Harriet Low

Harriett Low Hillard ( born May 18, 1809 in Salem, † 1877 in Brooklyn, New York City ) was an American woman who became known by their letters and diaries. From 1829 to 1833 she lived in the Portuguese colony of Macao on the coast of the South China Sea and so was one of the first young Americans who lived in China. Low belonged to a Unitarian church. During her stay there, she wrote in the form of letters, which she at her older sister Molly (actually Mary Ann, 1808-1851 ) sent a Journal and was acquainted with many of the influential residents in the colony. Upon her return to the United States, she married and moved to London with her husband. 1848 returned the couple and their five daughters back to New York City. The journal is part of the low- Mills Collection at the Library of Congress.

Life

Harriet Low was born in 1809 as the second of twelve children of the couple, Seth Low and Mary Porter Low in Salem, Massachusetts. Her father was a well-off merchant and shipowner with offices in Salem, New York City, London and Canton. Seth Low was one of the leading citizens of Brooklyn and one of the founders of the Unitarians in this city. As one of four daughters in the great family Harriet was involved in the management of the household, such as sewing and mending clothes.

1829 her uncle William Henry Low and his wife Abigail Knapp low were preparing for a five -year stay in China. During William Henry Low should perceive business interests for Russell & Co. at that time inaccessible for women Canton, his wife would stay in Macau. They asked Harriet if these accompany the couple and wanted to make her aunt's company while they should remain in Macao. The three went on board the ship Sumatra, which they reached on a four- month long journey across the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, including a three -week stay in Manila, China. Harriet arrived in Macao on 29 September, 1829. She let herself into the house 2, Pátio da Sé in calçada de S. João down and soon made acquaintance with most of the influential and well-known residents of Macao, including the painter George Chinnery, who later became her portrait painted, and the physician Thomas Richardson Colledge. Through the contacts of her uncle, she met all the employees of the British East India Company and other wealthy British merchants in the city know. She was the only unmarried young woman in the colony and was therefore frequently invited to balls, dance, tea and dinner.

Low felt a strong urge to visit Canton, which was the only allowed Handelsenklave in China at that time. The rules of the Thirteen factories but strictly forbidden women to visit Canton. Low and her aunt dressed as young men and sailed to Canton, where they went directly to the American Faktorei. When the Chinese discovered the true identity of the two women, they threatened to stop all trade in Canton, what Low and her aunt forced to leave the city. During their stay in Macao Low betrothed in silence with a Mr. Wood, but when she taught her uncle from this engagement, this forced them to solution of the compound.

1833 was the painter George Chinnery low for a portrait model. The painting shows her wearing a low-cut dress after the last edge of fashion from Calcutta, whose sleeves were padded with cushions in goose down. In 1833, Harriet left China with his aunt and uncle and returned to Salem. The seriously ill uncle died on the journey home to the United States.

Three years after his return, in 1836, she married John Hillard ( 1813-1859 ), born in Richmond, Virginia son of British parents. The couple settled in London, where John was a partner in a bank. The couple had three sons and five daughters, but only the girl survived; Mary Hillard Loines was active as Sufragette.

In 1848, Hillard went bust, and the family returned to the United States, where she moved to Harriet's father in Brooklyn. Hillard was unstable and sick and was unable to work. After his death in 1859, Harriet was financially supported by her family until her death in 1877. A nephew of Harriet Low was Seth Low, who became known as the president of Columbia University and as mayor of Brooklyn and New York City.

Journal

"Sunday, May 24, 1829: Embarked on board the Sumatra bound to Manila, and thence to Macao, where I shall probably take up my residence for the next four years; and for you, my dear sister, Shall this journal be kept. I left home at five o'clock ( in the morning ) with feelings not to be Described or imagined but by Those who have beenplaced in a similar situation. "

" Sunday, May 24, 1829: On board the Sumatra to Manila and then went to Macao, where I will probably take my home for the next four years; and for you, my beloved sister, this journal is to be performed. I am ( in the morning) gone by five clock at home with feelings that only describe or can imagine, who were in a similar situation. "

Harriet described the multicultural life experiences in the under Portuguese administration city and the social life of his British and American residents in a journal that she wrote in the form of letters to her sister Mary Ann. She described the many social occasions, dinner parties and balls, and entertainment by musical events, card games, amateur theater performances and operas. The women spent the rest of her time reading, writing letters, sewing, learning of languages ​​- Harriet learned the Spanish language - with walks, horse rides and the gossip. As a Unitarian Harriet felt uncomfortable with the dominance of Catholicism in Macau.

Your journal entries range from 1829 to 1834 and fill nine volumes, a total of 947 pages. In 1900, Harriet Low's daughter Katharine was a shortened version of the diary under the title My Mother's Journal: A young lady 's diary out of five years spent in Manila, Macao, and the Cape of Good Hope from 1829 to 1834. A newly released version, the letters Harriet were attached to her family, was published in 1953 by her granddaughter Elma Loines in The China Trade Post- Bag. Full length, the Journal was founded in 2002 in Lights and Shadows of a Macao Life:, traveling spinster, Part I printed The journal of Harriett Low. The written in first-person journal is considered an important historical document for the China trade.

Legacy

A crafted from bronze drinking fountain dedicated to the memory of Harriet Low Hillard was given in 1910 by her granddaughter Elma Loines in order and is in Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Documents

• Author
• Person (New York City )
• Person (Macau)
• Americans
• Born in 1809
• Died in 1877
• Woman