An interesting facet to many letter collections is the discovery of
information which is not familial. The data often gives the reader insight into
a completely unrelated subject or subjects. This occurred in the Mott
collection with a series of letters from Elizabeth, also known as Lizzy or
Lissy, Legaré who was a Charleston, South Carolina socialite and school mate of
Virginia Bentley.
While these letters are an exciting surprise for those who read the
Mott collection expecting to learn more about Leesburg families, discoveries
like this are more common than not. The Legaré letters show that one should not
assume a local letter collection concerns only the local people.
The insights from her letters about the persons who lived in
antebellum South Carolina are of great value for researchers. Letters and
personal manuscripts are often the only records in existence for many of these
persons. South Carolina’s record loss was extensive due to the burning of
courthouses, and towns, during the American Civil War but official vital record
registration was not instituted until the late 19th – early 20th
century.[i]
These factors make researching Antebellum ancestors particularly tricky.
A prolific writer, 16 letters survive from Lizzie to Virginia Bentley
during the period studied, the most from any person outside of Virginia’s
Family. The largest category of the
genealogical event she wrote about concerned travel. Who went where, who was
visiting whom, and who had moved residences. This information can thus place an
individual within a time and place for genealogical study.
For genealogical research the information Lizzy provides on her family
structure, those who were in her immediate sphere, and snippets of gossip help
fill in the details of an ancestor’s life which might have been covered with
formal records. She documented births, deaths, marriages, engagements, and of
course, social functions which occurred since her last letters. These
statistics can be seen in the image below.
Genealogical events stated in letters from Elizabeth
Legaré Blake to Virginia Bentley Mott.
Many of Lizzie's letters discussed her social circle in Charleston.
Descriptions of balls, dinners, and general entertainment may seem like
superfluous information, but for genealogy research, the details are what is
essential. The names listed are not only among the Who’s Who of Charleston, but
they will build out the FAN (friends, associates, and neighbours) network for
an individual. This network is crucial to research in areas with missing
records.
As an example, in a letter dated 21 October 1843, Lizzie wrote to
Virginia (Gin) about a bit of gossip told to her by a friend (Eliza) about a
classmate (Maria Payne). While this could be titled gossip, an intimate dinner
party and evening of entertainment was described. Genealogically speaking very
important as the people mentioned are now associated with each other, at least
as acquaintances.
“… well said
Eliza, Lizzy I will tell you Miss Payne is not a true friend of
yours. The 6 weeks
since she invited to spend the evening with her, and also John Lance, Louis
Gervais, Mr Mottet, Julian Barksdale, and Arthur Rose, and in the course of the
evening Mrs Payne called me to the Piano saying here Eliza is a list of Rias premiums which I will show you, I
wish you to see how far superior Ria is in every respects to Lizzy Legaré, the latter is reputed by some people in Charleston to be
smart but I will show you her smartness amounts to nothing her conversational
powers are pretty good an that is all, and further she said, Ria was in the Senior
Class and Lizzy Legaré is the first, and would you believe it
Gin …”
Of course, from her letters, the reader learns about her immediate and
extended family. Who was married, who died, and who was doing what? The pedigree chart below shows the family relationships discussed and inferred from Lizzie's
letters. Her mother is not mentioned in the letters by name and was determined
by secondary resources and published genealogies.[ii]
| Lizzie Legaré's immediate family. |
Health was discussed frequently, and often in detail. Lizzy herself
was frequently ill with fevers[iii]
and did suffer a miscarriage[iv]
early in her marriage to Jonathan Blake. Her most in-depth letter on a health
matter to Virginia was the description of her husband John dying from
consumption. The details of the illness, how it progressed, who treated him, and
his ultimate death are invaluable details to a researcher from this family.
Lizzie was the consummate socialite with family and personal
connections to the most respected families in Charleston, and out. As such, she
had the opportunity to attend activities and meet people of historical
significance. One of the most detailed and intriguing letters written by Lizzie
was the description of her aunt “Matties” wedding.
Martha Washington Seabrook was an aunt (by marriage) to Lizzie. Her
stepmother Sarah Seabrook and Martha Seabrook shared their father William
Seabrook as seen in the pedigree image below.[v]
Sarah being born of his first marriage to Mary Ann Mikell and Martha by the
second marriage to Elizabeth Emma Eddings. Martha Washington Seabrook married
the grandson of the Marquis de Lafayette, Ferdinand de Lasteyrie. Lizzie
related the story of the Paris wedding and the thousands of dollars in gifts in
her letter to Virginia on 28 October 1846.[vi]
A connection such as these only elevated their status in Charleston.
Association
of Elizabeth Legaré Blake to Martha Washington Seabrook.
Another famous grandson Lizzie wrote to Virginia about in January
1849:
“On the 8th Jan Henry
W[illiamson] gave his birthright [sic] supper … Schuyler Hamilton N[ew] York,
one of the heroes of Mexico, was there and a quad of army officers…”
Schuyler Hamilton (1822 – 1903) was the grandson of Alexander
Hamilton, first Secretary of Treasury of the United States, and Elizabeth Schuyler.
He was visiting one of the Forts in the Charleston Area having returned from
the Mexican American War (1846-1848). At
the time meeting, a war hero was impressive, but his lineage perhaps not so
much. However, now, this connection is historically significant.
Her letters continue with a detailed description of the Legaré family,
the Charleston community, and other women Virginia and Elizabeth attended
school within Maryland. The quantity of and notes can be seen in the raw data
located on the attached thumb drive.
[i] FamilySearch. “South Carolina Vital
Records.” https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/South_Carolina_Vital_Records : accessed March 2019.
[ii] Fludd, C. K. (1886) Biographical sketches
of the Huguenot Solomon Legaré and of his family, extending down to the fourth
generation of his descendants. Also, Reminiscences of the revolutionary
struggle with Great Britain, including incidents and scenes which occurred in
Charleston, on John’s Island, and in the surrounding country of South Carolina
during the war. Charleston, South Carolina: E. Perry. https://lccn.loc.gov/09024035 : accessed 18 June 2019.
[iii] Blake, Lizzie. (1844) Letter to Virginia L
Bentley, 30 June.
[iv]
Blake, E W. (1845) Letter to Virginia L Bentley, 8 March.
[v] Webber, Mabel L. (1916) Early Generations
of the Seabrook Family. The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical
Magazine. 17(2). p. 58-72. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27569389 : accessed May 2019.
[vi] Blake, E.W. (1846) Letter to Virginia
Bentley, 28 October.