In 1929, Henry Ford sent a questionnaire across the country to men and women aged 75 years or older that asked about their childhoods in the early 19th century. Over 100 people responded with detailed accounts of their lives and so collectively created a wealth of memories of one of the most transformative periods of American history.
Historical Resources intern Christine Driscoll has written a series of guest posts on the 1929 questionnaire.
In the 19th century celebrity sightings were just as exciting as they are today. So much so that in responses to the questionnaire that asked them to look back on their lives and memories, many men and women told of themselves or their family members meeting a famous person. The list of people ranges from those whose fame lasted into our own century – men like Jesse James and Abraham Lincoln, to more obscure persons like an opera singer named Lillian Nordica.
Who the respondents name-drop is more illuminating about the person writing than it is about the famous person. Although these men and women wrote about their lives, facts about their status were left out of the responses because it was irrelevant to the questions the Henry Ford sent to them. The question “Are, or were, you a famous person?” unfortunately wasn’t included on the questionnaire.
Through reports of celebrity sightings, we can gather an idea of who respondents were and what they valued. Which famous people were worth mentioning in an account of their lives? Regularly, it was famous people who had something to do with the respondents’ careers. Of course, some tailored their response to the audience and so a few men wrote of meeting a young Thomas Edison.
The most illuminating case of connection through a celebrity came from two women from New England.
Both Lizzie Frances Wait and Elise Fellows White had an encounter with the famous American Soprano Lillian Nordica as young women. Mme. Nordica was one of the most well-known sopranos in the 1880s. Neither woman saw her in a traditional performance setting, which denoted some kind of social standing, personal talent, or both that would lead to such an unusual circumstance. The logical answer is that White and Wait possessed at least one of these qualities.
A Google search of White and Wait showed that they became relatively well-known in their own rights, also in creative fields. White was an accomplished violinist and Wait became a painter. Painting and Musicianship were meant as ladylike hobbies, but these women pursued it on their own – enough so that more than 100 years later, they appear on a Google search, which is especially remarkable when compared to other respondents’ results. As a student at the New England Conservatory, Lizzie Frances Wait saw Lillian Nordica perform as Lillian Norton. She wrote, “Little did we know she would become so famous.” Wait also attended balls and other social events affiliated with the Art Museum, and through her we get a glimpse of society in Boston.
The following is her description of a costume ball she attended:
In 1889 while a student of painting at the old Art Museum in Copley Square I attended the first real Artists’ Festival in this country. It was held in the art Museum and was a splendid occasion – Besides Art Students and Artists the “400” attended – Every one was in costume even to the doorkeeper and attendants. The costumes were fashioned as nearly as possible in design and general effect like the original character portrayed. Some were beautiful – some unique and many diamonds and other jewels probably saw the light for the first time in years.
The “400” to which White refers was a phrase used to denote “society” in terms of the 400 people who mattered. It was coined by social leader Ward McAllister after the number of people that could fit in the Astors’ ballroom.
Elise Fellows White was one of the most accomplished violinists in her time and debuted at the Waldorf-Astoria with Lillian Nordica. White performed in Europe and sat first chair in the New York Women’s Symphony Orchestra. She stopped playing professionally when she moved to Canada with her husband, Bruce White. The couple met when White was on tour of British Columbia, where the director of the symphony thought it would be a good idea to take young ladies on a tour of mines, and Bruce White, who managed the mine, was their tour guide.
Through the responses to the questionnaire, we received information about all kinds of professions, from druggists to newspaper publishers, but all men. Aside from the few career women, it was difficult to get an idea of what a young woman’s life was like if she was fortunate enough to pursue higher education or a career. Neither White nor Wait revealed the extent of their careers in their letters, only their mention of seeing Lillian Nordica in unique settings led us to search for more information about the authors. Until now, Elise Fellows White’s disappearance from the stage made it seem that her talent was a casualty of marriage in the 19th century, but her account of her life she sent to the Museum makes it apparent that her adventures continued after she stopped teaching and playing the violin; her husband Bruce White discovered one of the largest mines in Canada, and they lived an exciting yet comfortable pioneer life in British Columbia.
Another sighting that connected people was truly out of this world. Although not a bona fide celebrity, a meteor shower in 1833 had the same effect on the children who would later write to Henry Ford.
George Cummings wrote of his father’s memory of the shower:
Father was up later than usual, and in going out to the barn he chanced to look up and all the stars seemed to be let loose in the heavens and going in every direction.
It’s a common cliché in stories about separation for characters to look at the night sky and know the person they miss is looking at the same moon; and like any good cliché, there is some basis in truth. Several respondents (even from other countries) remember themselves or their parents spotting the shower in about 1833, and so without meeting, they shared an experience and were all connected to each other at that moment. And once again as we reread their responses.
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