Poet. Memories of his early boyhood in the beautiful Finger Lakes region are reflected in many of his poems. In 1840 his parents moved to Ohio, where he spent the remainder of his life. He completed one term at Antioch College, read law under Thomas Corwin and Judge William Lawrence, and was admitted to the bar in 1856. He practiced for a short time, but he was drawn from the law by his greater interest in poetry and journalism. Before the Civil War, in which he served as a paymaster and was breveted lieutenant colonel, he edited the Xenia News; after the war he edited the Xenia Torchlight and was owner and editor of the Springfield Globe Republic. He also contributed to the Cincinnati Times and the Ohio State Journal. He served in the state senate, 1882-83. In 1888 he wrote the "Ohio Centennial Ode," but his most famous poem, "Rain on the Roof," was written much earlier--in 1849 when he was 23. Its sentimentality and easy lyrical flow made it widely popular, and it was often reprinted. Coates Kinney died at the Presbyterian Hospital January 25, 1904. Gravestone is marked with the flag of a G.A.R. veteran of the Civil War.
Poet. Memories of his early boyhood in the beautiful Finger Lakes region are reflected in many of his poems. In 1840 his parents moved to Ohio, where he spent the remainder of his life. He completed one term at Antioch College, read law under Thomas Corwin and Judge William Lawrence, and was admitted to the bar in 1856. He practiced for a short time, but he was drawn from the law by his greater interest in poetry and journalism. Before the Civil War, in which he served as a paymaster and was breveted lieutenant colonel, he edited the Xenia News; after the war he edited the Xenia Torchlight and was owner and editor of the Springfield Globe Republic. He also contributed to the Cincinnati Times and the Ohio State Journal. He served in the state senate, 1882-83. In 1888 he wrote the "Ohio Centennial Ode," but his most famous poem, "Rain on the Roof," was written much earlier--in 1849 when he was 23. Its sentimentality and easy lyrical flow made it widely popular, and it was often reprinted. Coates Kinney died at the Presbyterian Hospital January 25, 1904. Gravestone is marked with the flag of a G.A.R. veteran of the Civil War.
Bio by: Beverly
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