This is
a post I had planned for later… there is a whole list of connections to Mary Ann
in which a person can literally drop name after name that would be worth
googling. I planned to list them and
touch on each of them briefly, and still plan to do so, but I can’t let this
moment go without commenting.
My
intention in my writing this blog is to be brief and concise, but that’s probably
not gonna happen too often, as it goes against the grain of every fiber in my
being. (See – there I go – grain? fiber? being? – so totally unnecessary and
non-academic . . . and is non-academic
even a word????) Yep, I need an
editor! Or I need to take the time and
go back and delete . . . but I just stumbled across some information that puts
the serendipity in doing research. And
this will be one of those times where I go off . . . rambling. And I probably won’t be able to explain
myself, but I plan to try.
One of the headstones on the Elias Ayers plot
in Fairview Cemetery reads “L. M. Hawley – Consort of F. Thurston, who departed
this life July 6th, 1842, aged 29 years.” I had done some (okay – a lot of) research on
the Ayers and Day families and found no connection to Hawley nor Thurston.
In a separate incident, a few years ago, an
early daybook (book of accounts) was located and purchased for its possible and
probable historical value, pertaining to the entries that list New Albany’s
early merchants. This was the Daybook of
F. Thurston. From the original brief
research, the most interesting connection I found relating to Franklin Thurston was his
marriage here to Laura Hawley. (Although
I need to locate my earlier notes, I could be foggy on the accurate details of
the daybook, so am only briefly commenting on that, as the source of my initial
interest.) Thurston’s wife, Laura, had
died in 1842 and at least by 1844 Franklin had relocated in Muscatine, Iowa,
where he remained until his death in 1878.
Laura had been a published poet, of considerable
literary ability, writing for newspapers and magazines, using the name “Viola.”
Her poems have been included in collections of American poetry.
But no indication as
to why she was buried in Elias Ayers’ plot.
Fast forward to the research
currently being done on Mary Ann’s grandfather, Gold Selleck Silliman. He had been captured and was being held
prisoner by the Tories. His wife, Mary
Fish Silliman, fled to a nearby tavern as the British later set fire to much of
Fairfield. She was pregnant with their
child, and gave birth to Benjamin Silliman, America’s first scientist and pioneer
in energy [our Mary Ann’s uncle,
half-brother of her father, William Silliman, and mentioned here for the
"Six Degrees" aspect – more later ],
in that tavern. The tavern was
originally the large Colonial home built in 1765 by Ebenezer HAWLEY.
I know, I know. I’m
not jumping to conclusions. But I am
excited that this could be the connection I’ve been looking for.
By this time, the
building (tavern) was no longer in the possession of the Hawley family, and
this Mary Silliman was the step-mother of Mary Ann’s father…. The connection is
weak, but it COULD be that Laura Hawley Thurston, who came to New Albany as a
single young woman, was taken in by Mrs. Ayers (at that time), as a fellow
kinsman with a connection to her family back East.
Worth
pursuing!!!! Mostly because all other
trails leading to Laura Hawley Thurston have led nowhere, I can’t help but
think (if only for a moment) how sweet it will be if a connection can be made.
Just wanted to
share. And, hey, it’s MY blog!!
[ADDENDUM:
The Hawley family who had built the tavern in Connecticut has proved to be the
same family that eventually gave us Laura Hawley Thurston, the poet.
However, information garnered since that discovery cannot support nor dispute
the fact that Laura Hawley came to New Albany as a direct result of her
connection to the Silliman (Mrs. Mary Ann Silliman Ayers specifically) family,
from nearby Fairfield. A short biography in "The Poets of
Connecticut" states that Laura had studied at the Hartford Female Seminary
and subsequently, "through the recommendation of Mr. Brace, she was invited to take charge of
a female school at New Albany, in Indiana." -- Mr. Brace having been
John Pierce Brace, the principal of the seminary. From this statement it appears
that he may have been approached as to who might be a suitable candidate
and it was just coincidental that the individual was Laura Hawley. But
very likely, Mary Ann was influential in this appointment.]
