Page:Sketches of representative women of New England.djvu/251

186 woman," was born in 1774, the daughter of Simon and Sarah (Sewall) Crosby. Her mother, great-grandmother of Mrs. Packard, was daugh- ter of Nicholas antl Mehitable (Storer) Sewall, of York, Me., and sister of Stephen Sewall, the learned professor of Hebrew at Harvard Uni- versity in the latter part of the eighteentli century. Nicholas Sewall was son of Johii^ (Henry' ') and nephew of SamueP Sewall, the distinguished Judge Sewall of colonial times.

Lemuel Clark was a man of intense loyalty to his country, but was too old to enlist in the Civil War of 1861-65. He sent two of his sons to the front, one of whom returned, the other being killed at Antietam.

His daughter Helen was reared in an atmos- phere of patriotism, and was but a school-girl when she began to work for the soldiers. vShe scraped lint, knitted socks, packed bo.xes of comforts, and after the war was over raised money from various entertainments for the benefit of the soldiers. When only fifteen years old she went about the outlying dis- tricts of Winterport, canvassing for provisions for the soldiers' fair to be held in her native town. After her graduation from the high school she continued her studies for a time at a boarding-school for girls. John Alvin A. Packard, to whom she was married in 1867, served as a Lieutenant in the Fifth Maine Regiment in the Civil War, and had an honorable record as a brave soldier. He participated in all the battles of the Army of the Potomac, from Bull Hmi to Gettysburg. One week after Gettysbiu-g, while leading his company in an engagement, he was wounded by a bullet, which passed through his body and lodged in a tree. He resigned the fol- lowing November, but it was thirteen months before the wound was healetl. For a few years Mr. and Mrs. Packard made their home in Portland, Me. In 1874 they removed to Spring- field, Mass. They became the parents of three sons: Walter Alvin, born December 17, 1877; Arthur Howard, born November 17, 1879; and Raymond Clark, born July 11, 1881. Mr. Packard died in Springfield, at the age of fifty- eight years, May 1, 1893, from disease contracted in the service thirty years before.

While living in Portland, Me., Mrs. Packard joined the AVoman's Auxiliary to the Portland Army and Navy Union. For many years slie contributed letters and articles to the press in behalf of the soldiers of the Civil War, en- deavoring to awaken an interest in their needs. She has received hundreds of letters of appre- ciation from soldiers in all sections of the country and many official votes of thanks from posts and regimjjntal associations, also lettefs from Dr. Olivei' Wendell Holmes, John J. In- galls, and many distinguished generals of the Civil War.

Invitations hae been extended to Mrs. Packard to write for Grand Army gather- ings from Maine to Texas. In October, 1889, at the dedication of the Maine monuments, she read an original poem at the sunmiit of Little Round Top, Gettysburg, entitled "The Voice of Maine." Among the many popular poems she has written are "Decoration Day," "The Old Guard." "In Memoriam," and "Me- morial Day." 'hen tlie memorial building of the Fifth Maine Regiment was dedicated at Peak's Island, Portland, Me., Mrs. Packard by special invitation read original verses.

The Magazine of Poelrij and lAterary Revieir, in its issue of October, 1895, referred to her work as follows: "All of Mrs. Packard's poems, whether |)atriotic, descrijttive, psychical, in- trospective, or in lighter vein, evince a deep and original mind, a keen insight into nature, a sincere faith, and a graceful and concise mode of expression. Several of her poems have been arranged as songs, a setting for which they are particularly well adapted."

Among the publications in which Mrs. Pack- ard's writings have appeared are the Spring- field R.ej)ul)liran, Homestead and Vniun, the Repidtlican Joiirnal uf Maine, Ladies' Home Journal, Good Housekee/pinq, Youth's Compan- ion, Boston Transcript, and various Western papers; among the magazines, the Twentieth Ceniury, New Natiort, and New Idea.

During more than twenty-five years' residence in Springfield, Mass., Mrs. Packard was a friend to l). K. Wilcox Post, G. A. R., of that city, of which her husband was an active member. She joined the Relief Corps auxiliary to this post in 188.1, and was vice-president three