Julia Brace
Encyclopedia
Julia Brace was a deafblind who received no special instruction until she reached adulthood.
, and became deafblind at age five from typhus fever
. She gradually stopped speaking and developed a system of home sign
that she used with her parents. She was sent to a boarding school with hearing and sighted children before being offered a place at the Hartford Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb (now called the American School for the Deaf
), where she enrolled on 11 June 1825, two days before her 18th birthday.
During her childhood she was described as independent, inquisitive and feisty. Although she wasn't given much formal instruction, she did acquire tactile
American Sign Language
from the resident deaf students and staff at the Hartford school. Despite being the only blind person there, she became a part of the school community, forming friendships (and enemies), fulfilling communal duties, and developing skills in sewing and knitting. She began to be seen as something of a celebrity and received many curious visitors — although these regular interruptions to her daily activities apparently annoyed her and she wasn't afraid, on occasion, to make her displeasure known.
Her memory of tangible facts was very tenacious, but it had no grasp of abstractions, and it was never apparent that she comprehended the idea of a Deity. She was tenacious of her own rights, but never intentionally invaded those of others, and she was never known to deceive. She was kind and gentle enough to be entrusted with the care of the sick, and made an excellent nurse.
Samuel Gridley Howe
, educator from the Perkins School for the Blind
, began instructing the 7-year-old deafblind Laura Bridgman
after meeting Brace during a visit to the Hartford school around 1837. After four years and much success with his young pupil, Howe returned to Hartford in 1841, bringing her with him. Although Brace was 34 years old, Howe thought he would also like to attempt to instruct her in the English language as he had Bridgman. On April 6, 1842, Brace enrolled as a student of the Perkins School.
Howe's 'experiment', however, proved less successful than he had hoped, as Brace clearly preferred to communicate in sign language
, and she returned to the Hartford school after a year, where she continued to board until 1860.
She left the school to take up residence with her sister in Bloomfield, Connecticut
, where she died on August 12, 1884, aged 77. She was buried in an unmarked grave
in the West Hill Cemetery.
Biography
She was born to a poor family in Hartford County, ConnecticutHartford County, Connecticut
Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the US state of Connecticut. The 2010 Census records show that the county population is at 894,014 making it the second most populated county in Connecticut....
, and became deafblind at age five from typhus fever
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
. She gradually stopped speaking and developed a system of home sign
Home sign
Home sign is the gestural communication system developed by a deaf child who lacks input from a language model in the family...
that she used with her parents. She was sent to a boarding school with hearing and sighted children before being offered a place at the Hartford Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb (now called the American School for the Deaf
American School for the Deaf
The American School for the Deaf is the oldest permanent school for the deaf in the United States. It was founded April 15, 1817 in Hartford, Connecticut by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc and became a state-supported school in 1817.-History:...
), where she enrolled on 11 June 1825, two days before her 18th birthday.
During her childhood she was described as independent, inquisitive and feisty. Although she wasn't given much formal instruction, she did acquire tactile
Tactile signing
Tactile signing is a common means of communication used by people with both a sight and hearing impairment , which is based on a standard system of Deaf manual signs.-Kinds of tactile signing:...
American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
from the resident deaf students and staff at the Hartford school. Despite being the only blind person there, she became a part of the school community, forming friendships (and enemies), fulfilling communal duties, and developing skills in sewing and knitting. She began to be seen as something of a celebrity and received many curious visitors — although these regular interruptions to her daily activities apparently annoyed her and she wasn't afraid, on occasion, to make her displeasure known.
Her memory of tangible facts was very tenacious, but it had no grasp of abstractions, and it was never apparent that she comprehended the idea of a Deity. She was tenacious of her own rights, but never intentionally invaded those of others, and she was never known to deceive. She was kind and gentle enough to be entrusted with the care of the sick, and made an excellent nurse.
Samuel Gridley Howe
Samuel Gridley Howe
Samuel Gridley Howe was a nineteenth century United States physician, abolitionist, and an advocate of education for the blind.-Early life and education:...
, educator from the Perkins School for the Blind
Perkins School for the Blind
Perkins School for the Blind, located in Watertown, Massachusetts, is the oldest schools for the blind in the United States. It has also been known as the Perkins Institution for the Blind.-History:...
, began instructing the 7-year-old deafblind Laura Bridgman
Laura Bridgman
Laura Dewey Lynn Bridgman is known as the first deaf-blind American child to gain a significant education in the English language, fifty years before the more famous Helen Keller...
after meeting Brace during a visit to the Hartford school around 1837. After four years and much success with his young pupil, Howe returned to Hartford in 1841, bringing her with him. Although Brace was 34 years old, Howe thought he would also like to attempt to instruct her in the English language as he had Bridgman. On April 6, 1842, Brace enrolled as a student of the Perkins School.
Howe's 'experiment', however, proved less successful than he had hoped, as Brace clearly preferred to communicate in sign language
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
, and she returned to the Hartford school after a year, where she continued to board until 1860.
She left the school to take up residence with her sister in Bloomfield, Connecticut
Bloomfield, Connecticut
Bloomfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,626 at the 2009 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and 0.2 square miles is water.Bloomfield is bordered by Windsor to the...
, where she died on August 12, 1884, aged 77. She was buried in an unmarked grave
Unmarked grave
The phrase unmarked grave has metaphorical meaning in the context of cultures that mark burial sites.As a figure of speech, a common meaning of the term "unmarked grave" is consignment to oblivion, i.e., an ignominious end. A grave monument is a sign of respect and fondness, erected with the...
in the West Hill Cemetery.