Cynthia Taggart, a Middletown resident who suffered from a severe debilitating illness, became a published poet in her early 30s. Once prominent and prosperous, the Taggarts were a family of misfortune. Having suffered financial ruin from the destructive British occupation of Aquidneck Island, they raised their children in poverty, only to have multiple daughters suffer from an incurable illness. As a young girl, Cynthia had been well enough to attend a few years of school, which she loved, but at age 19, her health took a turn for the worst. Bedridden, in severe pain, and unable to sleep without the help of painkillers, she began composing and dictating poetry during her sleepless nights. In 1834, fearing her near state of destitution, Cynthia’s friends gathered her poems for publication. The first edition of her book sold so well that a second edition was printed the same year, and a third in 1848. Cynthia never recovered from her illness but died in 1849, an accomplished poet.
Biography and image provided by Middletown Historical Society
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