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Hannah Whitman Heyde to Walt Whitman, 15 March [1892]

About This Item

  • Title: Hannah Whitman Heyde to Walt Whitman, 15 March [1892]
  • Date: March 15, [1892]
  • Creator(s): Hannah Whitman Heyde
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.00664
  • Source: Hannah Louisa Whitman Heyde Papers, 1853–1892, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Transcribed from digital images or a microfilm reproduction of the original item. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Contributors to digital file: Maire Mullins Stephanie Blalock Kassie Jo Baron
  • Cite this page: Heyde, Hannah Whitman. "Hannah Whitman Heyde to Walt Whitman, 15 March [1892]." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 03 May 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.00664.xml (TEI)
 loc_tb.00213.jpg Burlington Vt 1892 Tuesday Morning1 March 15

Only write a line my dear darling brother thinking maybe to day​ you feel a little better can only hope & hope you may. I think of you morning noon & night, would like to write every day to you but are going to wait till you get better. well​ enough dear dear brother to sit up, in your chair again & that will be such good news to hear  loc_tb.00215.jpgyour letters & the money you send all comes safely.—but your writing to me now—there is​ no words to say & I wont​ try. you​ are the only one in the whole world, would be, so good to me.—

What does me good or what is a comfort to me is nothing, you, are the one I care for my darling.

very​ many ask after you. Dr​ Bingham2 says no one has as many friends, & said he wished he was where he could  loc_tb.00216.jpg do something for you although he knew you had everything.

It seems as if I could not help writing to day kept thinking of you last night & this morning but I must not tire you if I could only do a bit of good—

want​ to send much much love, & I do feel for you my dear dear brother.3—[cut-away]

 loc_tb.00214.jpg

Lou4 has been kind about writing—C.5 yesterday sold (without frame) picture for $15. may sell more if takes price offered—sold one before some weeks ago., same price

I thank you brother dear for sending me so much money—you are wonderful good to me.

I pray you may be gaining a little by now,—love always Han

Correspondent:
Hannah Louisa Whitman Heyde (1823–1908) was the fourth child of Walter and Louisa Whitman and Walt Whitman's youngest sister. Hannah was named for her paternal grandmother, Hannah Brush Whitman (1753–1834), and her mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873). Although Walt Whitman had a close relationship with his younger brother Jeff Whitman, Hannah was his favorite, most beloved sibling. Until she married, Hannah lived at home with her parents and her brothers. Educated at the Hempstead Academy, Hannah taught school in rural Long Island. On March 23, 1852, Hannah married Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a landscape painter. It is possible that Walt introduced Hannah to Charles. In August 1852 the Heydes departed for Vermont. The first decade of their marriage was marked by constant moving from boarding houses to hotels, mostly in rural Vermont, as Heyde sought out vantage points for his landscape paintings. In 1864 the Heydes settled in Burlington, purchasing a house on Pearl Street. After Hannah's marriage and relocation to Vermont, Mother Whitman became Hannah's faithful correspondent; Walt also kept in touch, sending letters and editions of Leaves of Grass after publication. Hannah faced several health crises during her marriage, partly due to the ongoing trauma of emotional, verbal, and physical intimate partner violence that she experienced. In the 1880s and 1890s Heyde increasingly had difficulty earning enough to cover household expenses; in addition, he may have become an alcoholic. He repeatedly asked Whitman for funds to cover their expenses. Whitman sent both Heyde and Hannah small amounts of money. After Heyde died in 1892, Hannah remained in Burlington, living in their house on Pearl Street until her death in 1908. For more information, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Heyde), Hannah Louisa (d. 1908)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998).

Notes

  • 1. The Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke dates this letter 1892, confirmed by Hannah's references to Walt's health. On February 8, 1892, Whitman had written that he was "probably growing weaker"; on February 24, 1892, "Still lingering along pretty low," but he nevertheless enclosed five dollars for his sister. His last letter to Hannah, and the last letter he wrote, was dated March 17, 1892. [back]
  • 2. After Dr. Thayer died in 1882, Dr. Leroy Monroe Bingham (1845–1911) became Hannah's doctor. He studied medicine at the University of Vermont and at Bellevue College in New York, and moved to Burlington in 1874. According to the Vermont Medical Monthly, "From about 1878, for a period of 20 years, he was one of the most active and the best known surgeons in Vermont" (Volume 17, Issue 12, Dec. 15, 1911), 306. [back]
  • 3. The rest of this page of the letter has been cut away, and some of Hannah's words are missing. [back]
  • 4. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called "Loo" or "Lou," married Walt's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. They moved to Camden in 1872, and Walt Whitman lived with them from 1873–1884. For more information, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
  • 5. This is Hannah's abbreviation for her husband, Charles (Heyde). [back]
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