-- By Ella Wheeler Wilcox --
Ella Wheeler was born on November 5, 1850 in Johnstown, Wisconsin. From a young age, Ella amused herself with literature, the likes of Shakespeare, and by the age of 8 began writing poetry, and was published by the age of 13. She was inspired to submit her first poem after her family lost their subscription to The New York Mercury. She submitted a poem for the sole purpose of receiving a copy of the paper in the event that her submission was published.
In 1884, Ella Wheeler married Robert Wilcox. The two were married for over 30 years and over that time built many houses and had mutual interests in Theosophy and Spiritualism. Robert Wilcox passed in 1916. Ella Wilcox wrote The Year in 1917, just two years before her death in 1919.
