Hocking County Ohio Notable Natives and Residents

Tessa Sweazy Webb Born Jan 31, 1886, on a farm near Logan, Ohio, Tessa Sweazy Webb was the daughter of John Milton Sweazy and Elizabeth Lanning Sweazy.  Tessa grew up in Hocking county, Ohio and  married Ruben H. Webb April 23, 1907 at the age of 20.  Tessa was a teacher at the Hocking County Children's Home where she began writing poetry and by 1924 she had become well known across the state and nation for her published works. Tessa Sweazy Webb has long been associated with American poetry:  for thirteen years she conducted a reprint column, "Voices and Echoes," in the Columbus Ohio Sunday Dispatch while simultaneously, (for eleven years), writing a prose column, "With the Poets," for the same paper.  She was editor of THE SINGING QUILL, a quarterly magazine for verse; was the author of numerous magazine poems, and of two collections of verse;  and collaborated with the Ohio Department of Education in compiling two anthologies of verse for public school use. Tessa Sweazy Webb spent thirteen months lobbying the Ohio General Assembly to create Ohio Poetry Day.  She argued, "For each living reader a living poet, for each living poet a living reader."  Under Webb's successful leadership and effort, the Ohio legislature passed a resolution in 1938 calling for an annual state observance of Ohio Poetry Day. Webb's work in Ohio was responsible for all fifty states observing Poetry Day. She was a member Poetry Society of America and received the Ohioana Award in 1942 for Window by the Sea, chosen as the best book of verse by an Ohio poet. The annual Ohioana Citations are presented for outstanding contributions and accomplishments in a specific field or area of the arts and humanities. In 1961, the Ohioana Library issued a citation citing her devotion to making Ohioans aware of Ohio Poetry Day. In 1978 Tessa Sweazy Webb was inducted into the Logan-Hocking Academic Hall of Fame as District Teacher.  The Ohio Historical Society keeps the Manuscript Collections of Tessa Sweazy Webb Ohio Poetry Day Collection, 1926-1976.  An oil painting of Tessa Sweazy Webb is displayed in the Hocking county Historical Society Museum in Logan, Ohio.  Webb died in 1979 in Logan at the age of 93. Author's note:  I had the priviledge of having Tessa Sweazy Webb stay in our home several times, as she was my children's paternal great-great aunt.  Aunt Tess was a soft-spoken, wonderfully funny lady. We treasure our memories of her and we are proud of her accomplishments. article written by Sandra Cummins, sources Wikipedia . Book Review - 1942 Window by the Sea. By Tessa Sweazy Webb. (Columbus, O., C. C. Carlton Hartley, c 1942. 79p. $1.50.) Mrs. Webb, who is on the staff of the Agricultural Extension Service of Ohio State University, is well known in literary circles of her native Ohio, for she is active in several literary and poetry societies, edits the Singing Quill, a magazine of poetry published by the Presbyterian poetry society of the same name, and long has been editor of poetry columns in the Columbus Sunday Dispatch, "Voices and Echoes" and "With the Poets." Her poetry appears frequently in newspapers and periodicals of the State and nation. In addition to the present volume she has published  Life's Tilted Cup andSittings in Sentiment. Window by the Sea is in attractive format, is introduced by Harlan Hatcher of the English Department of Ohio State University, and carries an imposing list of "Acknowledgments." The poems are grouped under three headings: "Storm and Calm," "Love and Chimera" and "Death and Requital," each bearing an appropriate poetical text. The most outstanding characteristic of this gracious lady's poetry is, that, while the conventions of a true craftsman have been observed, it flows without effort, revealing depths of feeling and loftiness of soul. In reviewing a book of poems the temptation to quote is strong. This reviewer usually cannot resist, and so closes with the following: "April, what is this strange but certain thing That blows bright flames across the open wold, And lifts the dull brown breast of ancient sod To ghosts of charm, fragrant with blossoming? Your age-old secret has not yet been told, But in each flower I see the face of God." --From "April," p.37. "What if the rose become frost-kissed and slain? April brings pregnant buds to bloom again; Life is not made of texture of moth wings. And for each dream that leaps to flame, and dies, Time brings a solace, redolent and wise." --From "Strict Decision," p.57. "Ah, if to die, Is but to know awhile the loam's caress, I glory in the autumn's loneliness." --From "Autumn's Miracle," p.78. C. L. W .   MOSS. In cool and cloistered groves I often see In fragile beauty growing near the ground Soft moss in deep jade green; there is no sound. No pulse, no whispered words of melody, Clinging to loam or rock or swaying tree, Its silky texture is securely bound, Protecting like the bandage on a wound ; The loveliness of moss is poetry. There is a mystery in silent things Enwrapped in tranquilness of latticed wood, Nor storms can stir their peaceful solitude, So like the twining of rememberings, As April brings new faith in bursting flower. Such miracle is found in mossy bower. CLOCKS Like fashioned rock, The patterned clock  Pushes aside the hours each day. Its tapered hands Are music bands  That play an endless roundelay. In sorrowing, Or when I sing,  A clock keeps ticking in my heart; Through night and day It ticks away,  To keep my life and death apart. Tessa Sweazy Webb HOME The information contained in this website is furnished for the free use of researchers for the purpose of researching their family histories and genealogies.  Nothing contained in this site may be commercially reproduced or utilized for any purpose, except for private use, without prior written authorization. The information contained on these pages may be printed out for personal use, but may not be copied and posted to another website. This website is the © copyright 2008 property of Genealogy Trails.