Mary Weston Fordham

Mary Weston Fordham (?1862-1905) was an African-American poet and schoolteacher.

Lifw
Fordham was born in Charleston, South Carolina likely around the year 1862. Her parents were Louise Bonneau and Rev. Samuel Weston. Her parents and extended family were skilled laborers and land owners.

She became a poet and an educator. She ran a school for African-American children during the Civil War. After the war, she worked as a teacher for the American Missionary Association. Her poetry indicates that she was the mother of six children, all of whom died.

Writing
Her collection Magnolia Leaves collected 66 poems that offers a presentation of African-American families following the American Civil War. The introduction to the book is written by Booker T. Washington, in which he reflects on his concerns for African-American families. In tone and subject, Fordham's poetry matches that of white female poets of the period: sentimentality, moral virtues, and explorations of death, motherhood, patriotism, and Christianity.

Publications

 * Fordham, Mary Weston (1897). Magnolia Leaves, Charleston: Walker, Evans & Cogswell Co.