History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

M. Whiijple, which could be had for $5,000.
Subscriptions were opened for lots containing ;iOO
square feet, at $10 each. October 19, five hundred
lots having been subscribed for, a committee was
chosen to procure a charter. February 22, the act
of incorporation granted January 23, ISil, was
accepted, and at the meeting of March 8 a code of
by-laws was adopted, together with a seal bearing the
words, "Lowell Cemetery, IS^l. The dead shall
be raised." Oliver M. Whipple was chosen presi-
dent, James G. Carney treasurer, and Charles
Hovey clerk. The grounds were consecrated Sun-
day, June 18, 1841, at -1^ o'clock, p. M. The ad-
dress was delivered by the Rev. Amos Blanchard.
In 18-i7 the chapel was built.
In August the high-school building was dedi- i
cated.
T!\\e.^Kt\mmher of The Lowell O/fetin// appeared
in October of this year. It was really what it pre-
tended to be, a magazine containing original compositions
by girls working in the mills. My
experience in the publication of T/ie Album, or
Ladies' Common-Place Book, as early as 1833, con-
vinced me that there was " mind among the spin-
dles." Quite a number of my correspondents were
factory-girls, and it was evident that all that was
wanted to show their ability was a medium of com-
received and read by the pastor of the Second Uni-
versalist Church, Mr. Thomas. Their authorship
being unknown, they were subject to criticism and
amendment. The reading of these articles was the
sole entertainment of the circle. This led to the
practice of reading, at social meetmgs of the churchmembers
or the society, those articles which were
of a serious and religious character. The talent
thus brought out led to the pubKcation of The
Offeriuy, a production that caused quite a commo-
tion in the literary world.
The two most enterprising and leading members
of the circle were Harriet Farley and Harriet F. Cur-
tis. Miss Farley, the daughter of the Rev. Stephen
Farley of Amesbury, left home, and worked in the
mills to obtain funds for the purpose of helping a
brother secure a collegiate education. In 1842,
while in sole charge of the editorial department of
The Offering, she writes of its first appearance :
LOWELL. 77
j
" We shall never forget our throb of pleasure
when we first saw The Lowell Offering in a tangi-
ble form, with its bright yellow cover; nor our
flutterings of delight as we perused its pages.
True, we had seen or heard the articles before, but
they seemed so much better in print ! They appeared
to be as good as anybody's writings. They
sounded as if written by people who never worked
at all."
The success of The Off'ering was such that a
rival sprung up, called IVie Operatires'' Magazine.
It may have grown out of the jealousy of the other
denominations, as Mr. Thomas suggests, he being
'
a Universalist. Miss Farley says " : It difl'ered
from The Offering by receiving communications
from both sexes and from those females who had left
the mill .... After a time, however, the gentle-
men's articles were discarded, and the magazine
passed entirely into the hands of the young ladies
they owned, edited, and published it." Previous
to this, the male editor, A. C. Thomas, sold The
Off'ering to the printer of The Magazine, William
Schouler ; and after a while both works were
united in one by the proprietor, and edited by
Harriet Farley. After this, all denominations
contributed to and sustained it.
Harriet F. Curtis, " who held a dashing pen,"
munication with the public. This was obtained in as Mr. Thomas says, was a pretty good specimen
1S4-0 in the publication of The Offer'uif/. The cir- of the Yankee girls, wide awake, keen, and sharp.
cumstances attending its origin have been faithfully Women, in her opinion, were just as fit for business
detailed by the Eev. A. C. Thomas and Miss Har- as men, in whose vocations she was very much
riet Farley. An improvement circle was formed interested. She wrote a novelette entitled Kate
in 1839-40, where written communications were in Search of a Husband, and an essay, S. S. S. Phi-
losophy/. All her articles were signed " Kate."
Lydia S. Hall, over the signature of " Adelaide,"
wrote poetry that has won merited encomiums.
Lucy Larcom, another contributor, enjoys a repu-
tation that dates back to The Offering. Her sig-
nature was " L. L."
Harriet Lees united with Farley and Curtis in
presenting Harriet Martineau with an elegantly
bound copy of The Off'ering. This was in response
to the publication in England, by Miss Martineau,
of selections from The Offering, entitled Mind
among the Spindles.
Articles signed " S. G. B." were contributed by
Sarah G. Bagley, a New Hampshire girl, from that
part of Meredith now called Laconia.
The Rev. William Scoresby, D. D., Vicar of
Bradford, Yorkshire, England, visited this country
in the summer of 1844. During the month of
Februarv, 1845, he delivered two lectures in Brad-
;