13 SAM POEMS

During the first third of this century, a number of poems appeared in Charlottetown newspapers over the pseudonym “Samuel Hill, Covehead”. Some of these verses dealt with Stanhope characters and happenings, or with current events; and some were of a more philosophic nature, praising the beauties of trees and birds, or of Prince Edward Island; some were comic, some serious.

We have collected some 30 of these poems, and are reproducing here a small selection which we think is representative of “Sam’s” work. Our collection sheds quite a light on the life of those times; viewed critically, one might think there were two, if not three, separate authors. Nobody ever admitted writing the verses, but Stanhope folk have their own (differing) ideas as to the authorship. There were a number of versifiers in this district: Frank McCabe wrote under the name of “Jingling J ock”, and Donald MacDonald signed his verses “Michael MacMann”, and these two have been suggested as being “Sam Hill”, as well as Herbert Kielly and his brother John A. Kielly. However, the weight of evidence is in favour of Sam Hill being Miss Jane Bovyer, eldest daughter of Albert D. and Eliza Bovyer. She wrote “Covehead Notes” for the Charlottetown papers, she knew everybody in the area very well, was a keen observer, and could no doubt vary her literary style to suit the varied subjects of the poems. When her papers were sorted out after her death in 1959 in her 99th year, a large number of hand-written Sam Hill poems were found, with corrections and alterations; we rather think this settles the question of Sam Hill’s identity.

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