“Voices from Three Centuries: Teaching the History of Women, Family & Reform”
A National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute
July 7-August 2, 2003
University of Massachusetts/Amherst
Listening to the Voices: A Collective Narrative In Dramatic Form
Deb Christenson
Wildwood Secondary School
July 30, 2003
“Of These Seeds Becoming” by Dorothy Heathcote Page 1
Statement of Principles and Pedagogy 2
Bethia Throop Huntington’s “Commonplace Book” 5
Letter from Dan Huntington to Bethia 6
Theodore Huntington’s recollection of Bethia 7
Letter from Ellen Wright to Joseph (?) 8
Letter from Arria Sargent Huntington to her brother, George 9
Letters from Hannah Dane Sargent Huntington to her son, George 9
Letters to Margaret Sanger 10
Speech by Margaret Sanger 10
Statement by Catherine S. Huntington 11
Questions for Students to Consider 12
Reflective Questions for Presenters 13
Works Cited 14
Weaving the Voices 14
Appendix: The Common Principles (Coalition of Essential Schools)
Patty Boltwood’s Sampler
Photo of Bethia Throop Huntington
Ellen Wright Garrison’s certificate of membership in National
American Woman Suffrage Association
Photo of Arria Huntington and her sisters
Photo of Margaret Sanger
Photo of “The Passion of Sacco and Venzetti” by Ben Shahn
Of These Seeds Becoming
If I have any teaching wisdom, it is that I have learned to know
The struggle is the learning process;
And the skills of teaching lie
In making this time slow enough for enquiry;
Interesting enough for loitering along the way;
Rigorous enough for being buffeted in the matrix of the ideas;
But with sufficient signposts seen for respite, planning, and re-
Gathering of energy
To fare forward on the way.
It is therefore, dear [researcher], my task as I see it
To arm myself well for this struggle,
So as to lead my class well into this forest of ideas,
Where light, dark, soft, hard, shallow, deep elements wait so that we
Can carry well-guarded
The questions to which we have as yet no answers.
The present time will provide the time to wander and press,
Not the time that we must arrive.
Arrival are those moments of being able to demonstrate our knowing,
And the wandering is the time of learning.
Dorothy Heathcote
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Statement of Principles and Pedagogy
Wildwood Secondary School is a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, founded upon ten common principles (see Appendix). These principles include (#1) students learning to use their minds well, (#5) student-as-worker rather than teacher-as-deliverer-of-instructional-services, and (#6) students displaying their knowledge and skills opportunities such as exhibitions. Exhibitions of learning for students demonstrate what they know and are able to do upon completion of a unit of study.
In keeping with this philosophical pedagogy, my “lesson plan” for time spent in the archives at Amherst College reading the Porter-Phelps-Huntington papers, in the collections at Historic Deerfield, and at the Sophia Smith archive at Smith College is an exhibition of what I, as a student, have learned. This work is intended to serve as a model upon my return for my students at Wildwood to see learning as a lifelong pursuit accomplished by one of their teachers, and to provide an example of the collective narrative or dramatic reading which I will ask them to complete upon their study of the Depression. They will read primary documents, (hopefully) archival records, and find or create objects from the material culture and generate similar dramatic readings. All students must complete an oral presentation for their portfolio in the 9th and 10th grade American Studies class I teach, so this dramatic reading will complete this portfolio requirement.
I want to thank all those involved in helping me to complete this dramatic reading, including the directors of the institute, Drs. Bruce Laurie and Marla Miller; program administrator Margo Shea; all my fellow participants, especially readers, Erin Fallon, Michael Schmidt, Kristin Dawley, Bryce Little, Nicole Pauly, and Kathy Cardille; and the archivists at each of the sites. Listening to the “voices of three centuries” turned paper people into real people and I am grateful for the experience of being a researcher, a student, and a teacher all at the same time.
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Patty Boltwood’s Sampler, 1795, Silk embroidery on linen
“Attend to Virtue’s Voice
Let Virtue by my choice
From Virtue never stray
But Virtue’s Law obey”
Martha (Patty) Boltwood was the daughter of Samuel and Judith Boltwood of Amherst, MA. She was born on December 4, 1778, the 1st daughter of four children. Patty married John Arms of Conway, MA on Jan. 23, 1800. John Arms was the son of Captain Consider Arms, one of the founders of Conway, Massachusetts. Patty brought this sampler and its message of “virtue’s voice” with her into the marriage.
The sampler, like many from the time period offer a glimpse into the world of Republican motherhood, that period in time just after the Revolution when women were viewed with the blessings of virtue and piety that the new republic of America needed. If women were to be the first teachers of the future citizens, then they needed to embody the ideals commonly associated with Christian womanhood. Catherine Kelly, author of In the New England Fashion, writes of this era and its women, who, like Patty Boltwood believed at the time of their marriage “with joy I bear his name and pay the duties which his virtue claims” (93). Marriage increased joy for both men and women. Kelly articulates a widower’s goals in re-marrying with Aaron Fuller’s 1818 essay, “The Life I should like” with his description of a wife who would be “tender hearted, and affectionate to all virtuous people” (94). Fuller married Fanny Negus two years later in 1820 and she seems to share his ideals for she writes to him when he is traveling on business, years later that her “thoughts naturally advert to you, the beloved partner of my joys and sorrows” (96).
This sampler is emblematic not just of Patty Boltwood or of 18th century marriages; it is an artifact of women’s education. Instructional needlework was very much a part of the curriculum for these women. A Gallery of American Samplers by Glee Krueger (E.P. Dutton, 1978) defines samplers, tracing the word back to the Latin exemplum for example, or model. The sampler taught women to practice stitch types and combinations but also added morals, decorative scenes, and borders as the needle workers became older and more refined. Krueger notes that “Sewing was the only subject offered that really differentiated the curriculum of the girls from that of the boys” (12). Another text, In Female Worth and Elegance: Sampler and Needlework Students and Teachers in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 1741-1840 by John LaBranche and Rita Conant (The Portsmouth Marine Society, 1996) quotes the Reverend John C. Ogden, “By instructing our Females in those useful and necessary branches of industry which are peculiar to their sex the use of the needle in particular, we also furnish them with a source of wealth and profit, which is necessary for all conditions of life” (xvi).
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By the early years of
the 19th century, both women’s education and the choices around
marriage have changed. Bethia Throop Huntington attends Emma Willard’s school
in Troy, NY which opened in 1821. According to her biographer, John Lord,
Willard believed “there are no subjects which young men can grasp which cannot
be equally be mastered by young ladies.” It is here that Bethia Throop
Huntington goes for her education and begins her “commonplace book.”
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Bethia Throop Huntington’s Journal
“A Commonplace Book”
“May it serve as the register of my best feelings. My monitor whose works shall warn me of evil and allure to good.”
September 10, 1838
“Oh! That my joy, like sunshine bright might go with you.”
May 12, 1839
“I am writing with all the windows open in our chamber & enjoying of the full the most lovely view from them, the music of the wren chirping bird, robin, bobolink etc but above all, the peace the serenity, the holiness that comes to the soul on such a fine Sabbath morning in May. There is more of heaven than earth in such a morning.”
May 24, 1839
Helen & Harriet Clark visit. Theodore took all for a ride and a visit to the Tuckermans. “We had a lively time & I have been reproaching myself somewhat with having been too gay; as I was the eldest of the girls I ought to have act a better example. I should consider that I am advancing to that period of life when extreme gaity is unbecoming. Above all, I should recollect the bonds of Christianity are about me, & that to dishonor my profession would be dreadful indeed.”
May 30, 1839
“A great deal is said almost every day of love matrimony etc. For my part I have as yet very little concern on such matters & perhaps never shall have. I have come to the conclusion that the sure way to secure peace of mind is to let the mind in her uncertain moments dwell as little as possible on such subjects. To seek my highest happiness in the service of a Heavenly Father who can be to me a better comforter than any earthly friend. Matrimony, I have no doubt, is a desirable thing under some circumstances. But it should not be looked upon as the chief good. As I have lived beyond the time when the greater part of such matches are made. It is not reasonable or becoming in me to think of talk of much of such things.
Bethia Throop Huntington in Porter-Phelps-Huntington Papers, (Box 20, Folder 5), Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library
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Letter from Dan Huntington to Bethia July 11, 1831
“Now to the subject of your letter. So you seem to be in great demand Bethia, both at home & abroad. I know not what to advise you to. What my own selfish wishes would dictate I have no doubt about. Whether these would coincide with your duty to your happiness is another affair. The sphere in which you move at home, however great the blessing to your parents, to your brothers, & younger sister, I am sensible, is not exactly that which I should wish. Perhaps a door is now opening for something different, & more agreeable on the whole to your wishes. Consult then your own heart, attend to the pointings of Providence: look to the throne of divine grace, & do, on the whole as you think best: not forgetting to consult with your elder brother & sister Helen, as well as the dear ones nearer home. Depend upon it, your Ma & I shall be satisfied with your decision. Dictate, we cannot. It would, you see, be altogether improper. Should you determine to go, you will have to avail yourself of all you can get out of Whiting while at home. Your knowledge of the sciences must have grown somewhat rusty. Modern modes of instructing you know vary from those in vogue no longer ago than when you were at school. Critical knowledge in many branches is necessary. Your mode of reading, you know, is not exactly in the style of Mr. Washburn. In short, the parade & pedantry as well as those qualifications that are of more importance, that are necessary, demand a considerable effort. In Mr. Anderson the Preceptor at N. Salem, you may expect to find, should you go, an amiable, an able, & I think an excellent friend & fellow-labourer, & being a married man, you may be relieved of an embarrassment that might otherwise be perplexing. Should you be called to instruct in any branch with which you were not entirely familiar, you might with his assistance, I doubt not get along to your own mind & to the acceptance of others. The society in New Salem is good. Mrs. Allen you are acquainted with. Board with her if you can. In giving your answer, if affirmative, mention this & the reason for it—Seeking divine direction, I have no doubt you will go right.”
Dan Huntington to Bethia Throop Huntington in Porter-Phelps-Huntington Papers (Box 15, File 4), Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library.
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Theodore’s recollections of Bethia
“… sometimes in the winter, passes an encounter which requires both courage and endurance. In one of these, all were compelled to leave the sleigh to lighten its load. The horses were plunging and wallowing in the drifts, with father at their side, urging and coaxing by turns, while the girls followed on as best they could in the half-made tracks. The horses stop from sheer exhaustion, when sister Bethia cries out, ‘Papa, can’t I help?’ The dear, saintly soul! That little scene contains an epitome of her whole life. In those four short words I find the key to the long years of patient self-sacrificing service which crown her as one of those who ‘walk in white’ with the Lord of Paradise! In these recollections I sometimes blame myself that I can recall no more of word or act of hers, or even incidents connected with her. These few words and that little scene which stands out as a picture before me even now are almost the sole mementoes of those early days. But perhaps these are enough. As a revelation of character they certainly are. Her whole life was one of self abnegation. She would, if possible, hider her own personality in the quiet, nay I might say, hidden ways of serving others. Her benefactions were so tender, delicate and timely, that they seemed oftentimes like the sweet ministries of our Lord whose subtle blessing could hardly find its object ere He might bear intent on other errands of mercy. I know you will pardon this digression, because in my somewhat desultory sketches I may not find any other more fit opportunity to speak of this one of our number who so supplemented the lives of each one of us that they would be hardly more than fragments without her and yet whose benefactions were so unostentatious, and yet so constant, that one might as well attempt to gather in his arms the sunshine and warmth of a summer day as to enumerate them. We all participated in this, but I more than the others, because I for so many years enjoyed her companionship as well as her love. Providence has not given me much of this world’s goods but I am rich in having had for so long a time, to love and to counsel me these two heaven-sent gifts, my unmarried sister and my wife.”
Theodore G. Huntington, Excerpt from Sketches of Family Life in Hadley, 1881.
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Letter from Ellen Wright to Joseph 1860
“I shall probably begin French soon, but it is discouraging to study anything—I shall keep at it tho’ as long as I can, & then be ready to prepare myself for a first-rate reformer—a woman can be wise & modest too, in this day, can she not? I don’t see that Aunt Lucretia has lost any of the ‘innate delicacy’ which belongs to her sex, & she has done much public good, has she not? You astonish me! I had thought you a liberal Joseph, but I find looming up before me, quite a fossilized old conservative! What do you think of this sentence? ‘The traditionally retiring modesty of a woman has more claim to my regard, than any amount of practical good she may do, by becoming anything of a public character!’
I confess that I was startled by that sentiment from you! The old, old, expunged idea, that a woman in finding herself a public character, loses her delicacy—a ride to Skaneateles would shake you free of such notions. Believe me, if these are your serious ideas, instead of becoming more & more to your taste, I shall retire farther and farther from it, and that, through no fault of mine, but simply in obeying the true impulses of my own nature….It is rather amusing, pardon me, to read what you write of Eliza & Patty as though they were in any way ‘Reformers.’ They stay at home in the most womanly manner, shocking nobody’s prejudices; it is not as though they felt in themselves the Divine light which must not be hidden under a bushel, but must be spread abroad, giving light unto all nations, & feeling this they were sacrificing themselves, good wives, to the wishes of their husbands. & smothering dear desires to attend solely & so, properly to housewifery duties, stockings, bread, & the like. Then you might hold them up to me as examples. But they are like all other pleasant women & good housekeepers, & no reformers at all, & not, as far as I know, the slightest desire for publicity; if so, with their strong characters, do you think Munson or George could keep them from it? Or do you think Munson or George would be so tyrannical as to wish to keep them from their duty? If you were here now, I would say ‘Answer the first question, don’t you think Aunt Lucretia modest enough for a woman? And then when you had said, ‘yes,’ I would say ‘very well, then it is possible for a woman to retain her delicacy, nor stay at home.’ The when you had acknowledged yourself vanquished there, we would take a walk up to Eliza’s, or see her handsome baby and pine garden bouquets scattered all around.
Mrs. Dawes wishes I’d drop these ridiculous Woman’s Rights ideas, . . . so you see, Joe I’m almost inclined to think that I’ll have to live independent-like & try to remain heart whole, even through change & loss of friends.”
Ellen Wright to Joseph (?) in Garrison Family Papers (Box 43, file 11), Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College Library.
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Arria Sargent Huntington Letter to her brother George, 1869
“I am not prepared to go so far as to say that ‘the time ought to be when women should choose a profession or vocation of staying at home and (which you apparently consider as synonymous as ‘doing nothing’)—It is a doubt with me whether it would be good for young women to go out into the world as young men do, to pursue their own livelihood—It may be that we shall see it tried generally in our own life time and I am willing to wait the result of the experiment before pronouncing decidedly against it...With regard to a woman I think it would be really wrong for her to take the ordering of her own destiny into her hands so far as to say she will not marry. It may be that Providence designs her to fulfill her normal condition of being a wife & mother, but I would educate all women to be independent of marriage.”
Hannah Dane Sargent Huntington Letter to her son George re Arria, 1871
“This afternoon we have been to St. John’s which is suddenly in need of a vigorous head. If Arria was a man, things would be in nice order. There she can not do all, though there are male workers, there is no one fitted to be the head.”
Hannah Dane Sargent Huntington Letter to her son George re Arria, 1877
“Yesterday you would have been amused if you Could have seen Arria walking through the city with a tall policeman by her side, perhaps you would have been somewhat surprised. She was in search of a girl of 15 who had left home for some months and who we had every reason to think was with bad associates, going to ruin.
Arria went to the police office, described the girl and told them where she felt she was, so they detailed a police officer to go with her and take the girl away. After a long walk they arrived at a wretched house which the policeman entered and found the girl herself alone in the house.
She made no objection to accompanying them except that she was left in charge of the house. But the officer told her she had nothing to do but to submit to orders and with that Arria took the girl and lodged her safely in the Shelter where she seemed very thankful to be and we shall find her a place in the country as she is not willing to return to her home which is a miserable one and where she says she was so unhappy that she rather die than go back.
The house has already been of great use, though of course we do not expect to keep on sure half who come to us. We shall still have the satisfaction of having something better to offer them.
Porter-Phelps-Huntington Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library as quoted in unpublished paper presented by Dr. Catherine R. Baratta, July 11, 2003
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Letter to Margaret Sanger, November 21, 1923
“I am a girl fifteen years old. Married and have two children. My father left my mother with ten children three sets of twins and I the oldest one had to find some way to make a living. I married a poor man and he is a poor provider and I don’t want to bring no more children here in poverty. So I ask you to please send me one of your pamphlets. I purchased your book and like it fine. Yours truly.
Letter to Margaret Sanger, May 7, 1924
“Do I have to wait until the law, made by man, who has no right to judge the question, tells us what is our right to know?”
(Excerpts of) Speech by Margaret Sanger, Feb. 11, 1923
“Most of us believe that Birth Control might be a good thing in some cases, but we all more or less have some objections, and I am not going to take up the time for all these objections, but I am just going to dwell upon one or two of them:
An objection is that it is going to lead to immorality. That is a very serious objection and one that we cannot pass over lightly. It is this aspect of the subject which took me to Europe before Birth Control was launched in the United States. I found, for instance, in Japan, that my son and I had to revise our ideas of immorality. I found that the things we found immoral here were found very moral in Japan. Morality today has been immorality a hundred years ago and immorality today is likely to be morality a hundred years from now. I think it is an insult to suggest that our women will become promiscuous if they have knowledge, if they have not the fear of the result to keep them moral. In other words, the inference is that a woman must be kept ignorant to live a clean life. I don’t believe that is true.
Again, we might say that everything can be mis-used. All knowledge can be mis-used; we know that. Everything today has some mis-use of it. But we don’t stop the progress of humanity because of the few who mis-use things. Automobiles can be mis-used; certainly razors can be mis-used, and as a matter of fact, when razors were first put on the market there was just the same objection. In the old days a man could not shave himself, only a doctor had that privilege; later they had a public barber; and gradually men began to buy razors and shave themselves. And they said, ‘Why, if you let any man have a razor to shave he will cut the throat of the man he quarrels with. The secret of life is to teach people the proper use of knowledge. And that is what we have got to do with knowledge of Birth Control. We have got to teach young people the proper use of knowledge.”
Margaret Sanger Papers, (Reel 70, Frame 1000) Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College Library.
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Statement by Catherine S. Huntington, 66 Pinckney Street, Boston, MA
Charged with “sauntering and loitering” in front of the State House
On Beacon Street, Boston, August 22, 1927
“I would like permission to make a brief statement in explanation of my plea of not guilty to the charge which has been brought against me. The parade in front of the State House in which I took part yesterday was exactly like many other demonstrations which have been going on in Boston for a number of days. Many other defendants have been before this Court on similar charges. They have all been advised to plead guilty to the technical charges brought against them, pay the small fine and the incident would be considered closed.
I feel that it is time someone should protect against this legal subterfuge and make clear the exact status and the exact significance of the act for which I and others are here today. I entered that procession deliberately and with full knowledge that it would result in my arrest. I did not saunter. I did not loiter. I did not obstruct a public passageway. The cordon of police which surrounded the scene saw to it very carefully that the sidewalk in front of the state house was kept clear. When we started parading we were told politely that we had seven minutes. When the seven minutes were up we were assembled in front of the State House steps and then escorted by police officers to the Joy Street Station.
Under such circumstances, to plead guilty to the charges which the police have seen fit to bring against me would not only be false in fact would deny the essential reason for the demonstration of which my act was an integral part.
I am an American citizen by inheritance. The name of my family appears on the Declaration of Independence. When the liberties which my ancestors established are endangered as they have been in Boston during these recent horrible weeks, I consider it peculiarly my duty to protest. The right of free assemblage is denied to citizens who wish to discuss a grave national issue. Boston Common is denied to those who would use it for the very purposes for which that Common was set aside and dedicated. Terrorism by the police replaces law and order.
Under these circumstances, I must exercise my rights as a citizen in the only manner which is left and make some demonstration of my sentiments in common with others who feel as I do.
If it is unlawful to walk in silence before the State House, carrying a card mutely voicing a great injustice then I am guilty. If it is unlawful to urge upon the public authorities in this manner, while there is still time to rectify a tragic mistake, the earnest wish of one citizen that the honor of the Commonwealth be saved, then I am guilty. If it is unlawful to hold an opinion which happens to differ from that of some of the public servants whose salaries my taxes go to pay, then I am guilty. If believing in the innocence of two brave and unfortunate men charged with a crime which almost the entire civilized world believes they did not commit, then I am guilty.
I don’t believe that this is the sort of country which my ancestors tried to make,--and that is why I walked in front of the State House yesterday.”
Porter-Phelps-Huntington Papers (Box 97, File 3), Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library.
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Post-Presentation Questions for Students to Consider
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Reflective Questions for the Presenters
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Works Cited
Coalition of Essential Schools. May 2002. July 29, 2003 <http://www.essentialschools.org/pub/pub/ces_docs/about/phil/>
Johnson, L. and O’Neill, C. (ed.) Dorothy Heathcote: Collected Writings on Education, London, Hutchinson, 1984.
Kelly, Catherine E. In the New England Fashion: Reshaping Women’s Lives in the Nineteenth Century, Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1999.
Krueger, Glee. A Gallery of American Samplers, New York, Dutton, 1978.
LaBranche, John and Conant, Rita. In Female Worth and Elegance: Sampler and Needlework Students and Teachers in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 1741-1840, Portsmouth, N.H., The Portsmouth Marine Society, 1996.
Five Colleges Museums. July 29, 2003 <http://museums/fivecolleges.edu/III/image.html>
Syracuse University. July 29, 2003 <http://emc.syr.edu/tour/TOUR10.HTM>
Wagner, B. J. Drama as a Learning Medium, Washington, D.C., National Education Association, 1976.
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Weaving the Voices:
Transition from Bethia’s diary to Dan’s letter:
Bethia may have felt her choices regarding matrimony were limited, but she did make choices in her life.
Transition from Dan’s letter to T.G.’s reminiscence:
Bethia chose to remain at Forty Acres, devoting her life to her family, who may have taken her choice for granted.
Transition from Bethia to Ellen Wright:
Just as Bethia’s education in the 1820’s was different from the education of Patty Boltwood with a curriculum which includes needlework, the education of Ellen Wright at Eagleswood School includes new thinking.
Transition from Ellen Wright to Arria Sargent Huntington:
Arria Sargent Huntington, the niece of Bethia Huntington lived with a new sense of duty, helping to reform her world in Syracuse, New York.
Transition from Arria Sargent Huntington to Margaret Sanger:
Arria’s search for a fifteen-year old girl is echoed with the account of another fifteen year old.
Transition from Margaret Sanger to Catherine Sargent Huntington:
The phrase “proper use of knowledge” brings us back to the Huntington family and Catherine Sargent Huntington’s choice of what is proper.
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