Week of April 16, 2007

Chapter Eleven: In Which I Sit for My Daguerreotype and Meet a Poet :

This chapter is a rather relaxing one for Hitty.

Hitty gives us a giggle when she says it was not a hardship for her to hold still for the long minutes it took for the photographer to make a daguerreotype exposure. Then she was disappointed when she didn't show up in the image. I'm sure she was tickled when Clarissa made a fuss about it. Then Hitty was extraordinarily proud when her daguerreotype turned out so well.

Seeing the Maine infantry division brought back early memories. Getting to meet John Greenleaf Whittier and having him compliment her was another proud moment for Hitty. Then at the end of the chapter, Hitty can tell that her happy time with Clarissa is nearing an end.

What a range of emotions Hitty went through in this short chapter!
_________________

How happy and surprised Hitty was to be able to sit for her own daguerreotype. Even though she was not dressed in her best clothing, the accessories the artist provided were more than enough. The berries he provided especially reminded her of mountain-ash berries. I am sure her thoughts must travel back to the Prebles when she sees or hears something familiar like this.

Clarissa seems to really love Hitty and is very careful about arranging her clothing and corals so that she will look perfect for the daguerreotype. I think Clarissa was showing a little bit of her rebellious streak again as she makes sure Hitty’s corals are pulled out in full view for the daguerreotype. Her mother would undoubtedly have cautioned her about that if she had been there.
__________________

M.S. Dort was curious by the mention in this chapter of color in Clarissa's daguerreotype, so she did some research and found out that yes, indeed, some early photographers were able to add color to the otherwise dull images.
__________________

I think Hitty has really enjoyed her time at the Pryce household: first, the concert with Adelina Patti; then to sit for her own Daguerreotype; and then to meet famous poet, John Greenleaf Whittier. How pleased she was when the Artist took special pains to create a Daguerreotype just for her; and then when Mr. Whittier paid special attention to her and even created a poem for her, “Lines to a Quaker Doll of Philadelphia”.

After listening to the reading of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, I am sure Hitty would have loved to attend the big protest meeting against slavery. With her love of learning I am sure she would have found this meeting to be very informative.

President Lincoln is in office. War is coming. Hitty is confused about what is going on with all the talk of soldiers and fighting. Finally Grandfather Pryce comes in and tells them "it has come to war."

The Pryces, as Quakers, did not send men off to war, but Hitty was able, from the front steps of the Pryce household or from her mantle by the window, to see long blue lines of men marching by.

Imagine her surprise when she saw the twelfth Maine infantry division. Her thoughts again went back to the Prebles and Maine. I think her thoughts will always go back to the Prebles no matter what she experiences in her life.
_________________

Clarissa was not able to spend as much time with Hitty because with war going on, there were many things to do in the household. Several servants were dismissed, so there was more sewing and housework, and each evening all the women would gather and scrape lint from the cotton which was used to make bandages for the wounded soldiers. Hitty wanted to help but, of course, could not.

Ruth hears that her intended, John Norton, has been wounded in the leg. The war goes on and soon Hitty is no longer stirred by the sounds of drums and fifes in the street. Has she just grown accustomed to it?

Hitty knows things are changing. Clarissa has stated she is 12 and too old for a doll. Hitty thought when the war ended, things would be as before, but she knows they won’t. John Norton sends a letter and tells Ruth about a little girl who brings him flowers sometimes. She is a year or two younger than Clarissa and has a doll with a cloth head because the china one got shot away. Her name is Camilla Calhoun and she likes to hear stories about Clarissa’s Hitty. She brought John a jasmine flower and told him to “send it to the Yankee doll.” How sweet and thoughtful of Camilla to do this. I think this gesture sends a big message. If everyone would extend flowers and love instead of guns and hatred, this would be a far better world to live in.

Clarissa wasn’t happy at first about the flower gift, but after her mother explained about loving thy enemies and Clarissa not having to suffer during the war like little Camilla, she was more accepting. I’m not sure why Ruth wanted to pack Hitty off and send her to Camilla. That part didn’t make sense to me. Was she upset about John getting shot and losing his leg? Was she jealous of the little girl? Or upset over the interference of the war in their lives? Maybe I am reading this wrong, and Ruth wanted to send Hitty as a kind thing to do for the little girl, but to take Clarissa’s doll and send her off??? _________________

Haven't you ever had a brother or sister that was keen to do a charitable deed as long as that charity involved giving away something of yours rather than his or hers?

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892):
John Greenleaf Whittier, born December 17, 1807 in the southwest Parlor of the Whittier Homestead, was the first son and second child of John and Abigail (Hussey) Whittier. He grew up on the farm in a household with his parents, a brother and two sisters, aunt and uncle, and a constant flow of visitors and hired hands for the farm.

Whittier’s first poem to be seen in print appeared in 1826 in the Newburyport Free Press, where the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison was editor. Under Garrison’s encouragement Whittier actively joined the abolitionist cause and edited newspapers in Boston and Hartford. He was associated with the Atlantic Monthly Magazine from 1857 until his death.

In 1831, he brought out a book of prose works, “Legends of New England,” and the next year returned to his native town to run the farm after his father’s death, and later moved to Amesbury. Until the Civil War, he became increasingly involved in the abolitionist cause, serving in numerous capacities on the local, state and national levels. He was also involved in the formation of the Republican Party.

With the publication of Snow-Bound in 1866, Whittier finally enjoyed a relatively comfortable life from the profits of his published works. It is Snow-Bound for which he will always be best remembered as a poet. Nearly every volume of his verses published thereafter was truly a best seller. Whittier died on September 7, 1892 at a friend’s home in Hampton Falls, NH, and was buried with the rest of his family in Amesbury.

Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe and Uncle Tom’s Cabin:
Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe (June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American abolitionist and novelist, whose Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) attacked the cruelty of slavery. The story focuses on the tale of Uncle Tom, a long-suffering black slave around whose life the other characters—both fellow slaves and slave owners—revolve. The novel depicts the harsh reality of slavery while also showing that Christian love and faith can overcome even something as evil as enslavement of fellow human beings. It made the political issues of the 1850s regarding slavery tangible to millions, energizing anti-slavery forces in the North. It angered and embittered the South. The impact was summed up by Abraham Lincoln when he met Stowe, "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great, great war!"

Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, she was the daughter of Lyman Beecher, an abolitionist Congregationalist, preacher from Boston and Roxana Foote Beecher, and the sister of renowned minister, Henry Ward Beecher. She had two other prominent and activist siblings, a brother, Charles Beecher, and a sister, Catharine Beecher. In 1832, her family moved to Cincinnati, another hotbed of the abolitionist movement, where her father became the first president of Lane Theological Seminary. There she gained second-hand knowledge of slavery and the Underground Railroad and was moved to write Uncle Tom's Cabin, the first major American novel with an African-American hero. She never visited a plantation, but did talk with former slaves.

In 1836 Harriet Beecher married Calvin Ellis Stowe, a clergyman and widower. They moved to Brunswick, Maine, when he became a professor at Bowdoin College. Harriet and Calvin had seven children, but four of the seven died before she did. Her first children, twin girls Hattie and Eliza, were born on September 29, 1836. Four years later, in 1840, her son Frederick William was born. In 1848 the birth of Samuel Charles occurred, but in the following year, he died during a cholera epidemic. Because of the pain she felt when she lost her son Samuel, she attributed it to how a mother in slavery would have felt being sold away from her children at the selling block. This was the biggest factor behind her writing Uncle Tom's Cabin, seen in her character Eliza Harris who runs away from slavery when her son was going to be sold away from her.
In 1850, the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law stirred Stowe to the abolitionist side. Her sister-in-law wrote her saying, "Harriet, if I could use a pen as you can, I would write something that would make this whole nation feel what an accursed thing slavery is." After reading this aloud to her children Harriet dramatically crumpled the paper in her hand and said, "I will write something if I live." While at church she is said to have had a vision of "Uncle Tom's death" and was reportedly moved to tears. Immediately she went to her home and started writing her book.

After this Stowe began researching slavery as best as she could. She interviewed slaves and slave owners with all points of views, and read several books. Later in 1851, with the help of William Lloyd Garrison, the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, Stowe began publishing fictional sketches. These appeared in serialised form during 1851 in the Cincinnati abolitionist newspaper, The National Era under the title "Uncle Tom's Cabin" or "Life Among the Lowly". Her main character is widely believed to have been based on Josiah Henson who published his own account of being enslaved. After prompting from readers and her husband, who believed in her story's power to change the mind, she published her sketches as a two volume book in 1852. Within a week of its release in the U.S., her book sold a phenomenal 10,000 copies, and 300,000 the first year. Sales were even higher in Britain. By 1854, her book was translated into 60 different languages.

Stowe's book had an astounding effect on the Northern states of America. Thousands more flocked to the abolitionist side. However, the rift dividing the north and south deepened. The south denied that the book was a true account of southern life, and took it as an accusation. The south even went to such severe measures as to ban the book and arrest anyone in possession of it. In their defense the south wrote mocking books praising the good of slavery such as "Aunt Phillis's Cabin; or Southern Life as it is." In response Stowe gathered all her information and wrote, "A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin." This book was written to prove she researched her topic. Yet, though written to the south, it was not read as widely there as elsewhere.

However, all the way across the Atlantic in Great Britain the message of Uncle Tom was also embraced, supported from its inception by the powerful advocate Rev. James Sherman in London. In 1853 Harriet went on a tour of Europe, speaking on her book. Upon her arrival in England she was given a very warm welcome and was presented with an address, known as the Affectionate and Christian Address, from the Anti-Slavery Society, with over half a million signatures from noble women, down to the peasants. This was given to her in 26 volumes; her reply was printed in the Atlantic Monthly. The head of the Anti-Slavery Society, the Duchess of Sutherland, became very close friends with Harriet as well.

At the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861, Great Britain's consideration to join the South in this onslaught moved Stowe to reply to the British people reminding them of their commitment to the slaves. Britain remained neutral throughout the war. In her journal Stowe wrote about her feelings about the War. She said, "It was God’s will that this nation-both North and South- should deeply and terribly suffer for the sin of consenting to and encouraging the great oppressions of the South…the blood of the poor slave, that had cried so many years from the ground in vain, should be answered by the blood of the sons from the best hearthstones through all the free states." In 1862, Stowe went to see Lincoln to pressure him to free the slaves faster. Her daughter Hatty, who was present at the meeting between Stowe and Lincoln, reports the first thing Lincoln said was, "So you're the little lady who wrote the book that started this great war."

Harriet Beecher Stowe later said in her journal, "I wrote what I did because as a woman, as a mother I was oppressed and brokenhearted, with the sorrows and injustice I saw, because as a Christian I felt the dishonor to Christianity because as a lover of my country I trembled at the coming day of wrath." Many historians consider “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” a significant force in leading to the Civil War, which ended in the abolition of slavery in America. She aided runaway slaves after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law. Following the Civil War she built and established several schools and boarding homes for newly freed slaves. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s influence reached people of all walks of life, from government officials, to nobility, down to the common man. In her lifetime she wrote prolifically, yet her influence went beyond words. A book she wrote entitled "How to Live on Christ" so impacted the missionary Hudson Taylor in China, that he sent a copy of the book to each member serving with the China Inland Mission in 1869.

Harriet then moved back to Hartford, Connecticut into a community called Nook Farm. She lived there for the last 23 years of her life. Harriet Beecher Stowe died on July 1, 1896 and, like Rosa Parks of our time, was given a dignitary’s funeral. She was buried on the grounds of Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

The Harriet Beecher Stowe House (Connecticut) in Hartford, Connecticut is the house where Harriet lived for the last 23 years of her life. In this 5,000 sq. ft. cottage style house, there are many of Harriet's original items and items from the time period. In the research library, which is open to the public, there are numerous letters and documents from the Beecher family. The house is opened to the public and offers house tours on the half hour.

The Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati, Ohio is the former home of her father Lyman Beecher on the former campus of the Lane Seminary. Harriet lived here until her marriage. It is open to the public and operated as an historical and cultural site, focusing on Harriet Beecher Stowe, the Lane Seminary and the Underground Railroad. The site also presents African-American history. The Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati is located at 2950 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45206.

The Stowe Family in Florida. "In the 1870s and 1880s, Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) and her family wintered in Mandarin [south of downtown Jacksonville on the St. Johns River. Best known for Uncle Tom's Cabin, Stowe wrote Palmetto Leaves while living in Mandarin. It was published in 1873 and describes Northeast Florida and its residents. In 1870, Stowe created an integrated school in Mandarin for children and adults. This was an early step toward providing equal education in the area and predated the national movement toward integration by more than a half century. The marker commemorating the Stowe family is located across the street from the former site of their cottage. It is on the property of the Community Club, at the site of a church where Stowe's husband once served as a minister." (Source: Florida Women's Heritage Trail, 2001)

Daguerreotype: The daguerreotype is an early type of photograph in which the image is exposed directly onto a mirror-polished surface of silver bearing a coating of silver halide particles deposited by iodine vapor. In later developments bromine and chlorine vapors were also used, resulting in shorter exposure times. Unlike later photographic processes that supplanted it, the daguerreotype is a direct positive image-making process with no "negative" original. The daguerreotype is named after one of its inventors, French artist and chemist Louis J.M. Daguerre

Hitty’s Travels Thus Far:

Chapter 1: In Maine with the Preble family;
Chapter 2: To Portland, Maine;
Aboard ship bound for the South Seas on a whaling expedition;
Chapter 6: Lost on a South Sea Island;
Chapter 8: Rescued at sea and arrival in Bombay, India;
Traveling back and forth across India with the snake charmer;
Chapter 9: A new home with a missionary family in India;
On board ship with Little Thankful and headed to Philadelphia in America
to live with Little Thankful’s grandparents;
Chapter 10: A new family, the Pryces, in Philadelphia.

HOME