Walt Whitman to Hannah Whitman Heyde, 14 September 1891
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Camden1
Sept: 14 '912
Dear sister,
Getting along fairly—eat my two meals every day—one of my greatest botherations is the dimming of eye sight—incipient blindness—a long stretch of perfect sunny weather here, pleasantly cool—I went out on a two hours drive to what we call "Pea Shore"3 Saturday afternoon—receive some good letters f'm England4—am sitting here early afternoon in big chair alone by window as usual—have lots of papers & magazines—best love to you dear Han—
W W
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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. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. [back]
- 2. Whitman wrote this letter on stationery printed with the following notice from the Boston Evening Transcript: "From the Boston Eve'g Transcript, May 7, '91.—The Epictetus saying, as given by Walt Whitman in his own quite utterly dilapidated physical case is, a 'little spark of soul dragging a great lummux of corpse-body clumsily to and fro around.'" [back]
- 3. "Pea Shore" was one of Whitman's favorite jaunts from his Mickle Street home. Located about three miles from North Camden on the Delaware River, its flat, serene water appealed to Whitman. "Pea Shore" gets its name from Henry Wood (1603–1686), a Quaker who settled in the Camden, New Jersey area to "escape the persecution of the Puritans. . . . He called his estate 'Pea Shore' and there most of his descendants have lived and died," as S.R. Harlow and H.H. Boone note (Life Sketches of the State Officers, Senators, and Members of the Assembly of the State of New York in 1867 [Albany, New York: Weed, Parsons, 1867], 171). [back]
- 4. Whitman is likely referring to the letters he had recently received from Dr. John Johnston, who had visited Whitman in Camden in July 1890. With his friend James W. Wallace, Johnston helped to establish a club of Whitman enthusiasts in England called the Bolton "College," a group comprised mostly of working-class men. Johnston's most recent letters to Whitman were dated September 2, September 5, and September 8–9, 1891. For more information on Johnston, see Larry D. Griffin, "Johnston, Dr. John (1852–1927)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]