Anne Lynch Botta

Anne Lynch Botta (November 11, 1815 – March 23, 1891) was an American poet, writer, teacher and socialite whose home was the central gathering place of the literary elite of her era.

Biography

Early life She was born Anne Charlotte Lynch in Bennington, Vermont. Her father was Patrick Lynch (died 1819), of Dublin, Ireland, who took part in the United Irishmen Rebellion of 1798.

Lynch's father died in 1819, shipwrecked off the coast of Puerto Principe, in the West Indies. After the death of her father, the family moved to Hartford, Connecticut, where Anne and her brother were sent to the best schools. When she was sixteen she was sent to the Albany Female Academy, where she graduated with high honors in 1834 and stayed there as a teacher for a few years. a collection of poems and verse from the best regional writers of the time, including two poems of her own. She also began to invite these writers to her home for her evening receptions. It was said in 1843, that "the very best literary society of Providence could be found in the parlor of Miss Lynch". she continued her writing and was published in periodicals such as the New-York Mirror, The Gift, the Diadem, Home Journal, and the Democratic Review. In New York, she also continued her literary receptions which she held every Saturday evening.

Marriage

Lynch traveled to Europe in 1853, where she met Vincenzo Botta, an Italian professor of philosophy in Turin. It was said of her salons that no one was either neglected or treated like a celebrity, and every one went away feeling stimulated, refreshed, and happy. Horace Greeley, Richard Henry Stoddard, Andrew Carnegie, Mary Mapes Dodge, Julia Ward Howe, Charles Butler, Fitz-Greene Halleck, Delia Bacon, Grace Greenwood, Bayard Taylor, William Cullen Bryant, Helen Hunt Jackson, actress Fanny Kemble, Daniel Webster, and many more. This book was used as a text book in many educational institutions.

She was also a sculptor of portrait busts. Her sculpture of Charles Butler, done in marble, was donated to New York University. She also promoted the establishment of Barnard College.