La Trobe: Rambler, Writer and Royalist

Having worked in a place named after him, I’ve always had an interest in Charles Joseph La Trobe.

Now, at last, I have a more rounded view of him.

This is thanks to John Barnes whose recently published biography, La Trobe: Traveller, Writer, Governor is an eye-opener. The book will reward the discerning reader with the fullest understanding yet of Victoria’s much-misunderstood first Governor.

The book commends itself in a number of ways.

• It’s already won this year’s Victorian History Publication Award. The award recognises the most outstanding non-fiction publication on Victorian history.
• Second, Barnes is an expert on his subject having written about him during his editorship of The La Trobe Journal and was responsible for the 2003 edition which focused on La Trobe’s life.
• To complete the trifecta, Dr Andrew Lemon, former President of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, in praising John’s fair-minded credibility says; ‘Charles Joseph La Trobe, from wherever he now watches, should be eternally grateful that John Barnes chose to be his biographer.’ 

And anticipating John’s sympathy for his subject Lemon adds: ‘Or perhaps La Trobe chose Barnes.’

One more quote from Lemon is a must; ‘The great strength of this book, in addition to its clear and elegant prose, is its fair-mindedness. Its great originality is its lucid literary analysis which helps us understand the man. ‘

I also learned much from the book about Victorian history, so what follows is part book review and part book reactions.

The book is richly illustrated – in many places by La Trobe himself. You may think this is a miraculous accomplishment since La Trobe passed away 142 years ago. But you may not have known that La Trobe was an enthusiastic and able painter/sketcher. The images though aged (and firmly copyrighted) remain evocative and fresh and demonstrate La Trobe’s perceptive eye and love of the outdoors.

La Trobe’s creations are gathered in Charles Joseph La Trobe Landscapes and Sketches with notes by Dr Dianne Reilly AM, who also authored a previous biography on a Trobe, and art historian Victoria Hammond.

The ‘grave, careworn potentate’ at the end of his Victorian tenure.
La Trobe, about 1854. Image H29543. Courtesy State Library of Victoria.

The front cover of Traveller, Writer, Governor immediately introduces us to the real La Trobe through an unfamiliar portrait. 

This is not the ‘portrait of a uniform’ we are used to. It’s an image drawn from a now lost photograph taken towards the end of his tenure in Melbourne and shows him as the ‘grave, careworn potentate’ he saw himself to be at the time.

Charles Joseph La Trobe (1801 -1875) arrived as Superintendent of the Colony of Port Phillip in 1839 and later became Governor (technically ‘Lieutenant Governor’) when Victoria separated from New South Wales in 1851. He witnessed monumental changes in the colony, from the depression of the 1840s to the start of the gold rushes of the 1850s.

He didn’t stay long enough to see the benefits of the Goldrush for the development of Melbourne town or the wider Colony but he did place a lasting stamp on the nature of the city as we shall see.  

One thing he did see, while visiting the McIvor mine in 1853 near Bendigo, was the discovery of one of the largest and finest groupings of cubic gold crystals in the world. The 717 gram ‘Latrobe nugget’ is named (or slightly misnamed) in honour of La Trobe.  

But who was La Trobe before and after Melbourne? 

Barnes takes on a journey with La Trobe exploring his life in the 38 years before he saw Melbourne and his ‘recovery’ and life after his last career highlight.

Barnes’ intention is ‘to tell the story of his life as a whole, making him known in a way that I do not think has been attempted previously, and to represent his beliefs and motivations more fully’. The book aims ‘to place his colonial experience in the context of his life, and show what that experience meant to him’. 

In all this, the book is a success.

Much can be learned about La Trobe’s actual ancestry and family, the influence of the Moravian faith in which he was raised and the role of England, Switzerland and America in his life. And, with this understanding, much is learned about the unwarranted hostility levelled against him in Victoria, notably by Edward Wilson of the Argus, and which skewed subsequent historical valuations.

La Trobe arrived as a European with well-educated sensibilities. He was well travelled and with sometimes progressive views, an artist’s eye for observation and a Moravian separation from the world.

Mt Wellington, Hobart, Tasmania, 1847 by La Trobe.

As a young man, he had published a number of successful travel books (some currently available as reprints) describing his ‘rambling’ and reflections in Europe, America and Mexico. Amongst his observations in The Rambler in North America was despair at ‘the spirit of the times, for we see signs of it, alas, in Old England; but there must be something in the political atmosphere of America, which is more than ordinarily congenial to that decline of just and necessary subordination’. 

Edgar Allan Poe took him to task for this remark against democracy but concluded that ‘It is the best work on America yet published. Mr Latrobe is a scholar, a man of intellect and a gentleman’.

The influence of his ‘Moravian-ness’ combined with the nature of the role of Governor may be the key to resolving why there seemed to be a mismatch between him and some of the colonists. 

His religion was deeply held. When combined with his role as Governor, more worldly colonists assumed he did not have their interests at heart. His lack of ‘activism’ was assumed to make him conservative, but in fact, he hoped for a better world.

The citation of Barnes’ book by the Victorian History Publication Award, concludes with the view that although largely forgotten after his death, La Trobe has in accord with the motto (borrowed from the poet Horace) of the University his Government founded - Postera crescam laude– steadily increased in the esteem of future generations.

The ceremonies of laying the foundation stones for the University and the State Library were performed on the same day, Monday 3 July 1854, by La Trobe’s successor, Governor Hotham. These were undertaken with ‘observances customary on such occasions’. The Geelong Advertiser reported that the ceremonial trowel was dedicated 'in the inscription engraved on it to the late Governor, Mr La Trobe, who it may be remembered was at one time about to perform the ceremony which now devolved on his successor.’  

The lengthy account of the event by the Argus mentions the trowel ‘of excellent workmanship’ but does not record the La Trobe inscription.

Also forgotten for the rescheduled event were the Freemasons whose presence often dominated such ceremonies. 

A representative ‘Hiram’ complained in a letter to the Argus about this omission and indicated that the original date for the ceremony was 1 May but it had to be postponed due to La Trobe’s ‘domestic affliction’ (which Barnes discusses). The suggestion was that this slight to the more dignified of Melbourne’s inhabitants would not have happened under La Trobe.

The Argus dismissed the protest suggesting that the foundation stones seem to have been put firmly in place without the aid of Masonic ceremony and thought such ceremonies (presumably along with La Trobe) may best be forgotten.

But in time the Argus was forgotten and so apparently the actual location of the University’s Foundation Stone and its commemorative plate.

But not La Trobe…

The decision by the Victorian Government, made 120 years later, to name the State’s third university after La Trobe was done in part to rectify his undeserved poor public perception. In 1964, the La Trobe University Act was given Royal Assent by La Trobe’s 20^th and last British-born successor Sir Rohan Delacombe.

Whether the University itself has made a difference to the public perception of the man after whom it is named is a moot point. What is beyond dispute is that La Trobe: Traveller, Writer, Governor has improved our understanding of La Trobe and his times and enhanced his reputation. In particular, it shows that there is no basis for the poor perception peddled by the acerbic editor of the then fledgeling, and now defunct, Argus newspaper. The Argus, of course, rehabilitated its reputation after a change of editors - and Barnes has restored La Trobe’s reputation.

Although The Argus adopted the Royal motto
'Dieu et mon Droit' it was not a supporter of the Crown's representative.

La Trobe was formally farewelled at a grand ball on the 28th December 1853. The speaker of the Legislative Council presented him with a gold cup saying ‘you have been a principal instrument... [in]augurating the destinies of this great colony’. On one side was the following inscription:

Presented to His Excellency Charles Joseph La Trobe, Esq., the first Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria, in consideration of the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow-colonists, and of the signal success which, under Divine Providence, has attended his administration of the government of the colony during fourteen years.

The speaker also ventured that ‘the public judgment possesses an instructive tendency to rectify [over] time, and … although the reward of virtue may be deferred, it is not on that account the less certain’.

His prophecy seems now fulfilled.

Robert Doyle, Melbourne’s Lord Mayor from November 2008 to February 2018, described La Trobe this way:

Consider a couple of early Melbourne visionaries. That humane and far-sighted first governor Charles Joseph La Trobe gave us the parklands that still define Melbourne’s temperament and grant its livability. He is to Melbourne what the founder of Central Park, Frederick Law Olmsted, is to New York. The man who fixed nature in the city gave it a defining ambience and lungs with which to breathe.

The remark highlights how La Trobe’s strong sense of the public interest was manifest. The amount of land he reserved for public parks and gardens was ‘remarkable’ according to Barnes and Melbourne has certainly benefited from his ‘enthusiasm for botany’ and the outdoors.

One fascinating aspect of the book is its exploration of how La Trobe’s Moravian background as a detached observer of the world influenced his approach. His instinct was not to interfere – though in fact there was probably little real opportunity to be too ‘pro-active.’ 

As a ‘traveller’ La Trobe used his observational skills, which later made him a natural for preparing unbiased reports for the Crown. His upbringing taught him not to be ‘of the world’ and to not interfere with the status quo.

During his ‘rambling’ in America, he did not follow the path of many English visitors to meet with politicians and leading ‘citizens’ in Washington. This illustrates his detached indifference to them. His upbringing underlined that God had put governments in their place to keep social order and it was not the role of the Christian to interfere with their policies.

Melbourne probably struck him as an uncultured place with a desire for what he may have regarded as an American-style democracy. He was not a democrat or a politician but the faithful servant of His Majesty – and later Her Majesty Queen Victoria after whom the Colony would be named when statehood came about.

Melbourne as it was when La Trobe left.
‘Canvas Town' Yarra River, Melbourne en-route to the diggings,
taken from 'The Victorian Gold Fields 1852-3' by S. T. Gill via Wikimedia.

This issue had been something of a theological dilemma for some schools of Christianity; does one wait for God to bring in the Kingdom or does one create it on earth now.

This theological conundrum has since been thought ‘resolved’ by Reinhold Niebuhr in the last century who made it acceptable for ethical Christians to actively try to improve a sinful world by seeing redemption as an imperfect and continuing process. Niebuhr’s philosophy – or perhaps better theology – apparently now adopted by most recent US Presidents - is encapsulated in his short Serenity Prayer:

Father, give us courage to change what must be altered, serenity to accept what cannot be helped, and the insight to know the one from the other.

Of course, there are limits to this ‘accommodation’; witness Niebuhr’s most recent advocate James Comey.

Fundamental to Superintendent La Trobe’s thoughts, words and actions were his spirituality and his evangelicalism. He shocked the colonists with his arrival speech:

It will not be by individual aggrandisement, by the possession of numerous flocks and herds, or of costly acres, that we shall secure for the country enduring prosperity and happiness, but by the acquisition and maintenance of sound religious and moral institutions, without which no country can become truly great. Let us remember that religion is the only great preventive of crime, and contributes more, in a far more endurable manner, to the peace and good order of society than the Judge and the Sheriff – the gaol and the gibbet united.

He may have clashed with the current President of the United States over what makes a country great. His approach did clash with some early Melbournians, though certainly not all (churches leaders were amongst his sympathetic supporters). 

La Trobe was focussed on his civilising mission in this outpost of Empire, while many colonists had just one major preoccupation – to improve their material lot in life.

La Trobe’s sketch on the back cover of Barnes’ book shows a carriage receding from view. Previously, this image would have been illustrative of how distant our view of him was. Now it is as if we are farewelling a friend with fond memories of a dedicated civiliser and lover of nature who left having made Victoria better than when he found it.

La Trobe will probably continue to be most remembered for the ‘fresh air’ he brought to the city of Melbourne.  

Given his love of the outdoors, it’s a most fitting legacy.

Melbourne skyline as La Trobe allowed it to be, from the Royal Botanic Gardens. 

Image by Cookaa (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons.

Readings of Interest...

If you’re inspired to read some related books, here are a few options.

La Trobe : traveller, writer, governor
by John Barnes

Books by Charles Joseph La Trobe himself

The Rambler in North America: 1832-1833 

by Charles Joseph La Trobe  

Recommended by Edgar Allan Poe!

The Alpenstock, or Sketches of Swiss Scenery and Manners: 1825-1826

by Charles Joseph La Trobe

 

The Rambler in Mexico: 1834

by Charles Joseph La Trobe 

The when and where of Alonzo Marion Poe

The following is a chronology of the life and times of Alonzo Marion Poe who I've written about before.

The energetic Poe in Olympia
about 1855.

Poe moved around ‘Oregon Country’ where he spent most of his adult life and trying to confirm his location at different times is difficult. 

In some cases, it seems he was operating in two places at once. He certainly had assistance from his brother Americus who probably ‘managed’ his land in Bellingham, preceded him to Napa and managed his affairs after his death. 

It is possible that his youngest brother Alexander was in Thurston County in 1853 as he bought a small block on the edge of the city. If so he would have also worked for his energetic brother.

One activity that does not show up in the chronology is his apparently successful export of fruit trees to Canada. When it began and how long this 'side-line' lasted is not clear. His interest in real estate (perhaps learned from his father) continued through his adult life. His interests in 'news' and printing were strong but he was also a politician, 'lawman' and 'civil engineer'.

‘Oregon Country’ was a disputed region of the Pacific Northwest of North America, occupied by British and French-Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s. Its coastal areas north of the Columbia River were frequented by ships from all nations engaged in the maritime fur trade. The region was divided between the UK and US in 1846.

Map of Oregon Country by Kmusser.

Key events in Alonzo’s life

April 1826 – Born in Clay County (now part of Clinton County formed 2 January 1833), Missouri. He was the second child and first of three sons for William Romulus and Margaret Ann Po(w)e.

April 1845 – Poe leaves Missouri on the Oregon Trail employed with the Lemmon-Walden group which was aiming for the Willamette Valley.

September 1845 – The group arrives in the Oregon Country.

19 December 1845 – Lewis County created as Vancouver County changing to Lewis in 1849.

1846 – Settles in Tumwater, Lewis County (now part of Thurston County).

15 June 1846 - The Oregon Treaty establishes the British-American boundary at the 49th parallel (with the exception of Vancouver Island which becomes British territory).

12 November 1846 – Poe submits a provisional land claim for property in Lewis County which he ‘intends to hold by personal occupancy’.

13 June 1847 - Elected sheriff of Lewis County.

The scorecard for the sheriff’s vote.

31 December 1846 - Submits a provisional land claim for property in Linn County.

18 April – 5 July 1848 – Enlists as a private in Captain Burnett’s Company N 1st Regiment of the Oregon Volunteers during the Cayuse War, in Thurston County.

14 August 1848 - Territory of Oregon incorporated into the United States. It includes the current states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and parts of Wyoming and Montana.

25 June 1850 – Listed in Lewis County census as a farmer.

1851 – Part of volunteer militia to Victoria to rescue sailors captured by the Haida Indians in the Queen Charlotte Islands.

1851 – Listed in Lewis County census of Olympia township as a single person.

June 1851 – Appointed County Clerk of Lewis County.

4 July 1851 – Olympia settler John B Chapman calls for settlers to split from Oregon Territory. Poe elected secretary of a preliminary meeting to form Washington Territory from Oregon.

29 August 1851 - One of twenty-six delegates at a meeting at Cowlitz Landing, Lewis County, to ‘take into careful consideration the present particular position of the northern portion of the territory, its wants, the best method of supplying those wants, and the propriety of an early appeal to Congress for a division of the territory’.

Memorial in Monticello celebrating participants of both the Cowlitz and Monticello conventions. The first is what lead to the creation of the new territory the second garnered popular support.

12 January 1852 – Thurston County created out of Lewis County.

7 February 1852 - A public hearing in Olympia, composed of the citizens of Thurston County and the passengers and crew of the sloop Georgianna, recently returned from Queen Charlotte's Island, elects Colonel M T Simmons as Chair, with D R Bigelow and A M Poe secretaries.

June 1852 – Elected Clerk of Thurston County.

1852 – Appointed Deputy US Marshall.

8 July 1852 - Petition by citizens meeting in Olympia demands the establishment of a newspaper to be called the Columbian and 'neutral in politics and religion, and devoted to the interests of Northern Oregon'. Poe appointed to receive funds.

11 September 1852 – First edition of the Columbian published by T F McElroy and J W Wiley in Olympia aims to create an independent territory and advocates Whig policies. The press was constructed by Adam Ramage and itself has an interesting history.

24 September 1852 – Land claim by Andrew Moses refers to an adjacent claim by Poe near Budd’s Inlet Thurston County apparently not referred to elsewhere.

25 November 1852 - Monticello Convention also produced a memorial to Congress calling for the creation of a new territory north of the Columbia, though it was received after the decision had been made.

22 December 1852 – Island County and Pierce County created out of Thurston County.

2 March 1853 – Washington Territory created with Isaac Stevens as governor.

17 September 1853 – Date of Poe's successful donation claim for 303.25 acres in Bellingham, Island County.

14 November 1853 -  Resigns as clerk of Thurston County.

1853 – Admitted to the Bar as a lawyer [Record to be located].

1853 – May have acquired land in Thurston County.

28 November 1853 - Isaac Stevens selects Olympia as capital of Washington Territory.

February 1854 – State Legislature’s first meeting.

9 March 1854 - Whatcom County created out of Island County. Poe appointed public notary in Thurston County.

September 1854 – Elected to the Territorial Legislature representing Whatcom County as a Whig candidate.

1854 – Appointed Auditor for Whatcom County.

20 October 1855 to 21 January 1856 - Lieutenant in Captain Charles H. Eaton’s Puget Sound Rangers during the Indian Wars raised in Thurston County.

October 1855 - When Lt. McAllister reports that Leschi, chief of the Nisquallies, had decided to fight for his land a small group of men, including Poe and McAllister, to bring Leschi in. McAllister is shot. Leschi is tried and hanged for 'murdering' A B Moses. Leschi was exonerated in 2004, by a special historical court.

1855 - Scrip Warrant Act authorised the issuance of scrip as payment for military or other service. This could be used to purchase Federal land. It was transferable and often sold for cash.

12 November 1856 – Submits a provisional land claim for property in Lewis County which he ‘intends to hold by personal occupancy’. 

11 August 1857 – Poe’s friend Captain Isaac Ebey killed and scalped at Coupeville, Whidbey Island, in Island County, as part of an Indian ‘payback attack’.

Poe’s network included the Independent Order of Oddfellows.

12 July 1858 – Elected surveyor at Whatcom County. He plats Whatcom town and quitclaims most of his land in Bellingham to his younger brother Americus.

1858 - Discontinuation of the land warrant program.

14 February 1859 - The State of Oregon admitted to the Union. The eastern portions of the Oregon Territory, including southern Idaho, portions of Wyoming west of the continental divide, and a small portion of present-day Ravalli County, Montana were annexed to the Washington Territory.

Early 1960 - Places advertisements in The British Colonist (Victoria, Vancouver) to sell fruit and ornamental trees.

The British Colonist, 19 January 1860, p 4

5 April 1860 - Returns Ebey’s scalp to his brother Winfred, after receiving it from Captain Charles Dodd who had purchased it from Indians.

4 June 1860 – Census shows Poe living in Thurston County as ‘Artist’ land ownership indicated.

5 November 1860 – Lincoln elected US President.

12 April 1861 – Civil War breaks out.

29 July 1861 – Founding editor of Overland Press published in Olympia, Thurston County, and its proprietor until 11 August 1862.

6 January 1862 – Elected Public Printer for Washington Territory by the Legislative Assembly. The British Colonist based in Vancouver wrote that ‘Mr Poe received 21 out of 35 votes cast on the fifth ballot. The office is worth about $7,000, and could not have fallen into better hands.’

About 1862 – Dr A G Henry, editor of rival paper The Standard assaults Poe with his cane and threatens him with a Bowie knife following a disagreement over an article. Henry shortly after joined his old friend Abraham Lincoln to become his doctor and political adviser.

Dr Henry after his spat with Poe.
Note that Lincolnesque beard!

11 August 1862 - Overland Press becomes a weekly and Poe assigns his interests to B F Kendall, who being less urbane and fleet-of-foot than Poe was murdered in the Press office the following January.

Saturday 23 August 1862 – Leaves for California to ‘recover his health’.

About 1863 – In Stockton, San Francisco as 'topographical engineer'.

19 January 1863 – Marries Emma M Hartshorn (1829-1872) daughter of Rev Chancellor Hartshorn in Napa, California. Many assume incorrectly that Emma is the daughter of Poe's associate Judge Chancellor Hartson.

21 November 1863 - Appointed enrolling officer for the Union in Napa County California under the Conscription Act.

January 1864 – Daughter Emma Agnes is born.

9 March 1864 – Elected corporal in a Cavalry Company in Napa City.

July 1864 – Tax return shows him operating a news ('intelligence') office and a real estate office in San Francisco.

3 May 1865 – ‘Baby’ Poe dies in Napa California.

9 May 1865 – Proclamation of the end of the Civil War.

1 August 1865 – Death of daughter Emma Agnes in San Francisco.

18 October 1865 – Elected one of two justices for Napa township.

29 January 1866 - Poe dies in Napa, California of ‘inflammation of the lungs’.

April 1966 – Emma returns to her father’s home in Michigan where she remains until her death without marrying again.

May 1866 – Brother Americus commences work of settling his affairs.

11 November 1889 – Washington Territory admitted to the Union as the State of Washington.

An impression of Olympia as Poe would have known it in about 1853.

Jottings of interest: October 2017

William R Powe and the D that wasn’t…

In an earlier post, I commented that William R Poe had not been found in the 1840 census in Clinton County, Missouri. The ‘omission’ may have meant he’d left Clinton and gone somewhere else or perhaps just been forgotten by the enumerator Mr Armstrong M'Clintock. 

It turns out neither is correct and it was just poor handwriting and a change of spelling (both can be blamed on M'Clintock) and not reading closely enough (my fault) ….

Here is an extract of the 1840 image.

The last name is 'Wm [William] R Pow'

Apart from the spelling being ‘Pow’, as opposed to Poe or Powe, the initial ‘P’ had been previously read and recorded as a ‘D’. Comparing it to other names, such as Poge confirms that ‘P’ is intended, it's just a distended loop which its one leg has been unable to hold up!

The names of the others in the households were not included, but the total number of persons have been grouped by age and divided into males and females. The numbers add up. That is, the numbers are appropriate for William his wife Margaret and their four children; Agnes, Alonzo, Americus and Alexander (my ancestor).

The other minor correction is about the statement that his second marriage took place in April 1949 in Buchannan County. This information came from his widow late in her life as part of a sworn statement for her to obtain a widow’s pension. My guess is that she would have remembered her wedding day and her attestation is very specific even giving the name of the celebrant, Mr Saunders, justice of the peace.  

It is possible that it took place in another County, though the obvious choice would have been Clinton. It turns out that the marriage is not recorded there either. However, wherever it did take place, Mr Saunders did not lodge the information with the County Recorder so there is no official record. 

So the event is probably correctly remembered by his wife; it's just that there is no official record.

Even if there were a record in the marriage record book, it would not tell us the names of William’s parents – which is what I am trying to find out. The information in the record books at the time say something to the following effect;

I (name of officiant) married (groom’s name) to (bride’s name) on (date) and (place—often just county name).  Name of the officiant.  Date filed. 

Later records would have included parents’ details and the consent of the father for an underaged girl, as the JP would have been required to convince himself of in this case.

I’ll tweak my earlier post to bring it up to date with these clarifications.

Joseph Swan now in Wikipedia

My short item on Joseph Swan is now part of Wikipedia and can be added to by anyone with an interest. It’s a ‘cut down’ version of my blog item on him.  Hopefully, more detail can be added to the story of his life.

Of course, Joseph was mentioned before in a variety of articles but generally only with his name and a designation as engraver or publisher – now he has a justified separate identity!

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia which aims to allow anyone to edit articles. Wikipedia is the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet and ranked the fifth-most popular website. Wikipedia is owned by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, a charitable organisation headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Lucy Poe Blandy: another picture and more details

Lucy was a member of United States Daughters of 1812 and it seems one of the last of the 'real daughters'. She passed away at the age of 94 on Christmas day 1946. I have previously obtained a copy of her Daughters of 1812 application papers which have been of great help in obtaining information about her father my ancestor William Romulus Poe. It was also the starting point also for my item on his daughter Lucy Poe Blandy.

The Society’s Newsletter of July 1947 had an item which stated that ‘Mrs Charles Henry Plotner presented a portrait of the late Mrs [Lucy Jane] Blandy, a Real Daughter who was a member of the society in the District of Columbia, to be placed in Headquarters.’ On reading that I wrote to ask if they still had the portrait.

Sadly, 70 years later after that gift, that portrait can’t be found, but the Society kindly kept looking and 12 October I received a note from Mary Raye Casper, 4th Vice President National. She informed me that:

Unfortunately, I was unable to locate a portrait of Mrs Blandy but did find mention of her in one of our District of Columbia Society scrapbooks. This information then led me to a familiar photograph that is at the Library of Congress which includes an image of Mrs Lucy Poe Blandy. I have attached this image taken on May 14, 1923, of four Real Daughters whose fathers "took an active part in the War of 1812".

From left to right: Miss J. E. Richardson, Mrs H. W. Blandy, Mrs J. F. Galliard, and Mrs Clara Louise Dowling, 14 May 1923 outside the famous Willard Hotel, Washington DC. 

The women were attending the twentieth-anniversary meeting of the founding of the national organization in Washington, DC, at the Willard Hotel. Comparing it to the photo in the earlier blog item, they were obviously taken at about the same time, which should make it easier to identify the blurry monument behind them. 

The photo is wonderfully clear and frank. The flag they are holding is a replica of the US flag as it was during the War of 1812 - with 15 stars.

By the way, the Daughters of 1812 are this year celebrating their Quasquicentennial! 

That's their 125th - from 1892-2017. 

Amongst their achievements, the effort to make the Star-Spangled Banner the official National Anthem of the United States began with the United States Daughters of 1812. The story and the efforts of Mrs Reuben Ross Holloway makes an interesting read.

The lyrics come from Defence of Fort M'Henry, a poem written on 14 September 1814, by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key. He wrote it after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the huge American flag, the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the Fort during the American victory.

Flag that flew over Fort McHenry in 1814,
photographed in 1873 in the Boston Navy Yard
by George Henry Preble. Via Wikipedia

Mrs Casper confirmed that their records show that Lucy Poe Blandy was very likely the last surviving Real Daughter of the District of Columbia Society of the N.S.U.S.D. of 1812. They have records that indicate that Marie Burnham Bonorden of El Paso, Texas, was the last surviving Real Daughter of the National Society. 

Mary died on 26 June 1973. Her father was Rev Jonas Burnham, who had a most interesting life and his story is recorded in a short book, Seventy years a teacher. Sketch of the life of Rev. Jonas Burnham (1920) by, Arthur Wellesley Perkins. Mary’s mother was his second wife Mary Lovina Wells.  Mary’s grave is in the Evergreen Cemetery East, El Paso, Texas.

oOo

Agnes Miriam Bald: windows to her mind

The previous item about Agnes Miriam ‘Nan’ Bald outlined her life. This item describes some of her writing with a few examples to illustrate her preoccupations and mood.

The following are excerpts of some of her poems as they appear in her short book, Pencil Poems. They were written before about 1925 and the earliest may date from 1919, though there is no indication of the dates for specific poems. The book is dedicated to her mother whom she cared for after the death of her father in December 1925.

A sentence which represents a strong theme of the book is on page 15:

‘It would be nice to feel when ends life’s weary way,

We’ve done our best!’

There is another celebrating a betrothal which may reflect the experience of her youngest sister Ruth or perhaps her eldest sister Evelyn on page 20. The theme of betrothal is the subject of a number of poems and though none seems to refer specifically to herself it is clearly a topic which occupied her mind. 

One gets the impression that this theme comes from a personal experience which was too painful to describe directly. Apart from this, she is consistent in making clear when speaking about herself, which is helpful in identifying other aspects of her life.

‘The Bruised Reed; to a war hero’ tells of a soldier, Bill, who though wounded in the [First World] War and permanently confined to bed, dictates words of beauty which are printed in a newspaper to cheer and ‘comfort half the race’. The story seems to be of someone she knows about as the focus is a nurse copying down his words to send to an editor – whose name is unknown to the author. Her sister Ruth was a nurse during the War so could be based on her experience.  

The poem follows the title of a book by Richard Sibbes (1567–1635) published in 1630 to help struggling Christians see their Saviour as a tender shepherd. Sibbes is best remembered for his little book that draws from Isaiah’s description of the coming Messiah who will not break a bruised reed nor snuff a faintly burning wick.

Another poem called ‘The Proposal’ describes a proposal of marriage and might be the story of a female friend of hers.

‘You are young Mary meadows’ is a kind of tribute to ‘You are old Father William’ and though it shows genuine verbal fun – possibly the only poem to do so - there is the theme of marriage again which obviously preoccupied her. ‘You Are Old, Father William’ is a ‘nonsense poem’ written by Lewis Carroll and appears in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), recited by Alice. The poem was popular with my mother and I guess widely enjoyed at the time and was itself a parody of a now ignored didactic poem by Robert Southey ‘The Old Man's Comforts and How He Gained Them’ published in 1799 and once well-known and loathed by children. 

The first two verses of ‘You are old, Father William’ (1865) by Lewis Carroll are:

“You are old, Father William,” the young man said,

“And your hair has become very white;

And yet you incessantly stand on your head –

Do you think, at your age, it is right?”

“In my youth,” Father William replied to his son,

“I feared it might injure the brain;

But, now that I’m perfectly sure I have none,

Why, I do it again and again.”

…

The first two verses of Agnes’ poem are as follows;

You are Young Mary Meadows

“You are young Mary meadows,” the young man said,

“And your eyes are as bright as the stars,

And yet you refuse charming fellows to wed

You seem to prefer their papas!"

“In the days of my childhood,” she said to the youth,

“I used to like young men like you;

But since I’ve grown up, I must say of a truth,

I seem to like older ones too!”

…

'Raggles' celebrates the Tibetan Lhasa terrier she had in India. The only picture in Pencil Poems is of this dog. Raggles also appears as an ‘extra’ in a family photo in front of her parents’ home at Tukvar shown in the previous post.

Raggles gets star billing as the only picture in Pencil Poems.

A glimpse of her love for India is in the poem of that name.

‘India, thou land of sheer delight!

Land of my birth, I know I love thee quite.

How many years have I spent on thy shore?

I think they’d reckon up to half a score.’

…

When you near home, and your verandah see,

You will be longing for some home-grown tea…’

The poem remind me of the following picture taken at Tukvar which shows Nan's sister Evelyn, mother Margaret and sister Jessie. The picture was probably taken by her father Claud.

Taking tea at Tukvar.

There are two poems about her nieces who visited in August 1922, my mother Joan and her sister dubbed ‘Maya’. We learn from the poem that it was Maya’s ayah who dubbed her thus. Joan ‘is a very bright wee spark, as clever as can be!’ and Maya is ‘a charming little child.’ 

Nan was delighted when the girls did come to join her and her mother a few years later. The phrase ‘wee spark’ reminds me that her parents were both Glaswegian and must have retained that accent through their lives.

Joan the 'bright wee spark' and her mother
 at the time she met Nan and her Bald grandparents for the first time.

The final poem returns to a theme which is consistent throughout the book; a life of pain which others cannot understand and in which she gained strength through her faith.  The title is ‘Be Strong’ and final verse reads;

‘When weariness and weakness is my lot,

What would I do if I ever forgot

These words as through this life I go along,

“Quit ye like men, be strong”’

The last phrase, like others in Pencil Poems, is from the Bible and illustrates her faith which persisted through her life. The phrase is a call to ‘man up’, take responsibility for yourself and do what you need to do. The Apostle Paul uses it in the context of what might be called a moral fight. The phrase had a military application in World War I, consistent with its Old Testament usage where the against the odds the Philistines took this approach and defeated the lax Israelite army. The approach is one my mother adopted though she did not have a specifically Christian sense of faith.

oOo

I think the crucial factor of Nan's life which the family memory may have missed is the devastating impact of the first world war.

Women's Army Auxiliary Corps tend the graves of fallen British soldiers.
Abbeville, France, 9 February 1918. Imperial War Museums. 

Nearly three-quarters of a million young British men died in the first world war. Their loss was also that of a generation of young women who had expected to marry. Virginia Nicholson's book Singled Out: How Two Million Women Survived Without Men After the First World War details the phenomena of the single women of the 1920s and 1930s. Even before the war, there were more women than men, but the 1921 census revealed that in Britain women exceeded men by 1.75 million.

Nicholson shows how difficult it was for women who viewed marriage as their birthright to adjust. They had not only to manage their own disappointment and reduced expectations in a climate that pushed homemaking to the fore but do so in the face of both pity and condemnation.

‘Surplus Woman and spinster’, she says, were terms of 'crushing weight'. While her book celebrates women who did climb out from underneath the weight, others would have simply found it very difficult. Nan had a tough time adjusting but was buoyed somewhat by her faith and perhaps her sister Jessie struggled more. In a strange twist, Jessie imagined that men were always chasing her.

For the Bald sisters, a clandestine affair would have been out of the question given their upbringing. This was underlined in the climate that life for the single woman meant enforced celibacy or the loss of respectability.

We have no information on how Nan was employed after her mother died in 1935, though the stipend her parents will provided for her may have meant finding a menial task was the necessity it was for many single women.

Her debt to her parents’ in this provision was significant and in recognition of this I suspect she is the person who organised arrangements for their grave which consists of a pink granite Celtic cross and a grave edging also in granite with the words

‘Their children and grandchildren record their deep gratitude for loving service and noble example.’

By this time her nieces Joan and Maya had returned from India to Worthing for their schooling and Nan spent much time looking after them as well as her ageing mother.

After her mother’s death, her nieces spent summer holidays with their Aunt Ruth and her husband Arthur Campbell in Bangor, North Wales or stayed on at School. 

Nan threw herself into a variety of organisations; she was a founding member and or honorary secretary to the Worthing branches of the Lord's Day Observance Society, Women’s International Fellowship, Protestant Alliance and Women’s World Day of Prayer. 

In 1938, she took up a position as leader of the Sunday Defenders, the children’s section of the Lord’s day Observance Society, based in Brighton, though had returned to Worthing after a year.

In late 1941 she suffered a breakdown in her health and resigned from some of these roles for what turned out to be a short time and returned to her various roles of public advocacy.

In these roles (before and after her break), she was a frequent writer to the editor of the Worthing Herald and spoke at public meetings in support of ‘The great need for women’s influence and responsibility’. She was not shy in offering public expositions of her views of the Bible for example.

In July 1936, no doubt still mourning the loss of her mother, she wrote on the topic of ‘The Pacifist and the burglar’ concluding in a characteristic way;

‘It is this spiritual freedom to serve the unseen Deity which our country still retains, for which we owe the deepest debt of gratitude to our heroes of the Great War, Jesus Christ commends watchful defence of property in Matthew 24:43.’

The tone of her writings had become combative, her feelings are often raw, bitter and unhappy and they often invited cynical responses.

Her apparently joyless advocacy of sacrifice in later life may have been a subconscious expression of bereavement not only at the loss of her mother but also of the married life she dreamed of as a younger woman. She would have been reminded of her loss regularly at the sight of couples with children and in a society increasingly interested in enjoyments such as Sunday cinemas instead of sacrifice. Her inability to regulate her emotions would have reduced her ability to maintain social relationships which would have exacerbated her sense of loss.

Nan’s faith may have provided some buttress to sanity and the absence of such belief, in the case of her sister Jessie, may have made her isolation complete.

Though the first world war deprived many women of potential husbands, it enabled the pioneering few to establish careers. A Bald cousin, Dr Marjory Amelia, dedicated her life to the study and teaching of women’s literature and supporting missionary work and is worthy of recognition for this. Her major work was Women-writers of the nineteenth century and it remains a go-to text for that study and her life a positive example.

The collection of Pencil Poems provides a fascinating glimpse into a part of Nan’s life. A more careful examination of the poems may identify all the people mentioned, the references made to other writings, and the circumstances referred to, though we may never know the name of the person whose loss caused her deepest sense of isolation.

Nan died on 4 May 1950 in a Worthing nursing home and was cremated.

Nan in happy times.
Taking nieces Joan and Maya to school in Worthing.

Let me know if you would like a soft copy of Pencil Poems.