Harriet Morgan Tyng

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Harriet Morgan Tyng
Harriet Morgan Tyng, from the 1928 yearbook of Barnard College
BornMay 17, 1905
Cranford, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedOctober 31, 1952 (1952-11-01) (aged 47)
St. Johnsbury, Vermont, U.S.
Occupation(s)Poet, educator, school administrator
RelativesStephen H. Tyng (great-grandfather)

Harriet Morgan Tyng (May 17, 1905 – October 31, 1952) was an American poet and educator. She was the first director of the Willard Day School in Troy, New York, from 1946 to 1952.

Early life and education[edit]

Tyng was born in Cranford, New Jersey, the daughter of Francis William Edmonds Tyng Sr. and Margreta Hyde Tyng.[1] Her great-grandfather was Stephen H. Tyng, a noted Episcopal clergyman in New York City.[2] Her older brother Francis Edmonds Tyng Jr. was also a writer and editor.[3] She graduated from Barnard College in 1928, with further studies at Columbia University and Bryn Mawr College.[4][5]

Career[edit]

Tyng was a teacher at private schools in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. From 1946[6] to her death in 1952, she was the first director of the Willard Day School in Troy, New York,[7][8] where she also taught music and French.[9] During her tenure, Willard Day School became co-educational,[4] and added a pre-kindergarten class.[10] "She was an imaginative and sensitive teacher, sympathetically interested in all her students, both boys and girls," according to a 1953 obituary.[5] She established a practice of "new faculty seminars", where Willard teachers gave talks about their area of expertise for a gathering of their colleagues.[11]

Publications[edit]

In addition to her school work, Tyng published two volumes of poetry (with a third appearing posthumously, to raise funds for a Harriet Morgan Tyng scholarship fund).[4][12] "If Miss Tyng seems most frequently to ride her muse on inconsequential journeying," commented a reviewer in 1947, "what she has to say is consistently pleasant and occasionally wisely observant."[13]

  • Open Letter and Other Poems (1938)
  • Vermont Village (1947)[13]
  • "The Whole of Vermont" (1948)[14]
  • "Childhood" (1949)[15]
  • "Not Here" (1949)[16]
  • "The Chapel" (1950)[7]
  • "Ice Storm" (1950)[17]
  • Later Poems (1954, published posthumously)

Personal life and legacy[edit]

She took a leave of absence from Willard Day School in 1951, for health reasons,[2] and she died in 1952, at the age of 47, in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.[18][19] The Vermont Historical Society holds a small collection of her papers, including correspondence, journals, clippings, rejection letters, and manuscripts of unpublished works.[4] Composer Clara Lyle Boone (Lyle de Bohun), who was a member of the Friends of Willard Day School,[20] was inspired by Tyng to write her "Motive and Chorale for Chamber Orchestra", saying "Although we never met, her educational concepts deeply impressed me, and her dedicated life was the major stimulus for the creation of the piece."[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Brother Anthony of Padua (1956). The Tyng Family in America. Marist Press. pp. 94–95.
  2. ^ a b "Willard School Head, Long Ill, Dies". The Times Record. 1952-11-01. p. 8. Retrieved 2024-01-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Francis Tyng Dies; Writer and Editor". The New York Times. March 27, 1976. p. 27. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  4. ^ a b c d Harriet Morgan Tyng Papers, 1926-1952, in the Vermont Historical Society.
  5. ^ a b "News of Faculties and Administrators". Independent School Bulletin (2): 54. January 1953 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "Class Notes". Barnard College Alumnae Magazine. 35 (3): 13. February 1946 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ a b Hanmer, Trudy J. (2012). Wrought with steadfast will : a history of Emma Willard School. Internet Archive. Troy, N.Y. : Troy Book Makers. pp. 410, 416. ISBN 978-1-935680-04-8.
  8. ^ "School Receives Picture". The Troy Record. 1954-11-19. p. 33. Retrieved 2024-01-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b "Music by Women Composers". Arsis Press. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  10. ^ "Willard Day School Enrolls 145". The Troy Record. 1951-09-15. p. 20. Retrieved 2024-01-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "News in Brief". Independent School Bulletin (3): 45. April 1952 – via Internet Archive.
  12. ^ "Class Notes". Barnard Alumnae Magazine. 43 (6): 24. June 1954 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ^ a b "Review of Vermont Village". Yankee. 11 (8): 49. August 1947 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ^ Tyng, Harriet Morgan (November 1948). "The Whole of Vermont". Yankee. 12 (11): 50 – via Internet Archive.
  15. ^ Tyng, Harriet Morgan (October 1949). "Childhood". Childhood Education. 26 (2): 79. doi:10.1080/00094056.1949.10726232 – via Internet Archive.
  16. ^ Tyng, Harriet Morgan (1949-03-03). "Not Here". The Park Record. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-01-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Tyng, Harriet Morgan (1950-03-03). "Ice Storm". The Sun Times. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-01-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Recent Deaths". School and Society. 76 (1977): 303. November 8, 1952 – via Internet Archive.
  19. ^ "Memorial Rites Slated for Tomorrow". The Times Record. 1952-12-06. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-01-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Friends of Willard Day School Present Picture". The Times Record. 1954-11-18. p. 33. Retrieved 2024-01-09 – via Newspapers.com.
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