The Goodness of St. Rocque, and Other Stories

The Goodness of St. Rocque, and Other Stories was published in 1899 as a companion to her husbands Poems of Cabin and Field. In her life, Nelson she gained popularity as a poet, author, editor, and more. She was perhaps most well known as a columnist, with her work appearing in magazines, newspapers, and journals. But the times were not kind to women and African-Americans; she noted in her diary: “Damn bad luck I have with my pen. Some fate has decreed I shall never make money by it.” Throughout her life, she wrote about the racism that African-Americans faced at the time and the general discrimination that women faced.

She was unlike her contemporaries in many respects. In a time when it was unusual for anyone to go to college, Nelson graduated from Straight University and became a teacher in New Orleans. She later moved to Boston, then New York, then D.C., Delaware, and, finally, Philadelphia.