Woman of the Century/Eliza A. Pittsinger

PITTSINGER, Mrs. Eliza A., poet, born in Westhampton, Mass., 18th March, 1837. Her father was of German descent, and a most humane man. Her mother was of Anglo-Saxon birth and blended unusual personal attractions with a nature bold and aspiring. At the age of sixteen Eliza was the teacher of a school in her native State, and she afterwards occupied a position as proof reader and reviewer in a large stereotype establishment in Boston. ELIZA A. PITTSINGER. She went to California, where she soon became known by her stirring war-songs and poems written during the Civil War. Her pen has kept pace with the march of thought that leaves its marks upon the present age She writes wholly from aspiration. Her heart is filled with philanthropy and abhorrence of oppression. Freedom and justice to all is her motto. She accepts the theory of reincarnation, embodiments in the material form, and the varied experiences thereby obtained, to prepare it for its immortal destiny. That idea is embodied in a number of her most remarkable poems. She was chosen the poet for the fortieth anniversary celebration of the raising of the first American Hag in California. She wrote a stirring poem for the four-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther, which was recited by herself and others on that occasion. Her poems are varied and numerous. With the exception of eight years spent in the northern Atlantic States, she has lived in San Francisco since the days of the war. Her home is with her only sister. Mrs. Ingram Holcomb, who is known among her friends as a woman of sterling qualities.