 1841 - 1928 (86 years) Has more than 100 ancestors and 2 descendants in this family tree.
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| Name |
Josephine Donna Smith |
| Nickname |
Ina Coolbrith |
| Birth |
10 Mar 1841 |
Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States  |
| Gender |
Female |
| Death |
29 Feb 1928 |
Berkeley, Alameda, California, United States |
| Initiatory (LDS) |
28 Oct 1932 |
SLAKE |
| FamilySearch ID |
LCTS-6JR |
| Burial |
Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, Alameda, California, United States |
| Headstones |
 Submit Headstone Photo |
| Headstones |
Submit Headstone Photo |
| Person ID |
I51723 |
mytree |
| Last Modified |
25 Feb 2024 |
| Father |
Don Carlos Smith, b. 25 Mar 1816, Norwich, Windsor, Vermont, United States d. 7 Aug 1841, Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States (Age 25 years) |
| Mother |
Agnes Moultin Coolbrith, b. 11 Jul 1811, Scarborough, Cumberland, Maine, United States d. 26 Dec 1876, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States (Age 65 years) |
| Marriage |
30 Jul 1835 |
Kirtland, Lake, Ohio, United States |
| Family ID |
F18912 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
Robert Bruce Carsley, b. 6 Jun 1833, New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States d. 14 Aug 1905, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States (Age 72 years) |
| Marriage |
21 Apr 1858 |
Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Divorce |
Yes, date unknown |
| Divorced |
Dec 1861 |
| Children |
| | 1. Son 1 Carsley, b. 1860, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States d. 1860, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States (Age 0 years) |
| | 2. Son 2 Carsley, b. 1861, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States d. Bef 1865 (Age < 3 years) |
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| Family ID |
F19145 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
6 Mar 2025 |
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| Event Map |
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 | Birth - 10 Mar 1841 - Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States |
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 | Marriage - 21 Apr 1858 - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States |
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 | Death - 29 Feb 1928 - Berkeley, Alameda, California, United States |
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 | Initiatory (LDS) - 28 Oct 1932 - SLAKE |
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 | Burial - - Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, Alameda, California, United States |
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| Notes |
- Ina Donna Coolbrith (March 10, 1841 – February 29, 1928), born Josephi n e Donna Smith, was an American poet, writer, librarian, and a prominen t f igure in the San Francisco Bay Area literary community. Called the "S wee t Singer of California", she was the first California Poet Laureate a nd t he first poet laureate of any American state.
Coolbrith, born the niece of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa i nts founder Joseph Smith, left the Mormon community as a child to ente r h er teens in Los Angeles, California, where she began to publish poetr y. S he terminated a youthful failed marriage to make her home in San Fra ncisc o, and met writers Bret Harte and Charles Warren Stoddard with who m she f ormed the "Golden Gate Trinity" closely associated with the liter ary jour nal Overland Monthly. Her poetry received positive notice from c ritics an d established poets such as Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce and Alfr ed Lord Te nnyson. She held literary salons at her home in Russian Hill—i n this wa y she introduced new writers to publishers. Coolbrith befriende d the poe t Joaquin Miller and helped him gain global fame.
While Miller toured Europe and lived out their mutual dream of visitin g L ord Byron's tomb, Coolbrith cared for his Wintu daughter and member s of h er own family. As a result, she came to reside in Oakland and acce pted th e position of city librarian. Her poetry suffered as a result o f her lon g work hours, but she mentored a generation of young readers in cluding Ja ck London and Isadora Duncan. After she served for 19 years, O akland's li brary patrons called for reorganization, and Coolbrith was fi red. She mov ed back to San Francisco and was invited by members of the B ohemian Clu b to be their librarian.
Coolbrith began to write a history of California literature, including m u ch autobiographical material, but the fire following the 1906 San Franc is co earthquake consumed her work. Author Gertrude Atherton and Coolbrit h' s Bohemian Club friends helped set her up again in a new house, and sh e r esumed writing and holding literary salons. She traveled by train t o Ne w York City several times and, with fewer worldly cares, greatly inc rease d her poetry output.
On June 30, 1915, Coolbrith was named California's poet laureate, and s h e continued to write poetry for eight more years. Her style was more th a n the usual melancholic or uplifting themes expected of women—she inclu de d a wide variety of subjects in her poems, which were noted as being " sin gularly sympathetic" and "palpably spontaneous". Her sensuous descrip tion s of natural scenes advanced the art of Victorian poetry to incorpor ate g reater accuracy without trite sentiment, foreshadowing the Imagis t schoo l and the work of Robert Frost. California poet laureate Carol Mu ske-Duke s wrote of Coolbrith's poems that, though they "were steeped i n a high te a lavender style", influenced by a British stateliness, "Cali fornia remai ned her inspiration."
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English
