Page 163

town which Madison at that time could rightly be called.
She was a devoted member of the First Congregational
Church of Madison, and an active worker in the Sabbath
School and she was greatly beloved by all who knew her.
    The children of 0. M. Conover and Julia Darst Con-
over were Edith Williams, born Jan. 2, 1852; Allan Darst,
born Sept. 9, 1854; Frederick King, born December 17,
1857; and John Berlew, born December 28, 1861.
    Mrs. Conover died March 27, 1863. The poem, "Via
Solitaria," written by Professor Conover shortly after
her death, was published for the first time in The New
York Independent. Twenty years later, through the mis-
take of a Michigan professor, the poem was again sent
to and published by the New York Independent and the
authorship attributed to Henry W. Longfellow. The In-
dependent later made a published correction.
I....
              EDITH W. CONOVER
      Contributed by the John Bell Chapter, D. A. R.
  &  .............................I...........................................
    On January 2, 1852, the students in Professor Con-
over's classes in the University of Wisconsin had a holi-
day. Not knowing just what use to make of such un-
wonted leisure, they betook themselves to the village
bookstore where they selected a prayer brook and a hymn
book. Returning to their rooms in North Hall, they
wrote a letter of congratulation to Professor and Mrs.
Conover and sent it with the books which were a birth-
day gift to the infant, whose arrival was the cause of
their holiday. This infant was named Edith Williams
Conover and she has retained that name unto this present
day, August 12, 1924. After graduating from Milwaukee
Female College in 1871, she was, until 1882, head of her
father's home, and has ever since been so busy attend-
ing to things which it seemed to be her duty to care for,
that she has had no time to strive for fame.
163