poetspulpit |
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Joined: 13 Feb 2005 |
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Muse and Inspiration behind George Washington Johnson’s poem “When you and I were young, Maggie”, Margaret Clark Johnson was born July 14, 1841, in Glanford, Ontario. She died May 12, 1865, in Cleveland, Ohio, and is buried on a hill in the centre of White Church Cemetery in Hamilton, Ontario. George Washington Johnson penned “When you and I were young, Maggie” early in 1864 not long after he and Margaret became engaged. At the time she was suffering from tuberculosis and after a serious bout of the disease at her home on Nebo Road in Hamilton, George walked 17 kilometres to the mountain brow. By the time he returned to Maggie’s bedside he was well on his way to writing his most famous poem. The couple were married in the fall of 1864. Unfortunately, their time together was brief — Maggie died seven months later.
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