Josiah Gilbert Holland, (1819 - 1881), novelist and poet, born in Belchertown, Massachusetts, helped to found and edit Scribner's Monthly (afterwards the Century Magazine), in which appeared his novels, Arthur Bonnicastle, The Story of Sevenoaks, Nicholas Minturn. In poetry he wrote "Bitter Sweet" (1858), "Kathrina", the lyrics to the Methodist hymn There's a Song in the Air, and many others. Born in Belchertown, Massachusetts on July 24, 1819, Holland grew up in a poor family struggling to make ends meet. After a time, Josiah was forced to work in a factory to help the family. He then spent a short time studying at Northampton (Massachusetts) High School before withdrawing due to ill health. Later he studied medicine at Berkshire Medical College, where he took a degree in 1844. Hoping to become a successful physician, he established a medical practice in Springfield, Massachusetts, but his attempt proved unsuccessful. In 1845 he married Elizabeth Luna Chapin. After giving up medicine in 1848, he left Western Massachusetts and took a teaching position in Richmond, Virginia and later in Vicksburg, Mississippi. In 1850 Holland returned to the Western Massachusetts and became an editor of the Springfield Republican newspaper, working with the well known editor, Samuel Bowles. Many of the essays he wrote for the paper in the decade before the Civil War were collected and published in book form and established his literary reputation. His first book was a History of Western Massachusetts. He followed in 1857 with an historical novel, Bay Path, and a collection of essays entitled Titcomb's Letters to Young People, Single and Married in 1858. In 1862, when Samuel Bowles took and extended trip to Europe, Holland temporarily assumed the duties as editor-in-chief of the Springfield Republican. After the Civil War he reduced his editorial duties and wrote many of his most popular works, including the Life of Abraham Lincoln (1866), and Katrina (1869). In 1868 Holland traveled to Europe, and while there he met Russel Smith. Together they developed the idea of starting a magazine. And when they returned to the United States in 1869 the two men collaborated with Charles Scribner to publish Scribner's Monthly. The first issue was published in 1870 with Holland as editor. These years in New York were also productive for his own literary efforts. During the 1870s he published three novels: Arthur Bonicastle (1873), Sevenoaks (1875), and Nicholas Miniturn (1877). His poetry volumes included The Marble Faun (1872), The Mistress and the Manse (1874), and The Puritan's Guest (1881). Although his literary products are rarely read today, during the late nineteenth century they were enormously popular, and more than half a million volumes of Holland's writings were sold. He is also remembered today for his contributions as an editor. Holland and his wife were frequent correspondents and family friends of poet Emily Dickinson. This article incorporates public domain text from: Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London, J. M. Dent & sons; New York, E. P. Dutton.