Dear Sue:
Do you remember several years ago when, at luncheon downtown one day, the fortune-teller told me to write about Seattle in the Old Days--that there was lots of material here? Maybe what she said intrigued me. Anyway, I'm finding it fascinating digging up material about the early homes of Seattle.
In all the years I lived in Philadelphia it never occurred to me to write about Philadelphia when it was the town of William Penn. Sometimes, when you grow u with those things, they are such a part of you that they don't attract your attention, other than sight-seeing tours with out-of-town visitors on occasion.
When we moved to Massachusetts I began to haunt such places as Sudbury, with its old Grist Mill and Longellow's Wayside Inn, and Harvard, where Bronson Alcott built "Fruitlands," and Emerson's Concord; and--what may sound like a morbid hobby, but was really hilarious--took up collecting epitaphs from old graveyards!
We had nine months in Connecticut, living in a rambling old house in Farmington, which I adored. Maybe it was the influence of Farmington (Rachel Field's mother used to nod and smile at me when we'd meet at the post office), but I did write more there than anywhere. When Farmington celebrated its tercentenary I did an article for The New Haven Register. I seem to sell a weird collection of manuscripts, ranging from home economic articles in farm journals to love stories in syndicates, from verse in small magazines to newspaper feature articles.
As you remember from living here in Seattle, houses considered "old" would not be old in the East, because Seattle sprang up too recently. The only "old" house showing decayed traces of splendor which I've found so far was built in 1883. Going back beyond that they have been torn down to make way for office buildings and stores. There are older houses than this of course, but they are not the "mansion" type of residence which I am working on now.
Seattle history books are confusing. Bagley describes in "Pioneer Seattle and Its Pioneers" the Bethel Party of which Dexter Horton, the Mercers and the Bagleys were a part. A descendant says there was no such thing as "The Bethel Party' and that a few histories of Seattle were politically handled, with such sums as $150 being paid to have your forefather's picture included. Some were not even written by the party designated as the author. Arthur Denny, according to Inez Denny's book, died in January, 1889', so I concluded he did not live to see the fire of June of that year. But coming across the date of his deith in Bagley's History of King County, I find it was 1899. In Mr. Bass' book I had taken the age of his death as 82, and this did not check with either date, so I did more research and decide he was referring to his father, John Denny.
That's the way it has been, one mixup after another, with some of the old pioneers marrying two and three times to add to my confusion concerning their children and wives. I am very much of a "cheechako" (newcomer) even after two years. Well, Sue, hope for the best!
With every date I'm sticking my neck out!
As ever,
Peg