George Pope Morris

Born in Philadelphia in 1802 and raised in New York, George Pope Morris became a journalist, editor, poet, and songwriter at a young age. In 1823 he founded the New-York Mirror and Ladies' Literary Gazette, a paper that became an important outlet for literary writing and commentary in the city.

Morris later worked closely with Nathaniel Parker Willis, helping launch the New York Evening Mirror. The paper played a notable part in American literary history, including publishing an advance copy of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" in 1845. Morris also went on to co-edit the Home Journal, another influential literary periodical.

As a writer, Morris was known less for long, ambitious books than for graceful poems and songs that were widely popular in the 19th century. His best-known piece, "Woodman, Spare That Tree!", made his name familiar to generations of readers, and his career as an editor kept him at the center of New York's literary life for decades.