
Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson
colonial poet + scholar | host of "attic evenings"
Once dubbed "the most learned woman in America," Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson was a tastemaker at the center of colonial society. This largely forgotten founding mother not only wrote, published + inspired prodigious amounts of poetry, she also hosted one of the most fashionable salons in New England from her family's Pennsylvania home.
Unlucky in love, Elizabeth was jilted by Ben Franklin's son only to wind up marrying a British loyalist who involved her in anti-revolutionary plots that left her estate and reputation in jeopardy. Through it all, she kept up her independent, artistic spirit ~ serving as muse + mentor to many a woman in the newly minted United States.
Attic Evenings | hosted intimate intellectual gatherings on Saturday evenings for a Philly-based smart set that included many an early American luminary from Dr. Benjamin Rush to Francis Hopkinson
poetry | wrote, shared and published songs + verses in the revolutionary era US
uncommon education | taught by her "man-minded" mother, Elizabeth flourished in her studies and was even afforded private tutors
camaraderie | kept up literary correspondence with a brilliant community of colonial thinkers ~ including many women
1757 | jilted by her fiance, traveled to England where she met King George + attended the fashionable "salons" that would inspire her own popular Pennsylvania gatherings at Graeme Park
~ her travel journals were widely circulated amongst New England society ~
1772 | secretly married against her father's wishes but still inherited his estate when he died before she could confess
1781 | successfully petitioned to reclaim her family estate seized under the Confiscation Act of 1778 after her husband was accused of being a traitor during the American Revolution
from | to
gifted child at Graeme Park | largely forgotten female poet who was at the center of Early American intellectual life
born on
February 3, 1737
born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
birth name
Elizabeth Graeme
nickname | also known as
Betsy
citizen of
Great Britain {as a colonist} + The United States of America
daughter of
Anne Diggs Graeme
~ step-daughter of Pennsylvania Governor Sir William Keith + intelligent instructor for all her children ~
Thomas Graeme
~ a wealthy physician who helped found The Pennsylvania Hospital + The Philadelphia Contributorship {the country's first fire insurance company} with Benjamin Franklin ~
sister of
8 older siblings | only 3 still living at her birth ~ Thomas, Anne + Mary Jane
grew up in | lived in
Horsham, Pennsylvania at Graeme Park
studied with
Anthony Benezet
~ Quaker abolitionist who founded the first schools for women + African Americans in the colonies ~
loved studying
French
music
literature
engaged to
William Franklin
~ {illegitimate} son + heir of Benjamin Franklin ~
married to
Henry Hugh Fergusson
~ a penniless Scottish immigrant 11 years her junior ~
~ the 2 met at one of Elizabeth's Attic Evenings + eloped in 1772 ~
~ Henry was largely an absentee husband who spent only 2 years with his wife ~
influenced by | worked alongside
Reverend Richard Peters + Provost William Smith
~ founders of the Pennsylvania Academy that would become U Penn ~
Dr. Benjamin Rush
~ physician, educator, thinker, reformer, signer of the Declaration of Independence + all-around founding father of the US ~
Francis Hopkinson
~ author, songwriter, federal judge + signer of the Declaration of Independence ~
Milcah Martha Moore
~ fellow poet ~
Eliza Stedman
~ her long-time companion ~
in her spare time
translated French
read widely on literature, politics + science
~ she even wrote a poem to commemorate astronomer William Herschel's discovery of Uranus ~
spun flax + fleece
died on
February 23, 1801
~ at the house of Seneca Lukens in Horsham, Pennsylvania ~
"The Sea seems to be a perfect Circle, surrounded by Clouds, that look as if they bent down at the Edges to join it, so that our own Eyes form the Horizon, & like Self-Love, we are always placing ourselves in the Middle, where all Things move round us."
Elizabeth Graeme's travel journal | september 1765
"The Painters Pencil paints alone, One Object to our view, But by the Happier Pen is Shown What kindred Souls pursue."
Verses to a Married Gentleman who made Laura Some very good penns | 1777
"Hope and fear are ever in one train, Linked to each other in life's motley chain."
From Mrs. Fn to Mr. Fn the night before he crossed the Altantic she remaining in Pennsylvania | january 1779
"Let our wheels and our reels go merrily round, While health, peace, and virtue amongst us are found."
The American Spinning Wheel | 1782
"Grateful read the nice mark’d lines, Where taste and judgment’s shewn; Where virtue all harmonious shines."
Lines by a Friend, on reading Mrs. M. Moore's printed and unprinted extracts for the use of Schools | may 1788
"Melissa cull’d each sweet, From the informing page, and brought an intellectual treat, For youth, and hoary age."
Lines by a Friend, on reading Mrs. M. Moore's printed and unprinted extracts for the use of Schools | may 1788
"Let Girlish Nymphs and Boyish Swains, Their amorous Ditties Chant! Make vocal Echoing Hills and Plains; And Loves frail Passion Paint. But Friendships steady flame as far; Out shines that transient Blaze; As Mid Day suns a glimmering Star Which faintest Beams displays."
On the Preference of Friendship to Love | 1789
for further reading about Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson:
curated with care by Alicia Williamson {december 2014}
Keith House | Graeme Park
Originally built as Fountain Low in 1722 by popular colonial governor Sir William Keith, Graeme Park was purchased {+ renamed} in 1739 by Elizabeth's father ~ Sir Keith's son-in-law. Elizabeth lived at Graeme Park most of her life, hosted lively literary gatherings there and eventually inherited it as her father's last living heir. The estate was briefly confiscated following the American Revolution due to her husband Henry's loyalty to Britain, but Elizabeth was able to reclaim it with the support of a founding father or two. She lived there with her friend Eliza until shaky finances forced her to sell off the property in 1795.
Chris Potako | CC BY 2.0
William Temple Franklin
Elizabeth was courted by Benjamin Franklin's acknowledged illegitimate son William when she was just 17. Her father + Ben collaborated to found a Pennsylvania hospital and the colonies' first fire insurance company. But, their partnership had since soured, and both looked unfavorably upon a prospective partnership between their children. Regardless, Elizabeth consented to William's marriage proposal on the condition that he would stay out of factional politics. William broke her heart by not keeping his promises, re: politics or romance. Instead, he went to London to study law and returned as an outspoken British Loyalist with a British wife. Elizabeth channeled her grief into her work ~ a brilliant French-to-English translation of Fenelon's "Telemachus."
John Trumbull {artist} | public domain
Commonplace book prepared by Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson
One of Elizabeth's many commonplace books, this compilation of poetry + correspondence collected between 1770-1787 was specifically prepared for her sister poet Annis Boudinot Stockton ~ who was also the mother-in-law of Dr. Benjamin Rush {signer of the Declaration of Independence, founder of Dickinson College + frequent attendee of Elizabeth's "Attic Evenings"}. Elizabeth was a prolific writer + scholar. Even though many of her writings did not see their way into print, the manuscripts were still circulated amongst her learned friends for their edification.
Dickinson College | Carl Sander Socolow