Introduction
Born: May 15, 1865, Goffstown, New Hampshire.
Died: July, 1916, Goffstown, New Hampshire.
Buried: Shirley Hill Cemetery, Goffstown, New Hampshire.
Born: May 15, 1865, Goffstown, New Hampshire.
Died: July, 1916, Goffstown, New Hampshire.
Buried: Shirley Hill Cemetery, Goffstown, New Hampshire.
Moses was the son of William and Margarett Ann Shirley.
Mr. Shirley is very proud of the fact that he was born and lived in the house built by a soldier of the [American] Revolution—John Dinsmore.
Probably it is the oldest and only house in town that has always been owned and occupied by one family. Mr. Shirley is the fourth generation of his family to occupy it.
John Dinsmore was one of the first settlers in [Goffstown]. He gave the homestead to Mr. Shirley’s grandfather, who in turn gave it to his son, the father of the subject of this sketch, who now occupies it.
The poet is also proud of the fact that he is a descendant of Lieutenant William Shirley, who served on General John Stark’s staff at the battle of Bunker Hill, [Boston, Massachusetts] and throughout the stormy days of the Revolution.
Like his illustrious ancestor the poems of Moses Gage Shirley breathe the spirit of truth, justice, and righteousness, combined with a sweet beauty of rhyme and rhythm. They are all on high moral ground and appeal to better living and a more exalted life.
Charles H. Gabriel
The Singers and Their Songs, 1916
Forevermore it’s written, there shall be
No darkness in that golden city, where
Our Christ still lives, who walked by Galilee,
And sainted spirits breathe through realms of prayer.
For God shall wipe away all earthly tears
Of sorrow from our poor delusive eyes
Where death will end, and pain and secret fears
Shall be unknown in His great paradise.
Bright with a radiance from the eternal cross,
Telling of Calvary’s awful silent dread,
Beyond the power of universal loss,
The heritage of Faith which is not dead.
Moses Gage Shirley
A Book of Poems, 1887