Samuel E. (Samuel Ellsworth) Kiser

Samuel E. Kiser was an American writer, editor, and poet whose books and published work place him firmly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Records from the Library of Congress and other library catalogs identify him as Samuel E. (Samuel Ellsworth) Kiser, 1862–1942, and show a body of work that includes Georgie, Charles the Chauffeur, Love Sonnets of an Office Boy, The Whole Glad Year, and the anthology Poems That Have Helped Me.

He also worked in journalism. Biographical summaries consistently describe him as starting out as a newspaperman in Cleveland and later serving as an editorial and special writer for the Chicago Record-Herald, where his column "Whimwhams and Sentiment" appeared. That mix of newsroom energy and sentiment helps explain his style: playful, accessible, and interested in ordinary people rather than grand literary poses.

Today, Kiser is remembered mainly for his light verse, comic writing, and short inspirational poems. His surviving books and public-domain texts suggest an author who liked wit, heart, and everyday speech, whether he was writing about office boys, chauffeurs, or the quiet effort of keeping one's spirits up.