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Anna Balmer Myers

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Anna Balmer Myers
Born(1884-10-11)October 11, 1884
Manheim, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedApril 7, 1972(1972-04-07) (aged 87)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting placeFairview Cemetery, Manheim, Pennsylvania, U.S.
OccupationWriter, teacher
Alma materDrexel University
Period1920–1968 (as a writer)

Anna Balmer Myers was an American author of novels and poetry featuring the local color of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.[1] In addition to her writing career Myers spent more than 35 years teaching at a Philadelphia school for physically disabled students.[2]

Early life

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Myers was born October 11, 1884, in Manheim, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the daughter of John B. and Lizzie Balmer Myers. After graduating from Manheim public schools she attended Drexel University.[3] She taught at the Widener School for Crippled Children (now Widener Memorial School) in Philadelphia.[2]

Writing life

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Myers wrote about the Plain people of Lancaster County. Her first three novels were Patchwork: a Story of the Plain People (1920), Amanda: a Daughter of the Mennonites (1921), and The Madonna of the Curb (1922).[4] Her published poetry collections were Rain on the Roof (1931) and Late Harvest. In 1968, when Myers was 82 years old, her novel I Lift My Lamp was published. This final novel incorporated Balmer family history into the story of Henry William Stiegel and the founding of his glassworks in Manheim.[3]

Personal life

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Myers was an expert on glassmaker Henry William Stiegel, and she gave lectures on Stiegel and his time period. In 1934, she was a member of the General Committee that helped erect a memorial to Stiegel in Manheim, Pennsylvania.[5]

She was a member of both the National Society Daughters of the American Colonists, and the Daughters of the American Revolution.[3]

Myers died in Philadelphia on April 7, 1972. She is buried at Fairview Cemetery, Manheim, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.[2] Myers was the last member of her immediate family.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Martin, Harry & Klein, John, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a History, page 963, The University of Virginia, 1924
  2. ^ a b c Anna Myers, Teacher, Author, The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 10, 1972, page 18
  3. ^ a b c d Anna Myers, Author and Poet Dies, Sunday News (Lancaster, PA), April 9, 1972, page 2
  4. ^ Smith, Geoffrey D., American Fiction, 1901 - 1925: A Bibliography , page 487, Cambridge University Press, 1997
  5. ^ "Dedication of the Memorial to Henry William Stiegel" (PDF).
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