 1839 New London, Connecticut |
| Died | circa September 1, 1919 (aged 80) Buffalo bound train, New York |
| Residence | East Orange, New Jersey from 1868 |
| Other names | Agnes Burney |
| Education | New London Female Academy |
| Occupation |
Parliamentarian Poet Composer Philanthropist |
| Known for | Leadership of charities and woman's clubs, major reforms in care for blind babies, carol The Christmas Bells |
| Spouse(s) | Theodore F. Seward (m. 1860) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | William Holden Coggeshall Sarah Latham (Ashbey) Coggeshall |
Mary Holden Coggeshall Seward (July 9, 1839 – circa September 1, 1919), commonly known as Mary C. Seward, was an American poet, composer, and prominent parliamentarian serving humanitarian and woman's club movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A number of her works were published under the pseudonym "Agnes Burney" , including several developed in collaboration with her spouse, Theodore F. Seward, an internationally known composer and music educator in his day. She became a groundbreaking advocate for the care and education of blind babies and young children during her later years, serving as president of the department for the blind of the International Sunshine Society.
Seward was born Mary Holden Coggeshall in New London, Connecticut. Her father, William Holden Coggeshall, was a veteran of the War of 1812 and a descendent of John Coggeshall, first president of the colony of Rhode Island. She was educated at the New London Female Academy where she studied under Hiram Warner Farnsworth. In 1860 she married Theodore F. Seward, a composer and music teacher who had previously worked as organist of a New London church. They lived in Rochester and Brooklyn in New York before relocating to East Orange, New Jersey in 1868.
Though not prolific, her poems and tunes appeared in numerous periodicals and music books. They were published under her name, her pseudonym Agnes Burney, or anonymously on occasion. Her carol The Christmas Bells (circa 1869) has been set to music by at least five different composers. She produced tunes for her own lyrics as well as those of other poets; one of the most widely published was her setting of Mary A. Lathbury's Easter Carol (circa 1883).
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