CHAPTER FIRST.

LIFE AND WRITINGS OFAMELIA BLOOMER.

The early life of the subject of this Memoir was devoid of any striking incidents. Her parents were natives of the little State founded by Roger Williams, where both were born, passed their early years, and were married some time in the year 1806. Her father, Ananias Jenks, was a clothier by trade, and was a man of a great deal of force of character. The maiden name of her mother was Lucy Webb. She was a devoted Christian woman, and had enjoyed to the fullest extent the training of a New-England Puritan family of the last century.She was a faithful member of the Presbyterian church, and she aimed to bring up her children in its somewhat strict teachings. With her and her family the holy Sabbath commenced with the going down of the sun on Saturday evening, and ended with the setting of the sun on the following day. This was an old Puritan notion, and was very convenient for the boys and girls who wished to form acquaintances and spend pleasant hours together on the evening of the first day of the week. Ananias Jenks, the father of Amelia Jenks, removed to the state of New York with his wife in the early days of their married life, residing successively in the counties of Onondaga, Cortlandt, Wayne, and Seneca. To Ananias and Lucy Jenks several children were born, at least four daughters and two sons. One of the latter died in early childhood; but the other, Augustus, was spared until about his thirtieth year. He married, removed to the state of Michigan, where five children were born in his family, enlisted as a volunteer in one of the Michigan regiments in the Civil War, and losthis life at the great battle of Gettysburg. The four daughters were Adaline, Elvira, Amanda, and Amelia; Amelia being the youngest of the family, with perhaps the exception of Augustus, who may have been younger. All the children married: Adaline left children surviving her; Amanda, one only, a daughter; while none were born to either Elvira or Amelia.

The last named, Amelia, was born in the town of Homer, Cortlandt County, New York, on the 27th day of May, 1818. In some autobiographical notes left by her, we find the following in reference to her early years:

“My earliest recollections are of a pleasant home in Homer, Cortlandt County, New York. Here was I born, and here the first six years of my life were passed. But little of these early days can now be recalled after sixty years have been added to them, yet there are a few incidents that are so deeply impressed upon memory, that they seem but the occurrence of a week ago. First I recall the visit of some Indians to my father’s house, and the latter buying a large knife of them. The Indians, my father and the knife come before me nowas though they were indeed a reality of the present. Again, a scene comes before the mind’s eye of my brother and myself looking from an upper window, and seeing some Indians knocking at the door of a small untenanted house opposite to us. My brother, who was a few years older than myself, called out ‘Come in.’ The Indians opened the door and stepped in, then out, and looked up and around sorely puzzled at hearing a voice, but seeing no one, while my brother and I laughed and danced behind the blind at the trick which we had played upon them. Several children were on their way to school. One little girl jumped upon the wheel of a wagon which stood in front of a house, intending to get in and ride to school. The horse became frightened while she stood on the wheel, and ran away, throwing her violently to the ground and injuring her severely. The mirth of childhood was turned to sadness, and we trudged on to school, after seeing her unconscious form carried into the house. I could not have been over four or five years old when these things happened, but they are deeply engraved on memory’s tablet.”

Amelia was carefully trained at home by her truly Christian mother, and from her she imbibedthose high sentiments of honesty, truth, duty, fidelity and regard for the rights of others which actuated her during the whole course of her life. Her educational opportunities were limited to the district school of those early days. Then, it was commonly thought that about all a girl should be taught was to read and write, with a little grammar and less arithmetic. These essentials of a common-school education were fairly mastered by the little girl, and to such an extent that, when she arrived at about the age of seventeen years, she was employed as a teacher in one of the district schools at or near the village of Clyde, in Wayne County, New York. A single short term, however, was the whole extent of her life as a teacher. For the brief period of her engagement, we are told, she discharged her duties with much acceptance. Her kindness of heart, united with wonderful firmness and a strict regard for truth and right, qualities which distinguished her throughout her whole life, endeared her to the children who came under her care.

School-teaching however soon ended; and shortly after, she became a member of the family of her sister Elvira, then recently married and residing in Waterloo, New York, to which place her father’s family also removed about the same time. Here the days passed along smoothly and quietly until about the year 1837, when she became an inmate in the family of Mr. Oren Chamberlain residing near Waterloo, as the governess and tutor of his three youngest children. This position she continued to fill with entire satisfaction for two or three years. The children all lived to years of maturity, and always manifested great affection in subsequent years for their former teacher. In this family, the life of Miss Jenks moved along quietly and evenly. She enjoyed fully its confidence and the love of her pupils. She formed new friendships and the circle of her acquaintances was widened. Among the latter, was a young man residing in Seneca Falls engagedin the study of law, while taking also a large interest in the political movements of that day. They met quite frequently, and soon strong ties of friendship were formed between them, and the friendship ripened as the months passed by into love. They became engaged, and finally were married at the residence of John Lowden in the village of Waterloo, New York, on the 15th day of April, 1840, by the Rev. Samuel H. Gridley, the Presbyterian clergyman of the village; and in subsequent years Mrs. Bloomer frequently alluded with much satisfaction to the fact that he omitted altogether the word “obey” in the marriage ceremony. Only a few friends were present at the marriage, but among them besides Mr. and Mrs. Lowden were A. E. Chamberlain, Miss Caroline Starks, and Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Fuller, all of whom together with Mr. Lowden are still living at the time (March, 1895) of writing these lines.

At the time of this marriage Mr. Bloomer was twenty-four years of age, quite tall and slim, weighing about one hundred and fiftypounds, with gray eyes, a rather tall forehead, and long arms, and of bashful and reserved demeanor. His bride was much smaller, five feet four inches in height, and weighed about a hundred pounds. She had a well-formed head, bright, blue eyes bordering on black, auburn hair and an exceedingly pleasant and winning smile. Like her husband, she was reserved in manner, and very unwilling to force herself upon the notice of strangers, but when she once became acquainted with them she enjoyed their society most heartily. She was small in person and modest in demeanor, and standing beside her tall husband, at once attracted the attention and secured the confidence of her friends and associates. She was twenty-two years of age at the time of her marriage. Her husband, Dexter C. Bloomer, was of Quaker parentage, had a fairly good common-school and academic education, had spent several years in teaching school, commenced the study of law at the age of twenty, and at the time of his marriage was still a student and one of the proprietors and editors of theSeneca CountyCourier, a weekly newspaper printed in Seneca Falls, N. Y.

The day following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Bloomer drove in a carriage to the residence of Mr. Isaac Fuller, in Seneca Falls, where rooms had been prepared for their reception. Mr. Fuller was Mr. Bloomer’s partner in the printing business, and both he and his excellent wife are still (in 1895) living in the same town, and have ever proved most dear and excellent friends of the young couple who on the 16th day of April, 1840, took up their residence with them.

Mr. Bloomer had very many friends in the town, and on the evening of his arrival with his bride they filled Mr. Fuller’s rooms to welcome the newly wedded couple to their new home and their new life. With them came many members of a fire company of which Mr. Bloomer was a member, accompanied by a band of music, and all went merry as a marriage bell. Refreshments were of course served, and among them a plentiful supply of wine, for in those days, this was the almost certain accompanimentof all social gatherings. All, or nearly all, partook of it; and just then occurred an incident which told most instructively as to the moral character and firmness of the young and happy bride. Glasses were filled with the sparkling beverage, and one of them was presented to her by the bridegroom himself, but she firmly yet pleasantly declined to accept it. “What,” he said with the greatest earnestness, “will you not drink a glass of wine with me on this joyful occasion? Surely it can do you no harm.” “No,” she smilingly yet firmly replied, “I cannot,—I must not.” A crowd of guests standing around could but admire her great self-denial and devotion to principles; and ever after, to the end of her days, she was the firm and consistent advocate of Temperance and the unceasing enemy of strong drink in all its varied forms.

The year 1840 was a memorable one in the history of this country. It witnessed the great“Tippecanoe and Tyler, too,” campaign, in which Gen. William Henry Harrison and Martin Van Buren were opposing candidates. The whole country went wild with political speech-making, songs, log-cabins, great gatherings of people and enormous processions of the opposing hosts. Mr. Bloomer was absorbed heart and soul in the contest. He was the editor of the only Whig paper in the village and county, and he was present at political caucuses, conventions and assemblages in all that region. His wife at first took little interest in the great hubbub raised over the land. In fact, her health was quite delicate that first summer of her married life. It is remembered distinctly now by the writer of these lines, that while he was on the 4th of July, 1840, delivering an address at a political celebration, she was at home prostrated with some form of intermittent fever. His address over, he hastened to her bedside; and soon after, having so far recovered as to leave her room, she was taken to Avon Springs, in western New York, where she regained her health so as to return to herboarding place early in August. But Mrs. Bloomer gradually became interested in the political turmoil so far as to attend political gatherings, visit the log-cabin which stood on one of the principal streets of the town, and assist in preparing badges and mottoes for the use of those who espoused the cause advocated by her husband.

And so the months moved quietly along during that eventful year, and the first of October found Mr. and Mrs. Bloomer settled down to housekeeping in a modest dwelling in Seneca Falls. The great election contest terminated in November, and they both rejoiced most heartily in the result, although what particular benefit it would be to either of them, except the satisfaction of being on the winning side, it would have been very difficult for either to very fully explain.

As has already been stated, Mr. Bloomer was one of the editors of a village paper printed inSeneca Falls. He was a great reader of books and newspapers, and sought to inspire in his young wife a similar love for the current literature of the day. This was no difficult task, for she also was fond of books and sought in all suitable ways to store her mind with useful knowledge. But Mr. Bloomer desired her to go further and become a writer for the papers also. He had got the idea well fixed in his mind, from letters received from her during the years preceding their marriage, that she possessed the power of expressing her thoughts on paper with both ease and grace. But from the natural modesty of her character, she was quite unwilling to embark in this to her new and untried field of mental experience. Nevertheless, through the kind and persuasive appeals of the husband the young wife began to commit her thoughts to paper, and from time to time there appeared in the newspapers of the town various articles bearing upon the social, moral and political questions of those times. They all appeared anonymously, sometimes written over one signature and then over another, butthey all came from Mrs. Bloomer’s pen and excited no little curiosity among the people of the town as to their real author. It was in this way that Mrs. Bloomer acquired that easy and pleasant style of writing for publication which so marked her career in later years.

Meantime, the great Washingtonian Temperance Reformation of 1840 and 1841 made its appearance, led by the six reformed drunkards of Baltimore. It swept over the country like a whirlwind; thousands of men under its influence were led to abandon their drinking habits and become useful and sober citizens, while thousands more attached their name to the Temperance pledge of total abstinence from all intoxicating liquors. This movement reached Seneca Falls and produced a great sensation, almost revolutionizing public sentiment on the subject. Pollard and Wright, two of the reformed men of Baltimore, visited the town and held public meetings in halls and parks and were listened to by great crowds ofpeople. An “Independent Temperance Total-Abstinence Society” was formed headed by reformed men, and the current topics of the time nearly all turned upon this all-absorbing subject.

Into this movement Mrs. Bloomer entered with her whole heart and soul. Along with her husband, she attended the great Temperance gatherings, and took an active part in carrying forward the great reformation. She acted on committees, and wrote articles in support of the good work. A newspaper called theWater Bucketwas issued as the organ of the Temperance society of the village. For this Mrs. Bloomer wrote freely and vigorously. A copy of this paper cannot be found, but a few articles from her pen have been preserved. Here is one of them. It was written in 1842 and is a fair specimen of Mrs. Bloomer’s then style of composition. She has been answering objections to the Temperance pledge, when she proceeds as follows:

“Another cannot make cake fit to eat without wine or brandy. A third must have brandy on her apple dumplings, and a fourth comes out boldly and says she likes to drink once in a while herself too well. What flimsy excuses these! brandy and apple dumplings, forsooth! That lady must be a wretched cook indeed who cannot make apple dumplings, mince pies or cake palatable without the addition of poisonous substances. But I would ask these ladies if they have ever tried to do without it? Their answer I fear would be in the negative. They do notwishto do without it. They act from purely selfish motives. Would they but visit the drunkard’s home and see the misery and wretchedness that is brought upon families once happy and prosperous as themselves, and hear the drunkard’s wife recount her tale of woe, methinks their hearts would soften. They could then sympathize with those who are trying to break loose from the galling yoke of intemperance, and instead of being stumbling blocks in our way, they would come to our aid with their whole hearts and devote their talents to the cause of temperance, nor cease in their efforts until drunkenness should be completely driven from the land. What examples these ladies are setting before their families! Have they a husband, a brother ora son, and have they no fear that the example they are now setting them may be the means of their filling a drunkard’s grave? Have they a daughter? Their example teaches her to respect moderate-drinking young men, and receive their addresses, and should she unite her fate with such an one, almost certain ruin awaits her. * * * Could all those ladies who oppose the efforts which we are making to reform our land, but have their minds awakened to the importance of the subject! Could they but know the experience of thousands of their own sex, who from being surrounded by every happiness that wealth and station can impart, have through the means of that fell destroyer, intemperance, sunk to the lowest depth of misery and degradation, and, more than all, did they but know how far their influence may be instrumental in saving a fellow-creature, they would hasten to the standard of temperance and unite their influence against the disturber of human happiness, and become volunteers in the moral contest to extirpate the fell monster from our shores.”

The above article was signed “Gloriana,” a favorite signature of Mrs. Bloomer’s. Another which is preserved, and was printed over thesignature of “Eugene” at about the same date, is as follows:

“Many people think there is nothing more to do towards the advancement of temperance in this place, because we have succeeded in breaking up the drinking of ardent spirits in a measure, and have enlisted some four or five hundred members under our banners. This is a mistaken idea, and if cherished long, those who feel most secure will find to their dismay that the viper has only been crushed for a time, and will arise again upon his victim with a firmer and more deadly grasp than before. It is the duty of every man to be at his post, to lend his aid in sustaining the weak, and to encourage others by his presence and example of perseverance in the course they have begun. If the reformed inebriates see those whom they have looked upon to sustain and encourage them in this great work grow careless and indifferent towards them and the cause, have we not reason to fear that they too will drop off one by one into their old practices, and forsake that Temperance Hall where they have long passed their evenings so pleasantly and so profitably for their old haunts, the grogshop and the gutter? * * * Let it not be said of Seneca Fallsthat she deserted her post in the hour of danger, but let every temperance man feel that he has a duty to perform and that there is no time for rest or inaction until the ‘hydra-headed monster’, shall be driven from our borders.”

These extracts show how earnestly Mrs. Bloomer gave herself to the great Temperance reform. Of some of the features of the reform she gives the following sketch in an historical review written at a much later date:

“In 1840 a great impulse was given to the temperance cause, such as had never been known before in the world’s history. This movement originated with seven drunkards of Baltimore, who met in a saloon in that city and then and there, with their glasses filled before them, resolved that they would drink no more. They poured out the liquor and went home. They at once formed a society for the promotion of total abstinence among those who, like themselves, had been addicted to the use of intoxicating drink. Only one of the seven is known to have backslidden, while the others lived and died honoring the cause theyhad embraced. Several of these men became eloquent speakers, and traveled the country over, holding meetings, pleading earnestly for the reformation of others, and depicting in burning words the sad lot of the drunkard and his wretched family. No such temperance meetings have been held since, no such eloquent appeals made for temperance. This was called the great ‘Washingtonian movement,’ and by it an impetus was given that has led to all subsequent effort in that cause. Following this movement various societies were started, some open, some secret. We had the Sons of Temperance, Reformed Brotherhood, Rechabites, Cadets of Temperance, Carson Leagues, Alliances, Good Templars, Temple of Honor, and open local, county and state societies, and finally the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.”

About this time (1843) Mrs. Bloomer and also her husband united with and became members of the Episcopal Church, in Seneca Falls; she maintained her membership in that body until the end of her life, a period of over fifty years. This new relation opened a new field for herquiet and gentle activities. She became very soon deeply interested in parish work in its various forms, and as a member of various parochial organizations labored faithfully to advance Christian progress. This was especially noticeable after her removal to her new home in the West, as we shall have occasion to remark further on. We may add here that Mrs. Bloomer, while a firm believer in the truth of the Christian religion, always insisted that certain passages in the Scriptures relating to women had been given a strained and unnatural meaning, and that the whole teaching of the Bible, when fully interpreted, elevated her to a joint companionship with her brother in the government and salvation of the race.

Back to Index Next