Sophia Peabody
Encyclopedia
Sophia Amelia Peabody Hawthorne (September 21, 1809 – February 26, 1871) was a painter
and illustrator
as well as the wife of American author Nathaniel Hawthorne
. She also published her journal
s and various articles.
, Massachusetts
, and named after two of her aunts. Peabody's father was the dentist Nathaniel Peabody, while her mother was the strong Unitarian
Elizabeth Palmer. She had three brothers; her sisters were Elizabeth Palmer Peabody and Mary Tyler Peabody Mann
, later Horace Mann
's wife. Her sister Elizabeth educated Sophia, focusing on geography, science, literature and both American and European history; eventually, she learned to read in Latin, French, Greek, Hebrew, and knew some German as well.
Sophia's health had been questionable since infancy and she was an occasional invalid. One possible cause was a fashionable treatment her dentist father prescribed for her teething
pains that included mercury
. In later life, she was a frequent user of calomel
and opium
to relieve her pain and migraines. When doctors pronounced Sophia had no discernible illness, she sought the "rest therapy". She left for Cuba
on December 4, 1833, with her sister Mary.
!" When she urged Sophia to come downstairs to meet him, she laughed and said, "If he has come once he will come again". After meeting her, Nathaniel wrote the tale "Edward Randolph’s Portrait", which included an artist character inspired by Sophia Peabody named Alice Vane.
Sophia had originally objected to marriage, partly because of her health. They became secretly engaged by New Year's Day 1839.
Sophia gave two of her paintings (pictured) to Hawthorne in 1840 on the first anniversary of their engagement. "Hawthorne valued the paintings so much that he hid them behind curtains to enjoy when he was alone".
held some of her "conversations". The day before, Nathaniel wrote to James Freeman Clarke
asking him to oversee the ceremony. "I am to be married to Miss Sophia Peabody tomorrow; and it is our mutual desire that you should perform the ceremony", he wrote. Both were considered relatively old for marriage (she was 32 and he was five days past his 38th birthday), but the coupling proved happy for both of them. Immediately after their wedding, they rented and moved into The Old Manse
in Concord, Massachusetts
. The next day, Hawthorne wrote to his sister Louisa: "We are as happy as people can be, without making themselves ridiculous, and might be even happier; but, as a matter of taste, we choose to stop short at this point." Together the couple etched their impressions of their new married life in the glass of a window in the study using Sophia's diamond ring:
On their first wedding anniversary, Nathaniel wrote to Sophia: "We were never so happy as now—never such wide capacity for happiness, yet overflowing with all that the day and every moment brings to us. Methinks this birth-day of our married life is like a cape, which we have now doubled and find a more infinite ocean of love stretching out before us."
The Hawthornes' first child was born March 3, 1844, after a difficult 10-hour delivery. They named her Una, a reference to The Faerie Queen by Edmund Spenser
, to the disapproval of many family members. Sophia wrote in her journal, "It was a great happiness to be able to put her to my breast immediately and I thanked Heaven I was able to have the privilege of nursing her." John L. O'Sullivan
served as her godfather
and gave her a Newfoundland dog
named Leo when she was two months old. Nathaniel wrote that fatherhood brought "a very sober and serious kind of happiness" and the family began to worry about money. Sophia also had a recurrence of her migraines after Una's birth.
The family was soon kicked out of the Old Manse, left with only 10 dollars. They moved in with family on Herbert Street in Salem while Nathaniel awaited a government job appointment. In March 1846, Sophia moved to 77 Carver Street in Boston to be closer to family and Dr. William Wesselhœft while pregnant with her second child. The couple's son Julian
was born in Boston on May 22, 1846. His father wrote of the news to a sister, "A small troglodyte
made his appearance here at ten minutes to six o'clock this morning, who claims to be your nephew".
The family moved to Lenox, Massachusetts
and it was there, in a red farmhouse they rented, that Sophia gave birth to her third child, Rose
. Two months prior to giving birth, Sophia claimed she instinctively knew it would be a girl and chose the name Rose. She was born on May 20, 1851, about a month after the publication of The House of the Seven Gables
. Sophia went into labor early, before the midwife
could arrive; Rose was delivered with the help of Sophia's father.
Few of Sophia's letters from her courtship and early marriage survive. In June 1853, Nathaniel alludes to the destruction of his letters in his journal: "I burned great heaps of old letters and other papers, a little while ago, preparatory to going to England. Among them were hundreds of Sophia's maiden letters".
Hawthorne in 1862 praised his wife: "She is the most sensible woman I ever knew in my life, much superior to me in general talent, and of fine cultivation." Sophia had a close friendship with Annie Adams Fields
, wife of the publisher James Thomas Fields
. In 1863, Sophia wrote to her, "You embellish my life."
Nathaniel Hawthorne died in May 1864 and Sophia was given the news by her sister Elizabeth Peabody
, who had been informed by Franklin Pierce
. Pierce, a close friend of Hawthorne, had been at the author's side when he died in his sleep. Sophia wrote about her husband's death to Annie Fields: "My darling has gone over that Sapphire sea, and these grand soft waves are messages from his Eternal Rest." She moved to England
four years later in 1868 with her three children.
for not paying enough in royalties from book sales. Fields blamed his recently-deceased business partner William Ticknor
for promising "to pay the highest rate of copyright it ever paid" but that no written contract existed. The two agreed to a compromise as, Sophia said, she preferred "peace to pence".
Sophia became ill in February 1871, diagnosed with "typhoid pneumonia". She had difficulty breathing and was cared for by her daughters before dying on February 26. She was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery
in London, England on March 4. Una wrote to Julian that their mother's grave was "on a sunny hillside looking towards the east... We had a head and footstone of white marble, with a place for flowers between, and Rose and I planted some ivy there that I had brought from America, and a periwinkle from papa's grave. The inscription is—Sophia, wife of Nathaniel Hawthorne."
Una died in September 1877 at the age of 33 and was buried alongside her mother in Kensal Green. Julian Hawthorne
went on to be a moderately successful author writing about his father and other miscellaneous works. He died in 1934. Rose
went on to found the Roman Catholic order of nuns, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne
, based in Hawthorne, New York, where she died in 1926.
Care for the graves of Sophia and Una fell to this organization. When the grave sites were in need of costly repair, it was suggested the remains be moved to the Hawthorne family plot in Concord, Massachusetts
. In June 2006 the two were re-buried alongside Nathaniel in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
. A funeral was held for the family's descendants with representatives from the Dominican Sisters and a public ceremony was held at The Old Manse
to mark the occasion.
Sophia Peabody Hawthorne was also an artist. She purposefully took up drawing in 1829 and attended drawing parties which copied the works of other artists.
She tutored her daughter Rose in art as well.
During their courtship, Sophia created an illustration for Nathaniel's tale "The Gentle Boy". After completing it, Sophia asked him if it looked like the main character, Ilbrahim. He answered, "He will never look otherwise to me". The story was republished with Sophia's illustration as The Gentle Boy: A Thrice Told Tale in December 1838, subsidized by a Salem hostess named Susan Burley. The book was dedicated to Sophia, inscribed: "To Miss Sophia A. Peabody, this little tale, to which her kindred art has given value, is respectfully inscribed by the author". He later asked her to illustrate a reissue of his children's book Grandfather's Chair.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
as well as the wife of American author Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
. She also published her journal
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
s and various articles.
Early life
Sophia Amelia Peabody was born September 21, 1809, in SalemSalem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and named after two of her aunts. Peabody's father was the dentist Nathaniel Peabody, while her mother was the strong Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
Elizabeth Palmer. She had three brothers; her sisters were Elizabeth Palmer Peabody and Mary Tyler Peabody Mann
Mary Tyler Peabody Mann
Mary Tyler Peabody Mann of chronic bronchitis) was a teacher, author, mother, and wife of Horace Mann, American education reformer and politician.-Early Life:Mary Tyler Peabody Mann was the daughter of Dr. Nathaniel Peabody and Elizabeth Palmer Peabody...
, later Horace Mann
Horace Mann
Horace Mann was an American education reformer, and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1827 to 1833. He served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1834 to 1837. In 1848, after serving as Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education since its creation, he was...
's wife. Her sister Elizabeth educated Sophia, focusing on geography, science, literature and both American and European history; eventually, she learned to read in Latin, French, Greek, Hebrew, and knew some German as well.
Sophia's health had been questionable since infancy and she was an occasional invalid. One possible cause was a fashionable treatment her dentist father prescribed for her teething
Teething
Teething is the process by which an infant's first teeth sequentially appear by emerging through the gums. Teething may start as early as three months or as late, in some cases, as twelve months. The typical time frame for the first teeth to appear is somewhere between six and nine months...
pains that included mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
. In later life, she was a frequent user of calomel
Mercury(I) chloride
Mercury chloride is the chemical compound with the formula Hg2Cl2. Also known as calomel or mercurous chloride, this dense white or yellowish-white, odorless solid is the principal example of a mercury compound...
and opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
to relieve her pain and migraines. When doctors pronounced Sophia had no discernible illness, she sought the "rest therapy". She left for Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
on December 4, 1833, with her sister Mary.
Courtship
Sophia first met Nathaniel Hawthorne through her sister, Elizabeth. When the author came to visit once, Elizabeth is said to have reported, "He is handsomer than Lord ByronGeorge Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS , commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement...
!" When she urged Sophia to come downstairs to meet him, she laughed and said, "If he has come once he will come again". After meeting her, Nathaniel wrote the tale "Edward Randolph’s Portrait", which included an artist character inspired by Sophia Peabody named Alice Vane.
Sophia had originally objected to marriage, partly because of her health. They became secretly engaged by New Year's Day 1839.
Marriage and family
A wedding was scheduled for June 27, 1842, but was postponed when Sophia fell ill. On July 9, 1842, five years after first meeting, she and Nathaniel were married at 13 West Street in Boston, the Peabody bookstore where Margaret FullerMargaret Fuller
Sarah Margaret Fuller Ossoli, commonly known as Margaret Fuller, was an American journalist, critic, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movement. She was the first full-time American female book reviewer in journalism...
held some of her "conversations". The day before, Nathaniel wrote to James Freeman Clarke
James Freeman Clarke
James Freeman Clarke , an American theologian and author.-Biography:Born in Hanover, New Hampshire, James Freeman Clarke attended the Boston Latin School, graduated from Harvard College in 1829, and Harvard Divinity School in 1833...
asking him to oversee the ceremony. "I am to be married to Miss Sophia Peabody tomorrow; and it is our mutual desire that you should perform the ceremony", he wrote. Both were considered relatively old for marriage (she was 32 and he was five days past his 38th birthday), but the coupling proved happy for both of them. Immediately after their wedding, they rented and moved into The Old Manse
The Old Manse
The Old Manse is an historic manse famous for its American literary associations. It is now owned and operated as a nonprofit museum by the Trustees of Reservations...
in Concord, Massachusetts
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
. The next day, Hawthorne wrote to his sister Louisa: "We are as happy as people can be, without making themselves ridiculous, and might be even happier; but, as a matter of taste, we choose to stop short at this point." Together the couple etched their impressions of their new married life in the glass of a window in the study using Sophia's diamond ring:
Man's accidents are God's purposes. Sophia A. Hawthorne 1843
Nath Hawthorne This is his study
The smallest twig leans clear against the sky
Composed by my wife and written with her diamond
Inscribed by my husband at sunset, April 3, 1843. In the Gold light.
SAH
On their first wedding anniversary, Nathaniel wrote to Sophia: "We were never so happy as now—never such wide capacity for happiness, yet overflowing with all that the day and every moment brings to us. Methinks this birth-day of our married life is like a cape, which we have now doubled and find a more infinite ocean of love stretching out before us."
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
, to the disapproval of many family members. Sophia wrote in her journal, "It was a great happiness to be able to put her to my breast immediately and I thanked Heaven I was able to have the privilege of nursing her." John L. O'Sullivan
John L. O'Sullivan
John Louis O'Sullivan was an American columnist and editor who used the term "Manifest Destiny" in 1845 to promote the annexation of Texas and the Oregon Country to the United States. O'Sullivan was an influential political writer and advocate for the Democratic Party at that time, but he faded...
served as her godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
and gave her a Newfoundland dog
Newfoundland (dog)
The Newfoundland is a breed of large dog. Newfoundlands can be black, brown, gray, or black and white. They were originally bred and used as a working dog for fishermen in the Dominion of Newfoundland, now part of Canada. They are known for their giant size, tremendous strength, calm dispositions,...
named Leo when she was two months old. Nathaniel wrote that fatherhood brought "a very sober and serious kind of happiness" and the family began to worry about money. Sophia also had a recurrence of her migraines after Una's birth.
The family was soon kicked out of the Old Manse, left with only 10 dollars. They moved in with family on Herbert Street in Salem while Nathaniel awaited a government job appointment. In March 1846, Sophia moved to 77 Carver Street in Boston to be closer to family and Dr. William Wesselhœft while pregnant with her second child. The couple's son Julian
Julian Hawthorne
Julian Hawthorne was an American writer and journalist, the son of novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne and Sophia Peabody. He wrote numerous poems, novels, short stories, mystery/detective fiction, essays, travel books, biographies and histories...
was born in Boston on May 22, 1846. His father wrote of the news to a sister, "A small troglodyte
Caveman
A caveman or troglodyte is a stock character based upon widespread concepts of the way in which early prehistoric humans may have looked and behaved...
made his appearance here at ten minutes to six o'clock this morning, who claims to be your nephew".
The family moved to Lenox, Massachusetts
Lenox, Massachusetts
Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. Set in Western Massachusetts, it is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,077 at the 2000 census. Where the town has a border with Stockbridge is the site of Tanglewood, summer...
and it was there, in a red farmhouse they rented, that Sophia gave birth to her third child, Rose
Rose Hawthorne Lathrop
Rose Hawthorne Lathrop was an American Roman Catholic religious sister and social worker.-Biography:Born in Lenox, Massachusetts, to Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife Sophia Peabody, she was educated in London, Paris, Rome and Florence. She married author George Parsons Lathrop in 1871; both...
. Two months prior to giving birth, Sophia claimed she instinctively knew it would be a girl and chose the name Rose. She was born on May 20, 1851, about a month after the publication of The House of the Seven Gables
The House of the Seven Gables
The House of the Seven Gables is a 1668 colonial mansion in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. The house is now a non-profit museum, with an admission fee charged for tours, as well as an active settlement house with programs for children...
. Sophia went into labor early, before the midwife
Midwifery
Midwifery is a health care profession in which providers offer care to childbearing women during pregnancy, labour and birth, and during the postpartum period. They also help care for the newborn and assist the mother with breastfeeding....
could arrive; Rose was delivered with the help of Sophia's father.
Few of Sophia's letters from her courtship and early marriage survive. In June 1853, Nathaniel alludes to the destruction of his letters in his journal: "I burned great heaps of old letters and other papers, a little while ago, preparatory to going to England. Among them were hundreds of Sophia's maiden letters".
Hawthorne in 1862 praised his wife: "She is the most sensible woman I ever knew in my life, much superior to me in general talent, and of fine cultivation." Sophia had a close friendship with Annie Adams Fields
Annie Adams Fields
Annie Adams Fields was a United States writer.- 1834 -1881 :Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she was the second wife of the publisher and author James Thomas Fields, whom she married in 1854, and with whom she encouraged up and coming writers such as Sarah Orne Jewett, Mary Freeman, and Emma Lazarus...
, wife of the publisher James Thomas Fields
James Thomas Fields
James Thomas Fields was an American publisher, editor, and poet.-Early life and family:He was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on December 31, 1817 and named James Field; the family later added the "s". His father was a sea captain and died before Fields was three...
. In 1863, Sophia wrote to her, "You embellish my life."
Nathaniel Hawthorne died in May 1864 and Sophia was given the news by her sister Elizabeth Peabody
Elizabeth Peabody
Elizabeth Palmer Peabody was an American educator who opened the first English-language kindergarten in the United States. Long before most educators, Peabody embraced the premise that children's play has intrinsic developmental and educational value.-Biography:Peabody was born in Billerica,...
, who had been informed by Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
. Pierce, a close friend of Hawthorne, had been at the author's side when he died in his sleep. Sophia wrote about her husband's death to Annie Fields: "My darling has gone over that Sapphire sea, and these grand soft waves are messages from his Eternal Rest." She moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
four years later in 1868 with her three children.
Later life, death, burial, and reburial
After her husband's death, Sophia threatened to sue publisher James Thomas FieldsJames Thomas Fields
James Thomas Fields was an American publisher, editor, and poet.-Early life and family:He was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on December 31, 1817 and named James Field; the family later added the "s". His father was a sea captain and died before Fields was three...
for not paying enough in royalties from book sales. Fields blamed his recently-deceased business partner William Ticknor
William Ticknor
William Davis Ticknor I was an American publisher in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and a founder of the publishing house Ticknor and Fields.-Life and work:...
for promising "to pay the highest rate of copyright it ever paid" but that no written contract existed. The two agreed to a compromise as, Sophia said, she preferred "peace to pence".
Sophia became ill in February 1871, diagnosed with "typhoid pneumonia". She had difficulty breathing and was cared for by her daughters before dying on February 26. She was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in Kensal Green, in the west of London, England. It was immortalised in the lines of G. K. Chesterton's poem The Rolling English Road from his book The Flying Inn: "For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen; Before we go to Paradise by way of...
in London, England on March 4. Una wrote to Julian that their mother's grave was "on a sunny hillside looking towards the east... We had a head and footstone of white marble, with a place for flowers between, and Rose and I planted some ivy there that I had brought from America, and a periwinkle from papa's grave. The inscription is—Sophia, wife of Nathaniel Hawthorne."
Julian Hawthorne
Julian Hawthorne was an American writer and journalist, the son of novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne and Sophia Peabody. He wrote numerous poems, novels, short stories, mystery/detective fiction, essays, travel books, biographies and histories...
went on to be a moderately successful author writing about his father and other miscellaneous works. He died in 1934. Rose
Rose Hawthorne Lathrop
Rose Hawthorne Lathrop was an American Roman Catholic religious sister and social worker.-Biography:Born in Lenox, Massachusetts, to Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife Sophia Peabody, she was educated in London, Paris, Rome and Florence. She married author George Parsons Lathrop in 1871; both...
went on to found the Roman Catholic order of nuns, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne
Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne
The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne are a Roman Catholic congregation of Religious Sisters, who are a part of the Third Order of St. Dominic. They specialize in caring for those suffering from terminal cancer and have no financial resources.-History:...
, based in Hawthorne, New York, where she died in 1926.
Care for the graves of Sophia and Una fell to this organization. When the grave sites were in need of costly repair, it was suggested the remains be moved to the Hawthorne family plot in Concord, Massachusetts
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
. In June 2006 the two were re-buried alongside Nathaniel in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is a cemetery located on Bedford Street near the center of Concord, Massachusetts. The cemetery is the burial site of a number of famous Concordians, including some of the United States' greatest authors and thinkers, especially on a hill known as "Author's...
. A funeral was held for the family's descendants with representatives from the Dominican Sisters and a public ceremony was held at The Old Manse
The Old Manse
The Old Manse is an historic manse famous for its American literary associations. It is now owned and operated as a nonprofit museum by the Trustees of Reservations...
to mark the occasion.
Artwork
She tutored her daughter Rose in art as well.
During their courtship, Sophia created an illustration for Nathaniel's tale "The Gentle Boy". After completing it, Sophia asked him if it looked like the main character, Ilbrahim. He answered, "He will never look otherwise to me". The story was republished with Sophia's illustration as The Gentle Boy: A Thrice Told Tale in December 1838, subsidized by a Salem hostess named Susan Burley. The book was dedicated to Sophia, inscribed: "To Miss Sophia A. Peabody, this little tale, to which her kindred art has given value, is respectfully inscribed by the author". He later asked her to illustrate a reissue of his children's book Grandfather's Chair.
External links
- "The Wife and Children of Nathaniel Hawthorne" at Hawthorne In Salem
- Passages from the English Note-Books of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1870) with Preface by Sophia Hawthorne
- "Hawthorne joined by kin in final plot", by Ken Maguire, The Associated Press. USA Today, June 26, 2006
- News story about reburial
- "The Peabody Sisters", Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography