Laura Redden Searing
Encyclopedia
Laura Redden Searing was a deaf poet and journalist. Her first book of poetry published was Idyls of Battle, and Poems of the Rebellion (1864). Her pseudonym is Howard Glyndon. Significantly, the town of Glyndon, Minnesota
was founded in 1872 and named in honor of the writer.
. In 1855, she enrolled in the Missouri School for the Deaf (MSD) in Fulton, Missouri
. She learned sign language
and the American Manual Alphabet.
) was established in 1864 and did not admit female students until 1881. To supplement her education, she toured Europe from 1865-69. While there, she studied German, French, Spanish, and Italian. She became engaged to Michael George Brennan in 1867, but the engagement ended shortly after. Laura Catherine Redden married Edward Whelan Searing, a lawyer, in 1876, to become Laura Catherine Redden Searing. They had one child, Elsa Waller Searing, on May 4, 1880. In 1887, Laura Redden Searing and her daughter settled near Santa Cruz, California
. Edward Searing stayed in New York and they divorced in 1894. Redden Searing died in 1923 and was buried in Colma, California
.
From 1857-58, Redden submitted poems to Harper's Magazine
. In 1858, Redden's first published essay appeared in the American Annals of the Deaf. The topics of the essay were deafness, sign language
, and writing. In 1858, Redden graduated from the Missouri School for the Deaf. Upon graduation, she was offered a teaching position at MSD which she declined. In 1859, the St. Louis Presbyterian hired her as a columnist and assistant editor. In 1860, she became an editorialist for the St. Louis Republican. At this time, Laura Catherine Redden officially adopted the pseudonym Howard Glyndon. In 1861, she was sent by the St. Louis Republican to Washington D.C. to cover and document the American Civil War
. She was a pro-Union loyalist and wrote poems about the experiences and human interests of the battle field. She also wrote to Abraham Lincoln
and Ulysses S. Grant
during the war. After the war, 1865–69, she traveled to Europe to become a correspondent for The New York Times
. By 1870, she returned to New York and Boston and was a staff writer for the New York Evening Mail
and contributed to Galaxy, Harper's Magazine
, and the Tribune.
as a correspondent for the St. Louis Republican. This brings up the possibility that the pen name disassociated her identity from critics to her Union Army
sympathies. However, in all of her published works, the pseudonym was accompanied by her real name in smaller letters. This indicates that the pseudonym was not to conceal her gender or identity. It is likely that the double identity was to defy the expectations of what a female writer of that era could produce.
Glyndon, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,049 people, 359 households, and 283 families residing in the city. The population density was 693.5 people per square mile . There were 403 housing units at an average density of 266.4 per square mile...
was founded in 1872 and named in honor of the writer.
Early years
Laura Catherine Redden was born to Littleton John Redden and Wilhelmina Waller Redden in 1840. In 1851, she lost her hearing at age 11 due to the illness spinal meningitisMeningitis
Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...
. In 1855, she enrolled in the Missouri School for the Deaf (MSD) in Fulton, Missouri
Fulton, Missouri
Fulton is a city in Callaway County, Missouri, the United States of America. It is part of the Jefferson City, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 12,790 in the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Callaway County...
. She learned 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 the American Manual Alphabet.
Personal life
Laura Catherine Redden graduated from the Missouri School for the Deaf, a secondary school, in 1859. She did not enroll in college. Her literary skills and unmarried status made it acceptable at the time for her to enroll at certain colleges. However, there were no colleges that accepted deaf women. The National Deaf-Mute College (now Gallaudet UniversityGallaudet University
Gallaudet University is a federally-chartered university for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing, located in the District of Columbia, U.S...
) was established in 1864 and did not admit female students until 1881. To supplement her education, she toured Europe from 1865-69. While there, she studied German, French, Spanish, and Italian. She became engaged to Michael George Brennan in 1867, but the engagement ended shortly after. Laura Catherine Redden married Edward Whelan Searing, a lawyer, in 1876, to become Laura Catherine Redden Searing. They had one child, Elsa Waller Searing, on May 4, 1880. In 1887, Laura Redden Searing and her daughter settled near Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
. Edward Searing stayed in New York and they divorced in 1894. Redden Searing died in 1923 and was buried in Colma, California
Colma, California
Colma is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, at the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,792 at the 2010 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924....
.
Professional career
"The snow is falling abroad, Over meadow and moor; Drifting silently, high and white, O'er the sill of our cottage door. It falls on a lonely grave Lying away to the West, Where a hero heart is mouldering away,-- The heart that loved me best!" |
| — Howard Glyndon (Laura Redden Searing), "The Snow In October", from The Idyls of Battle, reprinted in Sweet Bells Jangled by Judy Yaeger Jones & Jane E. Vallier. |
From 1857-58, Redden submitted poems to Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
. In 1858, Redden's first published essay appeared in the American Annals of the Deaf. The topics of the essay were deafness, 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 writing. In 1858, Redden graduated from the Missouri School for the Deaf. Upon graduation, she was offered a teaching position at MSD which she declined. In 1859, the St. Louis Presbyterian hired her as a columnist and assistant editor. In 1860, she became an editorialist for the St. Louis Republican. At this time, Laura Catherine Redden officially adopted the pseudonym Howard Glyndon. In 1861, she was sent by the St. Louis Republican to Washington D.C. to cover and document the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. She was a pro-Union loyalist and wrote poems about the experiences and human interests of the battle field. She also wrote to Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
during the war. After the war, 1865–69, she traveled to Europe to become a correspondent for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. By 1870, she returned to New York and Boston and was a staff writer for the New York Evening Mail
New York Evening Mail
The New York Evening Mail was an American daily newspaper published in New York City.The paper was made up of the New York Evening Express, which dated from 1836, and the Daily Advertiser. It was eventually merged with the Evening Telegram, which became the New York World-Telegram in 1927.From New...
and contributed to Galaxy, Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
, and the Tribune.
Background of “Howard Glyndon”
Some speculate Laura Redden Searing used the pen name Howard Glyndon due to the gender biased national attention given to male writers of the time. The name was officially adopted during the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
as a correspondent for the St. Louis Republican. This brings up the possibility that the pen name disassociated her identity from critics to her Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
sympathies. However, in all of her published works, the pseudonym was accompanied by her real name in smaller letters. This indicates that the pseudonym was not to conceal her gender or identity. It is likely that the double identity was to defy the expectations of what a female writer of that era could produce.
External links
- WHMC-Columbia--Searing, Laura Redden (1839-1923), Papers, 1846-1963 (C2290)--INVENTORY at whmc.umsystem.eduSearing, Laura Redden (1839–1923), Papers, 1846-1963 (C22900). The Magazine of Poetry (6) 1: Laura C.R. Searing, p. 179.
- https://ritdml.rit.edu/dspace/bitstream/1850/1338/1/RFPanaraPartOne09-1970.pdf The Deaf Writer in America From Colonial Times to 1970, By Robert F. Panara, M.A., Rochester, NY. Idyls of Battle and Poems of the Rebellion by Howard Glyndon (Laura Redden Searing).