Poetical Extracts Begun January 1st 1817 by W.S. Howell at Mr. T Brown's School Providence R. Island.
Early 19th-Century Girl’s Manuscript
[Education]. Poetical Extracts. Begun January 1st 1817 by W. S. Howell at Mr. T. Brown’s School Providence R. Island.
8 x 10; manuscript; sewn.
Fastidiously rendered in a variety of calligraphic styles and punctuated by ink miniatures throughout, this manuscript of poetical extracts is a charming specimen of American feminist folk art from the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Executed in Providence, Rhode Island by a sixteen year old private school student named Waity Field Howell, this copy book represents a typical assignment a young lady could expect as part of her education in the decorous arts. The majority of the verses included in the manuscript are well-circulated poems of the time from the likes of Thomas Moore, Francis Cope, James Montgomery, and Laetitia Pilkington, while a few of the pieces seem to represent the poetical strivings of the young copyist herself. Ms. Howell employs several styles of script in reproducing the poems with fluency, confidence and grace. Titles unfold elegantly in the upper margins of each page, and in several instances are accompanied by illustrations of wreaths, songbooks and other small ornaments.
Born December 28, 1801, Waity Field Howell was a descendent of Chad Browne, a co-founder of Providence, Rhode Island. Her father, Jeremiah Brown Howell, served as United States Senator from Rhode Island from 1811–1817. Her grandfather, David Howell, was a member of the Continental Congress from 1782-1785. Though Waity left behind little in the way of a record of her life, the few details we know testify to the dangers faced by women in the early nineteenth century. In 1823, she married Appleton Walker, and in 1825, she gave birth to their first child, George, who died four months later. The following year she gave birth to another son, again named George, who died at the age of six months. The couple’s third child, a daughter named Martha, survived; however her mother did not. Waity Field Walker died January 6, 1828, twelve days after Martha was born, at the age of 26, presumably from complications of childbirth.
A review of a decade of ads in Providence newspapers did not turn up Mr. Howell’s institution. Judging by the relatively low number of ads noticed for other schools, there must have been dozens that likewise did not advertise.
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