John Hartley (1839-1915) was an English poet who worked in the Yorkshire dialect. He wrote a great deal of prose and poetry - often of a sentimental nature - dealing with the poverty of the district. He was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Hartly wrote and edited the Original Illuminated Clock Almanack from 1866 to his death. Most of Hartley's works are written in dialect. Hartley wrote a number of books about the character "Sammywell Grimes" who has a number of adventures and suffers unfortunate mishaps. Also by John Hartley: Yorkshire Ditties, Yorkshire Tales, Yorkshire Lyrics, and Yorksher Puddin'.