# Elizabeth Farnsworth Mears

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'''Mary Elizabeth Farnsworth Mears''' (27 August 1827 - 15 November 1907) was an American poet and playwright, often credited as one of the first Wisconsin poets.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Mears, Elizabeth {{!}} Oshkosh Public Museum |url=https://oshkosh.pastperfectonline.com/byperson?keyword=Mears,+Elizabeth |access-date=2026-01-05 |website=oshkosh.pastperfectonline.com}}</ref> Mears died in [Lake Mills, Wisconsin](/source/Lake_Mills%2C_Wisconsin) on November 15, 1907. Her daughters were sculptor [Helen Farnsworth Mears](/source/Helen_Farnsworth_Mears), the writer [Mary Mears](/source/Mary_Mears), and the illustrator Louise Mears Fargo.

Mears served as a subject for many of her daughter Helen's [bas-relief](/source/Relief) sculptures. Her recollections of [pioneer life](/source/American_pioneer) in Illinois and Wisconsin were recorded by [Publius V Lawson](/source/Publius_Virgilius_Lawson) for [The State Historical Society of Wisconsin](/source/Wisconsin_Historical_Society).<ref name=":1" />

== Early life ==
Mears was born in [Groton, Massachusetts](/source/Groton%2C_Massachusetts), the daughter of Mathias and Martha Farnsworth. The family moved to [Fox River, Illinois](/source/Fox_River_(Illinois_River_tributary)), [St. Charles, Illinois](/source/St._Charles%2C_Illinois), and [Fond du Lac, Wisconsin](/source/Fond_du_Lac%2C_Wisconsin) before settling in [Oshkosh](/source/Oshkosh%2C_Wisconsin).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

== Career ==
Mears began writing in 1860 under the names "Nellie Wildwood" and "Ianthe."<ref name=":0" /> Her play ''Black Hawk'' was performed for three weeks at the National Theater in [Madison](/source/Madison%2C_Wisconsin), debuting to a full house as it presented a favorable treatment of [Sauk](/source/Sauk_people) leader [Black Hawk](/source/Black_Hawk_(Sauk_leader))’s story.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fargo, Louise M. Mears {{!}} Oshkosh Public Museum |url=https://oshkosh.pastperfectonline.com/byperson?keyword=Fargo,%20Louise%20M.%20Mears |access-date=2026-01-05 |website=oshkosh.pastperfectonline.com}}</ref>

Her sixty page [long poem](/source/long_poem), ''Voyage of Pere Marquette, and Romance of Charles De Langlade, or, The Indian queen: An historical poem of the 17th and 18th centuries'' was published in 1860 by Harrison & Steven's Art Union in Fond du Lac. The work was long supposed to be the first volume of verse printed in Wisconsin and written by a resident of that state, though the record has since been challenged.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Various |title=The Wisconsin Magazine of History, Volume 1, 1917-1918 |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/57176/pg57176-images.html |access-date=2026-01-05 |website=Project Gutenberg |language=en}}</ref>

== Selected works ==

=== Poems ===
* ''"To the Storm Spirits"''
* ''Voyage of Pere Marquette, and Romance of Charles De Langlade, or, The Indian queen: An historical poem of the 17th and 18th centuries'' (as Nellie Wildwood) (1860)<ref>{{Cite web |title=WER Image: Mary Elizabeth Mears |url=https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/WIReader/Images/WER1158.html |access-date=2026-01-05 |website=digicoll.library.wisc.edu}}</ref> 

=== Plays ===
* ''Black Hawk, or Lily of the Prairie'' (as Nellie Wildwood)

=== Essays ===
* ''Recollections'' (1903) (with [Publius Virgilius Lawson](/source/Publius_Virgilius_Lawson))<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Lawson |first=Publius V. |date=1998-01-01 |title=Recollections of Mary Elizabeth Mears |url=https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/WIReader/WER1159.html |access-date=2026-01-05 |website=Ref PS 2377 M8 Z469 1916}}</ref>

== References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mears, Elizabeth Farnsworth}}
Category:1827 births
Category:1907 deaths
Category:American women dramatists and playwrights
Category:American women poets
Category:Writers from Wisconsin

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Elizabeth Farnsworth Mears](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Farnsworth_Mears) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Farnsworth_Mears?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.