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She was the daughter of William Poitevent, an industrialist, sawmill operator, ship owner, farmer and perhaps the wealthiest man in the area. But Eliza Jane earned a name for herself in her own right.
During her brief lifetime, she probably did more to change the course of journalism than any other person alive, introducing changes and improvements that have since been adopted universally. Though she never traveled far from her Pearl River birthplace, which later became the source of her poetic inspiration, her influence was felt far and wide.
Eliza was raised in Hobolochitto. now Picayune, by her uncle and aunt. Jane Russ Kimball. The Kimballs took in young Eliza when her mother became so ill they thought she might die. And although one of eight children. Eliza was reared as an only child because her aunt and uncle were childless. Her mother recovered, but Eliza Jane stayed with her aunt.
Like the Poitevents, the Kimballs were prosperous, and Eliza was given the benefits of a luxurious home and affluent surroundings.
The solitude she felt and the close environs of the beautiful Southern woods and the Pearl River left indelible imprints on her. At an early age she began to voice her childhood passions for nature and other living things.
By the time she was 14,
Eliza was writing dreamy poetry described as ?delicate pictures of the simple beauty she found.? Her first published efforts were contained in a small sheet called The South, edited by John W. Overall, who later held a position at the New York Mercury newspaper.
By the age of 18 she had become a regular contributor to the New Orleans Times and New York Home Journal. She adopted the pen name, Pearl Rivers, by which she would be known the rest of her life.
In time, her work and talent attracted the attention of Alva Morris Holbrook, known as Col. Holbrook, proprietor of the New Orleans Picayune newspaper. Eliza met Col. Holbrook during a visit to her grandfather. Samuel Potter Russ, in New Orleans. At the time. Holbrook had owned the Picayune for almost a year. following the death of George Wilkins Kendall, last of the paper?s founders.
The meeting apparently impressed Hoibrc'ek. Shortly after Eliza returned home he offeree her the position of literary editor of the Piccr.ur.i.
It was a radical move by the Color.ei. partly because the profession was not deemed arpro-priate for women at that time. Eliza Jane's family tried to dissuade her from accepting. A: that time Southern women rarely worked cutsti; of the home, unless forced to by necessity Certainly no lady of a good family, with fi.tr.er and brothers living, accepted an outside p't~:t::r? no matter how dignified.
But to her family's dismay, she rr-shed aside the disapproval that overshad', a e a the offer and accepted at a salary of S25 a eek? with the understanding she would li'-i :r the home of her grandfather.
She soon discovered that she had a rararal affinity for the business, surprising ever. r.er>elf.
Her working philosophy, she once -a;? a as that "nobody knows what a woman car. .east of all the woman herself, until she tries "
ducing fashion news and stories on ar_ expanding the book review column and publish^ra: the fiction and poetry of various writers.
In the course of time, the business reiaaon-ship between the Colonel and Eliza ripenec. tnto a different kind of attachment, and the r*o -ere married May 18, 1872. The Colone! -l- 64 years old and Eliza 29. The same year Hoirrook sold the paper. A year later he bought :t r.ack. but it was in deep financial trouble. When Holbrook died three years later, the paper iad a
iMu of $80,000.
In the absence of children, Eliza was Holbrook's only heir and inherited ownership of the Picayune.
Its ownership, though, was a burden rather than a blessing. The paper was involved in litigation and was deep in debt; the effects of the Civil War still reverberated in the South; business prospects were not promising; and credit was short.
For three months, the young widow wresded with the choices she faced; to declare bankruptcy and be done with it or to attempt to improve the situation.
Her family encouraged her to abandon the paper, but after a lot of thought she declared to all, "I'll stick.?
She became the first woman publisher of an important daily newspaper in the United States. Once Eliza made her decision, she reportedly called the staff together to give them the opportunity to resign or stay and work under a woman?s leadership. A few resigned, but most of the staff remained.
With a renewed spirit of adventure, she set about tackling the paper?s financial problems. To improve the profit margins, she increased the space allotted for advertising and waged a crusade for ?a release from the tyranny of Reconstruction and a return to good government.?
About six months after the death of her husband, Eliza allowed George Nicholson, the business manager of the newspaper, to acquire an interest. The firm became E.J. Holbrook & Co.
Nicholson, a native of Leeds, England, had come to New Orleans in 1842. Shortly thereafter he went to work for the Picayune, first as carrier and assistant mail clerk, then counter clerk and cashier, and finally business manager.
Eventually Nicholson and Eliza shared more than a common interest in the newspaper, and Nicholson divorced his wife to marry Eliza Jane in June 1878. The firm became Nicholson & Co.
With the financial health of the paper restored. Eliza turned to making improvements to the paper?s pages. She expanded news coverage and enlivened headlines. The paper published its first political cartoon and increased the
Soon she showed her creative ta!i.v. .r.tro-
Fort Nicholson, on North Beach in Waveland. was the summer home of Eliza and George Nicholson. It was dubbed "Fort? because it had a retaining wall, later destroyed a hurricane.
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