The Poem "Erie" by Rev. L. B. Gurley

On page 21 of Volume 10 of the Ohio Archæological and Historical Quarterly is an article about Rev. Leonard B. Gurley, by N.B.C. Love. The article is entitled, "Rev. L. B. Gurley, D.D., Pioneer, Poet, and Preacher." Included in the article is the following poem entitled "Erie."

ERIE


Bright lake roll on thy silvery tide.
Thy voice is sweet to me.
How oft we've wandered by thy side,
And heard thy minstrelsy.

I love thy loudest thunderings,
When deepest tones are given.
Thou mighty harp of thousand strings,
Swept by the hand of Heaven.

Thy breezes fanned my youthful cheek,
Thy waters cooled my brow,
I've heard thee in anger speak.
And in thy murmurs low.

By Rev. L. B. Gurley (1804-1880) The poem "Erie" also appears in the book POEMS ON OHIO, by Clement Luther Martzolff. Rev. Love tells us that Rev. L. B. Gurley was reared in northern Ohio, near Sandusky Bay. He was the son of another pioneer Methodist minister, Rev. William Gurley.

The poem "Erie" speaks to me of the refreshing breezes that can be felt off Lake Erie during Ohio's hottest summer days. My favorite spot to feel these breezes is at the Marblehead Lighthouse.While I am not related directly to Rev. L. B. Gurley, we have some mutual cousins in the Parker line. Many of my ancestors resided in Erie County for many years. Leroy Parker, my great grandfather, worked for thirty years at Cedar Point, an amusement park which features a sandy Lake Erie beach.

Rev. Leonard B. Gurley died on March 26, 1880 in Delaware, Ohio. He is buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Delaware.