Rosa Vertner Jeffrey

Rosa Vertner Jeffrey (, Griffith; after first marriage, Johnson; after second marriage, Jeffrey; 1828 – 1894) was an American poet and novelist from Lexington, Kentucky. She was the first southern woman whose literary work attracted attention throughout the US. Her books of poetry include Poems, by Rosa (1857); Daisy Dare and Baby Power (1871); and The Crimson Hand and Other Poems (1881). Her novels include Woodburn (1864) and Marsh (1884). Private life and education Rosa Vertner Griffith was born in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1828. Her father, John Griffith (d. 1853), was a writer of prose and verse. Many of his Indian stories were published in the first-class Annuals, and several of them were complimented in England, including "The Fawn's Leap," and "Indian Bride". His brother, William T. Griffith, was an eminent lawyer in Mississippi. Rosa's grandfather, Rev. Dr. James Abercrombie of Philadelphia, was an Episcopal minister. Rosa's mother, who was a Miss Abercrombie, died when the child was nine months of age, leaving four young children; and it was then that Rosa's maternal aunt, Mrs. Elizabeth Vertner, adopted her. Her early childhood was passed at a country home near Port Gibson, Mississippi, called "Burlington", and owned by her adopted father. In 1838, her parents removed to Kentucky, settled in Lexington. She was educated at the seminary of Bishop Smith, at Lexington. In 1845, Rosa was married at the age of 17 to Claude M. Johnson (d. 1861), a wealthy citizen of Lexington. She at once became a leader in society, not only in Lexington, but in Washington and other cities. In 1858, she was appointed by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association as vice regent for Kentucky.