Guide to the Archival Collections.pdf - Missouri History Museum

A0139
Blow, Henry Taylor (1817-1875).
Blow family papers, 1837-1916; 1960. 2 boxes
Henry Taylor Blow, manufacturer, legislator, and diplomat, was born July 15, 1817, in
Southampton County, Virginia, and died September 11, 1875, in Saratoga, New York. He came
to St. Louis with his family in 1830 and completed his education at St. Louis University. At the
age of nineteen he became a partner with his brother-in-law Joseph Charless in the sale of drugs,
paints, and oils, and later in the manufacture of castor oil, linseed oil, and white lead. In 1844,
the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Blow retained the manufacturing business, which he
developed into the Collier White Lead and Oil Company. At a later date he became interested
with his brother Peter E. Blow and Ferdinand Kennett in lead mining and smelting works in
Newton County, Missouri. After the Civil War they organized the Granby Mining and Smelting
Company, which operated the works for many years. Blow was also prominent in public life. He
was elected to the Missouri Senate in 1854 and served four years. In 1860, he was a delegate to
the Republican national convention, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the presidency;
Blow was a staunch supporter of the Union cause in Missouri. President Lincoln appointed Blow
the United States minister to Venezuela in 1861, but he returned to St. Louis in 1862 because of
his concern over the Civil War. In the fall of that year he was elected to the U.S. House of
Representatives, and reelected two years later. In 1869, President Grant appointed him the
United States minister to Brazil, and he held that office for two years. His last public service was
as a member of the board of commissioners of the District of Columbia in 1874. In 1840, Blow
married Minerva Grimsley, daughter of Colonel Thornton Grimsley. Their first child, Susan E.
Blow, was born June 7, 1843. The family moved to Carondelet when she was six years old. She
attended classes in private schools, and at 16 was sent to New York for two additional years of
school. Miss Blow met Friedrich Froebel in Germany and became acquainted with his
kindergarten work and teaching devices. When he returned to the United States in 1873, she was
able to persuade the Board of Education of St. Louis to let her use a schoolroom for one year; the
second year the board incorporated the kindergarten work into its curriculum. She continued to
work in St. Louis until 1886 when she was forced to retire because of poor health. During this
period she wrote her first book, Symbolic Education, which was followed by several others.
When she regained her health she began a series of lectures in which she described her theories
of child education. She died in 1916 at the age of 73.
The papers include approximately 175 pieces of correspondence between Henry Taylor Blow
and his wife, Minerva Grimsley Blow, from 1840 to 1875. These papers also include
correspondence with their children, Susan, Nellie and Peter. The letters chronicle family and
business history of the family as well as provide commentary on national and state politics
during the Civil War, including the effects of the war on St. Louis. Minerva Blow's letters tell
much of the social side of St. Louis and the role of women in the Sanitary Fair (1864), and of the
personalities of family members and friends. Also includes information regarding the Blow
library.
Indexed in the archives card catalog.
Cite as: Blow Family Papers, Missouri History Museum Archives, St. Louis.
A0140
Blow, Susan (1843-1916).
Lectures, 1890-1900. 2 boxes
Daughter of Henry Taylor Blow, Susan Blow was born in Carondelet. After an
unconventional youth filled with private tutors and travel, Blow met Friedrich Froebel in