The story of John Maynard inspired not only Theodor
Fontane but also many other poets. The best-known "other" version is
probably Horatio Alger's "John Maynard: A Ballad of Lake Erie." Norman
Barry, a retired Gymnasium teacher from Bad Schussenried, Germany, has
found and transcribed three other poetic versions of the John Maynard
story, two in English and one in German. All four of these versions
are presented below.
HORATIO ALGER, JR.
"JOHN MAYNARD: A BALLAD OF LAKE ERIE" by Horatio Alger, Jr. in
The Student and schoolmate; an illustrated monthly for our boys and
girls, January, 1868
"JOHN MAYNARD" by Horatio Alger, Jr. in Gems for the
Fireside, New York : S.G. Mead, 1880
Alger's ballad published
anonymously in The Troy Weekly Times (Troy, New York), February
19th, 1868. (vol. XII, No. 35, p. 4, c.1).
MAJOR BENJAMIN BROWN
FRENCH
Transcription of
"THE HELMSMAN OF LAKE ERIE" by B. B. French, from Barre
Gazette, October 10, 1845
An image of the front page
of the Baltimore Sun of September 5, 1845, showing the
publication of "The Helmsman of Lake Erie" by B. B. French.
An image of a page of the
Cleveland Daily Plain Dealer of September 10, 1845 (Vol. I, No.
134), showing the publication of "The Helmsman of Lake Erie" by B. B.
French, followed by the anonymous prose version.
The Road to Baltimore in the
Lives of James Fenimore Cooper and Benjamin Brown French: An
Investigation of the First Place of Publication of a Lake Erie Sketch
and Ballad
JOSEPHINE
Transcription
of an untitled poetic version of the story attributed only to
"Josephine," in The British Workman, No. 107, November, 1863
ADA LINDEN
An image of Ada
Linden's "John Maynard" in Deutschlands Dichterinnen and an image of the title
page of that book.
Transcriptions, noting
textual variations, of two printed German versions of Ada Linden's
poem, "John Maynard," one published in 1896 and the other with an
uncertain publication date.
Norman Barry's translation into
English of Ada Linden's "John Maynard."
EPES SARGENT
An image of Epes Sargent's
"The Helmsman of Lake Erie," published in the Salem Register,
Salem, Massachusetts, August 11, 1873 (with an obituary of Epes
Sargent).
A transcription of Epes
Sargent's poem from the Salem Register, Salem, Massachusetts,
August 11, 1873.
C.E. BBOURNE NEW!
A scan of "John Maynard,
Pilot. A Fact." by C. E. Bourne and an engraving of the burning
steamboat from Cassell's Family Magazine January 1, 1877. This
scan was generously contributed by Simon Harbord of the UK, who owns a
copy of the magazine.
A transcription of "John
Maynard, Pilot. A Fact." by C. E. Bourne as published in Cassell's
Family Magazine January 1, 1877.
FRED EMERSON
BROOKS NEW!
A transcription of "John
Maynard" by Fred Emerson Brooks as published in Old Ace and Other
Poems by Forbes & Company, 1901.
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