RARE "Michigan Poet" Will Carleton Cut Signature Dated 1874 For Sale

Up for sale a RARE!  "Michigan Poet" Will Carleton Clipped Signature Dated 1874.

21, 1845 – December 18, 1912) was an American poet from

Michigan. Carleton's poems were most often about his rural life.

Born in rural Lenawee County, Hudson, Michigan, Carleton was the fifth child of John Hancock

and Celeste (Smith) Carleton. In 1869, he graduated from Hillsdale College and delivered on that occasion the

poem, "Rifts in the Cloud". After graduating from college in 1869,

Carleton first worked as a newspaper journalist in Hillsdale. He had been in

the habit of writing poetry as a youngster. His first significant work

published was "Betsy and I Are Out", a tale of a divorce that was first

published in the Toledo Blade, and

reprinted by Harper's Weekly. Carleton

wrote this poem at the age of 25, when he worked as editor of the Detroit

Weekly Tribune. In 1872 he published "Over the Hill to the Poor

House", exploring the plight of the aged and those with indifferent families. This piece captured national

attention and catapulted Carleton into literary prominence—a position he held

the rest of his life as he continued to write and to lecture from coast to

coast". n 1878, Carleton moved to Boston, an important literary

and publishing center. There he married Anne Goodell. They moved to New York

City in 1882. Carleton remained active in his college fraternity and served as

the New York City Delta Tau Delta alumni

chapter's president. In 1907, he returned to Hudson as a renowned

poet. Carleton's quotes became well known in the US during his lifetime.