Ann Eliza Bleecker
Encyclopedia
Ann Eliza Bleecker was an American poet
and correspondent
. Following a New York
upbringing, Bleecker married John James Bleecker, a New Rochelle lawyer, in 1769. He encouraged her writings, and helped her publish a periodical containing her works.
The American Revolution
saw John join the New York Militia, while Ann fled with their two daughters. She continued to write, and what remained of the family returned to Tomhannock following Burgoyne
's surrender. She was saddened and affected by the deaths of numerous family members over the years, and died in 1783.
Bleecker's pastoral poetry is studied by historians to gain perspective of life on the front lines of the revolution, and her novel Maria Kittle, the first known Captivity novel
, set the form for subsequent Indian Capture novels which saw great popularity after her death.
in the Province of New York
. She was the sixth child born to Margareta Van Wyck (1722–1777) and Brandt Schuyler (abt 1716–1752),
successful merchants and members of the American Dutch aristocracy. After a long illness, Ann Schuyler's father died just before she was born in 1752.
As a child, Ann Schuyler was known for her precocious writing ability, and was often asked to recite her poems, which ranged from sentimental or humorous to sophisticated or satirical
. She would often compose impromptu poems at the request of friends.
Ann's mother remarried in 1760; she and her new husband Anthony TenEyck (1712–1775) had one daughter, Susanna TenEyck (1776-?). The TenEycks were also part of the Dutch elite, so Ann Schuyler's childhood seemed to be filled with security, abundance and happiness.
shortly after their marriage. John gave up the practice of law and took up agriculture in 1771, when they moved to his pastoral country estate in Tomhannock
, eighteen miles (29 km) north of Albany
, in the Schaghticoke
region which was settled by Dutch families. "The Bleecker home reflected their wealth by its furnishings and its setting." "From the beautiful gardens flourishing with beauty, to the young orchard bounded by a thick forest...to the west, vast cultivated fields and the roaring river of Tomhhanock." Bleecker considered her home a "retreat" and most of her pastoral poetry was written in the first five years of her life in Tomhhanock. She corresponded with friends and relatives, writing about her isolation and the beauty of her surroundings. An example excerpt from her poem An Evening Prospect:
During this time she also had two daughters—Margaretta, born October 11, 1771, and Abeltje (Abella), born June 5, 1776.
On November 11, 1775, her husband was one of several appointed Deputies (or delegates) from Albany County
to the Provincial Congress.
Her husband encouraged her writing, he called it "her genius".
In the winter of 1779, Bleecker published a periodical called the "Albany Gazette". The Gazette was composed entirely of her political essays, poems, and short stories, produced for the sole purpose of sharing entertainment and news with friends and relatives.
In 1777, the Bleeckers' pastoral lives were interrupted by the American Revolutionary War
. British
troops, under the command of General
John Burgoyne
, invaded Tomhannock from Canada (as part of Burgoyne's Saratoga campaign
to capture the Hudson River
). In response, John Bleecker joined the New York Militia
, and Ann Bleecker fled southward.
Ann Bleecker was forced to flee to Albany on foot with her two daughters, infant Abella and 6-year-old Margaretta. Along the way, Abella died of dysentery
. Joined by her mother and sister Caty Swits, Ann Bleecker continued on to Red Hook
, but her mother died enroute there. An excerpt of a poem she wrote, Written in the retreat from Burgoyne, describing how she felt about her daughters death:
At length her languid eyes clos'd from the day,
The idol of my soul was torn away;
Her spirit fled and left me ghastly clay!
Then---then my soul rejected all relief,
Comfort I wish'd not for, I lov'd my grief:
Hear, my Abella!' cried I, 'hear me mourn,
After Burgoyne's surrender on October 17, 1777 (part of the aftermath of the Saratoga Campaign
), Ann Bleecker, her daughter and sister (all that remained of the family), and possibly a slave child returned to Tomhannock. Unfortunately, Caty Swits (1743–77) died during the return journey. Ann Bleecker was devastated by the loss of three generations of women in her family.
Her husband continued to serve in the militia. In 1779, Ann Bleecker was forced (it is unclear whether due to British troop activity, Native American
activity, or some other reason) to flee with her surviving daughter to Albany again. But further trauma was yet to come. On hearing in 1781 that her husband had been captured by Loyalist forces or possibly "a band of wandering British soldiers", she suffered a miscarriage
and nervous breakdown. Ann Bleecker never fully recovered from all these traumatic events. Her daughter, Margaretta Faugeres, later described how Bleecker developed a tendency toward depression and there was a melancholy reflection in her writings:
Ann Eliza Bleecker died November 23, 1783. She is buried in the cemetery of the Reformed Dutch church in Albany.
In 1793, a significant part of Bleecker's work, after first appearing in The New-York Magazine in 1790 and 1791, was published by her daughter, Margaretta V. Bleecker Faugères
, who was also a poet. She edited her mother's writings and added some of her own poems and essays to a collection entitled The Posthumous Works of Ann Eliza Bleecker; she included thirty-six poems, twenty-three letters, an unfinished short historical novel, The History of Henry and Ann, and The History of Maria Kittle, a captivity narrative set during the French and Indian War
. Due to its popularity, The History of Maria Kittle was republished separately in 1797.
The History of Maria Kittle took the Indian Captivity story genre in new directions, as it was possibly the first American fictional account focusing on Native Americans. In the late 18th century, Indian Captivity stories subsequently became very popular. Maria Kittle has many features typical of the Indian Captivity story; there are many graphic scenes of violence, and it describes Native Americans
as terrible savages who cruelly kill babies and women, and tells the story of Maria's journey as a captive. But by the end of the story, Maria gets rescued, and the real emotion comes out as three women in the story tearfully recount their stories of maternal loss to others. This story has many similarities to Bleecker's own experience with the death of her own daughter as a result of fleeing from the British Army. In telling her tale of loss, Bleecker hoped to help women overcome their tragedies. Yet these stories also helped foster racism toward Native Americans.
Bleecker's writing was exciting for the time, and her sense of style added dimension to a new type of novel, the didactic novel. Her expression was influenced by the "eighteenth-century British cult of sensibility". She wrote in a mannered, and often exaggerated way, to express her moral lesson. In addition, she used the epistolic literary device, structuring the story as a series of letters to her half-sister, Susan Ten Eyck, in which she interrupted the narrative to comment on the action and address Susan directly.
Poetry of the United States
American poetry, the poetry of the United States, arose first as efforts by colonists to add their voices to English poetry in the 17th century, well before the constitutional unification of the thirteen colonies...
and correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
. Following a New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
upbringing, Bleecker married John James Bleecker, a New Rochelle lawyer, in 1769. He encouraged her writings, and helped her publish a periodical containing her works.
The American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
saw John join the New York Militia, while Ann fled with their two daughters. She continued to write, and what remained of the family returned to Tomhannock following Burgoyne
John Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762....
's surrender. She was saddened and affected by the deaths of numerous family members over the years, and died in 1783.
Bleecker's pastoral poetry is studied by historians to gain perspective of life on the front lines of the revolution, and her novel Maria Kittle, the first known Captivity novel
Captivity narrative
Captivity narratives are stories of people captured by "uncivilized" enemies. The narratives often include a theme of redemption by faith in the face of the threats and temptations of an alien way of life. Barbary captivity narratives, stories of Englishmen captured by Barbary pirates, were popular...
, set the form for subsequent Indian Capture novels which saw great popularity after her death.
Childhood
Ann Eliza Schuyler was born in October 1752, in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the Province of New York
Province of New York
The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
. She was the sixth child born to Margareta Van Wyck (1722–1777) and Brandt Schuyler (abt 1716–1752),
successful merchants and members of the American Dutch aristocracy. After a long illness, Ann Schuyler's father died just before she was born in 1752.
As a child, Ann Schuyler was known for her precocious writing ability, and was often asked to recite her poems, which ranged from sentimental or humorous to sophisticated or satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
. She would often compose impromptu poems at the request of friends.
Ann's mother remarried in 1760; she and her new husband Anthony TenEyck (1712–1775) had one daughter, Susanna TenEyck (1776-?). The TenEycks were also part of the Dutch elite, so Ann Schuyler's childhood seemed to be filled with security, abundance and happiness.
Marriage to John James Bleecker
On March 29, 1769, Ann Schuyler married a lawyer from New Rochelle, John James Bleecker (1745–95). The couple moved to PoughkeepsiePoughkeepsie (city), New York
Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
shortly after their marriage. John gave up the practice of law and took up agriculture in 1771, when they moved to his pastoral country estate in Tomhannock
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
, eighteen miles (29 km) north of Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, in the Schaghticoke
Schaghticoke (town), New York
Schaghticoke is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, USA. The population was 7,456 at the 2000 census. The Schaghticoke is a native tribe original to the area. The town is on the northern border of the county, north of Troy...
region which was settled by Dutch families. "The Bleecker home reflected their wealth by its furnishings and its setting." "From the beautiful gardens flourishing with beauty, to the young orchard bounded by a thick forest...to the west, vast cultivated fields and the roaring river of Tomhhanock." Bleecker considered her home a "retreat" and most of her pastoral poetry was written in the first five years of her life in Tomhhanock. She corresponded with friends and relatives, writing about her isolation and the beauty of her surroundings. An example excerpt from her poem An Evening Prospect:
-
- "Cast your eyes beyond this meadow,
- "Cast your eyes beyond this meadow,
- And observe the ample shadow
During this time she also had two daughters—Margaretta, born October 11, 1771, and Abeltje (Abella), born June 5, 1776.
On November 11, 1775, her husband was one of several appointed Deputies (or delegates) from Albany County
Albany County, New York
Albany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...
to the Provincial Congress.
Her husband encouraged her writing, he called it "her genius".
In the winter of 1779, Bleecker published a periodical called the "Albany Gazette". The Gazette was composed entirely of her political essays, poems, and short stories, produced for the sole purpose of sharing entertainment and news with friends and relatives.
Impact of the American Revolution
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
troops, under the command of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
John Burgoyne
John Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762....
, invaded Tomhannock from Canada (as part of Burgoyne's Saratoga campaign
Saratoga campaign
The Saratoga Campaign was an attempt by Great Britain to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War...
to capture the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
). In response, John Bleecker joined the New York Militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
, and Ann Bleecker fled southward.
Ann Bleecker was forced to flee to Albany on foot with her two daughters, infant Abella and 6-year-old Margaretta. Along the way, Abella died of dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
. Joined by her mother and sister Caty Swits, Ann Bleecker continued on to Red Hook
Red Hook, New York
Red Hook is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was reported to be 11,319 during the 2010 census. The name is supposedly derived from the red foliage on trees on a small strip of land on the Hudson River. The town contains two villages; the village of Red Hook and the...
, but her mother died enroute there. An excerpt of a poem she wrote, Written in the retreat from Burgoyne, describing how she felt about her daughters death:
At length her languid eyes clos'd from the day,
The idol of my soul was torn away;
Her spirit fled and left me ghastly clay!
Then---then my soul rejected all relief,
Comfort I wish'd not for, I lov'd my grief:
Hear, my Abella!' cried I, 'hear me mourn,
After Burgoyne's surrender on October 17, 1777 (part of the aftermath of the Saratoga Campaign
Saratoga campaign
The Saratoga Campaign was an attempt by Great Britain to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War...
), Ann Bleecker, her daughter and sister (all that remained of the family), and possibly a slave child returned to Tomhannock. Unfortunately, Caty Swits (1743–77) died during the return journey. Ann Bleecker was devastated by the loss of three generations of women in her family.
Her husband continued to serve in the militia. In 1779, Ann Bleecker was forced (it is unclear whether due to British troop activity, Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
activity, or some other reason) to flee with her surviving daughter to Albany again. But further trauma was yet to come. On hearing in 1781 that her husband had been captured by Loyalist forces or possibly "a band of wandering British soldiers", she suffered a miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
and nervous breakdown. Ann Bleecker never fully recovered from all these traumatic events. Her daughter, Margaretta Faugeres, later described how Bleecker developed a tendency toward depression and there was a melancholy reflection in her writings:
- "…she was frequently very lively, and would then give way to the flights of her fertile fancy, and write songs, satires, and burlesque: but . . . the heaviest dejection would succeed, and then all the pieces which were not as melancholy as herself, she destroyed."
Ann Eliza Bleecker died November 23, 1783. She is buried in the cemetery of the Reformed Dutch church in Albany.
Literary impact
Bleecker did not write for posterity; she wrote letters to her friends and relatives which contained poems and short stories, which were later collected and published by her daughter.Posthumous publication
Margaretta Faugères
Margaretta Bleecker Faugères was the daughter of Ann Eliza Bleecker. She was an American playwright, poet and political activist.-Childhood:...
, who was also a poet. She edited her mother's writings and added some of her own poems and essays to a collection entitled The Posthumous Works of Ann Eliza Bleecker; she included thirty-six poems, twenty-three letters, an unfinished short historical novel, The History of Henry and Ann, and The History of Maria Kittle, a captivity narrative set during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. Due to its popularity, The History of Maria Kittle was republished separately in 1797.
Maria Kittle
Bleecker's epistolary novelEpistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
The History of Maria Kittle took the Indian Captivity story genre in new directions, as it was possibly the first American fictional account focusing on Native Americans. In the late 18th century, Indian Captivity stories subsequently became very popular. Maria Kittle has many features typical of the Indian Captivity story; there are many graphic scenes of violence, and it describes Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
as terrible savages who cruelly kill babies and women, and tells the story of Maria's journey as a captive. But by the end of the story, Maria gets rescued, and the real emotion comes out as three women in the story tearfully recount their stories of maternal loss to others. This story has many similarities to Bleecker's own experience with the death of her own daughter as a result of fleeing from the British Army. In telling her tale of loss, Bleecker hoped to help women overcome their tragedies. Yet these stories also helped foster racism toward Native Americans.
Bleecker's writing was exciting for the time, and her sense of style added dimension to a new type of novel, the didactic novel. Her expression was influenced by the "eighteenth-century British cult of sensibility". She wrote in a mannered, and often exaggerated way, to express her moral lesson. In addition, she used the epistolic literary device, structuring the story as a series of letters to her half-sister, Susan Ten Eyck, in which she interrupted the narrative to comment on the action and address Susan directly.
Poems
Ann Eliza Bleecker's pastoral poems exemplified a new style of American poetry, and, due to her experience of the American Revolutionary tumult, a new sense of national identity. These poems, written in the pastoral tradition, conveyed both the beauty of the colonial New York countryside and the horrific impact of war, suffering, death, and destruction. Because Bleecker was writing from the interesting perspective of a terrified young mother, her articulate depictions of the Revolutionary War are still read by historians today.External links
- Women's Early American Historical Narratives from Google Books giving an excerpt from Bleeker's Maria Kittle novel.
- Tomhannock Reservoir on Google MapsGoogle MapsGoogle Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...
- Ann Elizabeth Bleecker page at Words of Women — site contains several poems by Bleecker which all are in the Public Domain.
- American Libraries Archive - site contains the complete work of "The Posthumous Works of Ann Eliza Bleecker".