E’en a moment spun

From cycles of eternity.

Henrietta Cordelia Ray was considered a cultivated, virtuous woman.

She was born in New York City, one of seven children of Charlotte Augusta Burrough and Charles B. Ray, a blacksmith turned Congregational minister and leading abolitionist.

Ray hoped to also make her mark in literature.

Ray’s poetry appeared in several periodicals, which encouraged her efforts to publish a complete collection.