From time to time, new research will be introduced on the Zephyrs10 blog. The following abstract on Myra Montgomery serves as an introduction to an article currently under preparation for publication and has been the topic of several academic presentations. She was a fascinating young woman and I look forward to sharing more with you on this unfolding project.
“So Dreary an
Aspect:” Myra Montgomery’s Haverhill Letters
Kimberly S. Alexander, Ph.D.
But I should like to know your daily employment,
what you read, whom you visit, or whether you visit at all, and how you usually
pass your long winter evenings, that I may judge what are the grounds of your
preference of a town life to the undisturbed
calm in which one is allowed to vegetate in the country.
— Myra Montgomery to her cousin, Horace Henry
Goodman,
Haverhill, NH, Jan’y 25th 1816
Myra
Montgomery was born October 1st 1794 in Haverhill, New Hampshire,
and died in the place of her birth on April 14th 1817 at age 22;
most likely of consumption. Sporadic
letters, written between 1813 and 1817 to her cousin and fiancée, Horace Henry
Goodman, paint a compelling portrait of the life of a young, well-educated,
upper middle class woman living in a rural North Country town of some
significance during the early years of the republic. Alternating between glib
and sarcastic, caring and affectionate, learned and deeply reflective, the
letters reveal Myra as a complex character. With few known surviving objects related to Myra or her family, her surviving missives are all the more significant.
For all the scholarship on the
early republic—one finds endless biographies of Washington, Adams, and Madison
in the popular bookstores—we know surprisingly little about the dynamics of
relationships among ordinary people.
The process of meeting, courtship, engagement, wedding, the course of
marriage, and departure remain elusive.
(For recent scholarship, see Jabour, Marriage in the Early
Republic: Elizabeth and William Wirt and the Companionate Ideal and
Kenslea, The Sedgwicks in Love.)
Consequently, our ability to place modern relationships in an historical
context is rather barren. Myra’s relationship with Horace is revealing in this
regard. She is essentially
housebound for long periods of time while he is constantly traveling.
Although we know little about
Myra’s earliest years, the correspondence suggests she was exposed to a world
of ideas which extended far beyond the confines of Haverhill, including a
constant stream of traveling dignitaries in the town for Court weeks. She
required a skill set which ranged from understanding the political intricacies of invitations and the appropriate menus and service for special meals and dances. The ability to hold witty
and intelligent conversation with individuals with many different backgrounds
and interests was paramount. This was no doubt aided in some part by the time she spent, at
the age of thirteen, attending the well-known Boston-based academy of Mrs.
Susanna Rowson.
Myra provides the ideal vehicle for investigating the
life of a rural, upper middle class New Hampshire woman. The bulk of her experiences are focused
on her domestic and familial activities inside the house (especially as she
grows increasingly sicker) and the shelter provided by the town and its inhabitants,
with only the occasional reference to being out of doors (although these
represent important moments in her life). Clearly, as demonstrated by the above quote, there is a claustrophobic sensibility to her daily existences and we learn of Myra’s brimming desire to
travel and experience more of life than Haverhill Corner.
