Celia Thaxter (née Laighton; June 29, 1835 – August 25, 1894) was a celebrated American poet, prose writer, and a central figure in the 19th-century New England literary
and artistic circles.Queer Places:
Celia Thaxter's Island Garden, Kittery Point, ME 03905, United States
Laighton Thaxter Cemetery, Appledore Island, York County, ME, Kittery Point, ME 03905, United States
Celia Thaxter (née Laighton; June 29, 1835 – August 25, 1894) was a celebrated American poet, prose writer, and a central figure in the 19th-century New England literary
and artistic circles.
Born Celia Laighton in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, she spent her formative years in isolation on the Isles of Shoals. When she was four years old, her father, Thomas Laighton, became the lighthouse keeper on White Island. The family later moved to Appledore Island, where her father established the Appledore House, a popular resort hotel that would later become a destination for prominent intellectuals and artists.
In 1851, at age 16, she married Levi Thaxter, a Harvard graduate and tutor to the Laighton children, and moved to Watertown, Massachusetts. The marriage was reportedly not harmonious, as Celia felt deeply stifled by domestic life on the mainland and longed for her island home. She and Levi had three sons: Karl, John, and Roland.
After a decade on the mainland, she returned to Appledore Island, where she became the hostess of her family's hotel. Her professional writing career began during this time, with her first poem, "Land-locked," published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1861. She became a prolific contributor to influential magazines like Harper's and Scribner's, and is well remembered for:
Among the Isles of Shoals (1873) and An Island Garden (1894).
Her most famous poem is "The Sandpiper."
Her work often intertwined themes of the natural world and gender, leading modern scholars to associate her with early ecofeminist thought.
Celia Thaxter and the watercolorist Ellen Robbins were friends. Their connection was tied to both their shared history in Watertown, Massachusetts, and their time on the Isles of Shoals:
Both women spent time in Watertown (where Robbins was also a resident). Additionally, Robbins was a cousin of Celia's husband, Levi Thaxter.
Robbins was one of the many prominent artists who visited and stayed at the Appledore House. She famously spent time in Thaxter’s celebrated garden on Appledore Island, where she painted many of the flowers that grew there. These floral watercolors are a hallmark of Robbins' work, heavily inspired by the environment Thaxter curated.
Celia Thaxter passed away on August 26, 1894, on Appledore Island. Her legacy remains deeply connected to the island landscape, the vibrant garden she maintained, and the community of artists and writers she hosted there.
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