Luce, Nancy, 1814-1890

Nancy Luce, daughter of Philip Luce, was born on Martha's Vineyard in the early 19th century, although the exact date of her birth is disputed. Her family was of modest means and fought to make ends meet in the face of chronic illness. Philip Luce, it seems, was soon forced to sell off portions of the family farm to pay his debts. By the time she was a teenager, Nancy herself was embedded in this cycle of decline, struggling desperately to keep the farm going while caring for her ailing parents. Her life soon spiraled into an ordeal of loneliness and suffering after her parents died, as her own chronic health problems emerged. Thus deterred from pursuing opportunities to advance herself, she instead became a noted local eccentric. Through her "hen-elegies," the free verse she wrote about the female chickens she kept as household pets, Luce achieved a certain notoriety. As Martha's Vineyard became a summer resort in the late 19th century, her reputation spread off-island. She herself became an attraction for curious visitors, to whom she sold eggs, along with pictures of herself and copies of her poems. She published her first book of verse, entitled Poor Little Hearts between 1860 and 1866. Complete editions of her poems were published in 1871, 1875 and 1888. Luce died on April 9, 1890, and remains a unique symbol of life on the Vineyard. Her grave site (ornamented with plastic chickens) is a local tourist attraction.

From the guide to the Nancy Luce papers, Luce (Nancy) Luce papers, (bulk 1833-1889), 1725-1964, (John Hay Library Special Collections)