About Isabella – Page 23

Isabella, the Baby Bride

Published on December 10, 2015December 10, 2015 by Isabella AldenLeave a comment

When Isabella Macdonald married Gustavus “Ross” Alden, she was 24 years old. She had been earning her own living as a teacher for years; and though she remained very close to her family—especially her sisters Marcia and Julia—she considered herself a very independent and grown-up young woman.

Young Isabella Alden in an undated photo

But when her relationship with Ross Alden began to blossom, so, too, did Isabella’s realization that many people thought she was too young to marry Ross. Isabella wrote:

“I was very sensitive about my age at that time. I seemed always to be guessed much younger than I really was.”

Even a friend of Isabella’s—a lady Isabella described as an intimate acquaintance—was surprised to find out that Isabella was only ten years younger than Ross. The friend would have guessed that Isabella was even younger than 24.

That ten year age difference never bothered Isabella; but it did bother her that people thought she was too young to marry Ross and too young to take on the responsibilities of a pastor’s wife.

“I certainly allowed it to worry me, perhaps because I had at that time nothing more important to worry over.”

It didn’t help matters when Isabella overheard a man and woman walking slowly down her street shortly after she and Ross settled into their first home together.

“Isn’t this where the Presbyterian minister is staying?” asked the woman.

“Yes,” said the man, “and I hear that he has brought back a baby for a wife!”

Isabella suffered yet “another thrust,” as she called it, a few days later. She had been with Ross in a book store, where a clerk helped them find a copy of a popular book on theology. Two days later, Isabella returned to the same store alone, where the same clerk came forward to wait on her. He bowed and very courteously asked if her father was pleased with the book on theology he had bought earlier in the week. Isabella recalled that she stood on her toes and replied in a voice of stunning dignity, “My husband was!”

Unlike Isabella, Ross took such encounters in stride. When he introduced Isabella to a middle-aged woman he knew, the woman stared at Isabella and said, “Your wife looks very young to take charge of a parish.”

Ross replied, philosophically, that Isabella “will be gaining on that youthfulness every day, you know.”

Isabella thought the woman would laugh; instead she just stared at Isabella, sighed and said, “Yes, that’s so.”

Years later, Isabella wrote in her memoirs:

“Even at this late day I feel almost ashamed to confess the dismay which this little word of criticism gave me.”

But she soon shook off that criticism when she realized that for every person who doubted her because of her youth, there were just as many who embraced her and welcomed her into their homes and hearts. Isabella worked hard to support her husband’s ministry and to silence her critics . . . and she succeeded.

Gustavus "Ross" Alden in later years (about 1912) — Gustavus “Ross” Alden in later years (about 1912)

In 1892, after 26 years of marriage, the Ladies’ Home Journal interviewed Isabella for an article they were running on women writers. The interview was conducted in the Alden home (they were living in Washington D.C. at the time) and the magazine’s writer had ample opportunity to observe Isabella and Ross together. When the article was published, he included this assessment of the Alden’s marriage:

“It would be difficult to find two people better suited to each other, more tenderly devoted, or more thoroughly one, in all their interests and aims.”

When Ross Came Courting

Published on December 1, 2015November 30, 2015 by Isabella AldenLeave a comment

The young man who Isabella Alden served pumpkin pie to on Thanksgiving day, 1863 would have a decided impact on her life (you can read about their first meeting in a previous post). That young man was Gustavus Rossenberg Alden, but everyone called him Ross.

When they met that Thanksgiving day, Ross was 31 years old and Isabella was 22. She was a teacher, living with her sister, Marcia and brother-in-law Charles Livingston while Charles attended Auburn Theological Seminary.

Isabella later wrote that her first impression of Ross was that he “was uncommonly tall.” He was also nine years older than she, in the process of changing careers, and he had weathered many life events that Isabella had yet to experience.

Ross came from a rather distinguished family. He was a direct descendent of John Alden and Priscilla Mullens, the first Mayflower Pilgrims to land at Plymouth Rock. You can learn more about John Alden by viewing the video below:

John and Priscilla’s love story was immortalized in the Hendry Wadsworth Longfellow poem, The Courtship of Miles Standish, which you can read here.

Ross’s grandfather, Benjamin Alden, was a founding father of Greene, Maine and a prominent citizen of the surrounding county. Here’s a simple genealogy chart showing Ross’s direct line of descent from John Alden;

When Ross was 23 years old, he married a woman named Hannah Bogart. Within a year they had a daughter they named Anna; two months after Anna’s birth, Hannah passed away.

Very little is known about Ross and his life after his wife died; but seven years later, he was in New York. At the age of 31 he was ready to begin a new chapter in his life, and he enrolled at Auburn Theological Seminary. There he met fellow student, Charles Livingston, who introduced Ross to Isabella on Thanksgiving day, 1863.

Isabella wrote very little about the early days of their relationship, but she did hint at the make-up of the man she fell in love with. She described him as “a most unusual Christian.”

While he would argue good-naturedly over comparatively unimportant matters, or could with equal good nature often drop his side of the question and give himself heartily to the carrying out of the other’s plans, when it came to a matter of principle or conscience he was adamant, although still maintaining his habitual kind courtesy.

Also clear from her writings is the fact that Isabella loved and admired Ross Alden. She looked up to him, and enthusiastically partnered with him in his ministry.

Three years after they met, Ross and Isabella married, and they embarked upon a long and happy life together.

Next post: Isabella, the Baby Bride

A Special Slice of Pumpkin Pie

Published on November 24, 2015November 22, 2015 by Isabella AldenLeave a comment

Isabella Alden tells a lovely story about a very special Thanksgiving she spent in Auburn, New York.

She was 22 years old at the time, and living with her older sister Marcia and brother-in-law Charles, while Charles attended Auburn Theological Seminary.

That year Marcia and Isabella prepared the family’s Thanksgiving feast, and Isabella was responsible for baking the pies. She wrote:

My mother was a wonderful cook, and her pumpkin pies were especially renowned, but I, her youngest daughter, had been busy since very early in life in other places than the kitchen, and knew almost nothing about cooking.

Despite her doubts, Isabella’s pies were a success, and Charles declared:

“Upon my word, I believe this pumpkin pie is every bit as good as our mother can make. And we three know that there can’t be any greater praise for pumpkin pie than that!”

When they’d finished eating and had cleared away the dishes, Charles suggested they ask some of his fellow seminary students to come in and share their cheer.

Of course Marcia and Isabella agreed; and while Charles was gone, hunting up lonely students to bring back to the house, Marcia and Isabella prepared turkey sandwiches and sliced the remaining pies Isabella had made.

Charles soon returned with one lonesome stranger in tow. Isabella described her first impression of their guest:

He looked uncommonly tall to me, and he certainly liked pumpkin pie. My sister had no difficulty in persuading [him] to take another piece. Also, there was much fun over the fact that these were the very first pumpkin pies I had ever made.

They spent an enjoyable evening together, unaware of how great a role their guest would play in their futures.

As Isabella later wrote:

That lonesome stranger who ate my first pumpkin pie was the man who afterward became my husband!

Joy Go With You

Published on November 10, 2015November 8, 2015 by Isabella AldenLeave a comment

Being the youngest child in a family isn’t always easy. Isabella’s siblings were quite a bit older than she. Closest in age to Isabella was her sister Julia, who was five years older. (Click on the image below to see Isabella’s brother and sisters.)

In her memoirs, Isabella described herself as possessed of a temper “that was easily set aflame,” and that temper was often directed at Julia.

Once during an argument, Isabella hotly declared:

“I don’t love you a bit! And I won’t live here with you anymore. I’ll go to Aunt Ibbie’s house and live there until you go to bed!”

“Well, joy go with you,” Julia calmly replied, which only increased Isabella’s temper.

“Joy shall not! I’ll go alone!”

Her mother heard the argument from the next room and said, “Poor child! I’m afraid you are right. Joy never goes with people who are naughty.”

Isabella writes that the tone of her mother’s voice—sadness mixed with tenderness—touched her deeply. She also realized that Joy—whoever he or she was—never went anywhere with naughty people.

It was one of the first lessons she remembered from her childhood about controlling her temper, but it wouldn’t be her last. Isabella wrote lovingly about her mother and the careful way she helped Isabella learn to manage her willfulness. And after the incident with Julia, Isabella resolved to never again hear the sadness in her mother’s voice over her naughty behavior.

You can read previous posts about Isabella’s childhood:

A Teachable Moment

Early Writings

BFFs at Oneida Seminary

The Accusation

A New Brother

Happy Birthday, Pansy

Published on November 3, 2015July 7, 2015 by Isabella AldenLeave a comment

Isabella Alden was born on this date, November 3, 1841, in Rochester, New York.

She was the sixth child born to Isaac Macdonald and Myra Spafford Macdonald.

There was quite an age difference between Isabella and her older siblings; only fourteen months after Isabella was born, her eldest sister Elizabeth married at the age of 19.

Besides being the year of Isabella Alden’s birth, 1841 was important for a number of reasons. Here’s a brief list of other momentous events that occurred in 1841:

Hong Kong was proclaimed a sovereign territory of Britain
US Supreme Court ruled the kidnapped slaves from the Spanish schooner the Amistad were free
Orlando Jones patented cornstarch
The first steam-powered fire engine was tested in New York City
Vice President John Tyler became the 10th President of the United States after the death of President William Henry Harrison
Horace Greeley began publishing the New York Tribune
Edgar Allen Poe’s book Murders in the Rue Morgue was published, America’s first detective novel
The first wagon train left Independence Missouri for California on May 1st and arrived in California six months later on November 4
Thomas Cook opened his first travel agency
John Hampton patented the venetian blind
Alabama became the first state to license dental surgeons

Isabella and the Young People’s Society

Published on October 6, 2015October 4, 2015 by Isabella AldenLeave a comment

Isabella often received invitations to speak to Christian organizations and she accepted as many as she could. Sometimes she would speak to the group on a topic that was dear to her heart, but often she would read one of her not yet published short stories.

One day she received an invitation to go to a small town and read one of her stories to the “Y.P.S.C.E.”

“It was the first time I had seen those five letters of the alphabet so grouped,” she said, “and I could not decide what they meant.”

She puzzled over those letters for some time and finally decided that the first three initials stood for “Young People’s Society.” But what about the C and E? Why hadn’t the writer explained what the letters meant? How was she supposed to select the right story for her audience when she had no idea of the purpose of the organization?

At last she went to her husband for help and found him reading a newspaper.

“I was just coming to consult you,” Reverend Alden said. He pointed to an article in the newspaper. “I found a splendid name for our young people! This name suggests the very thought we have been struggling for. ‘Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor.’”

Suddenly Isabella realized the meaning of the initials on that invitation.

An artist's illustration of Reverend Francis E. Clark, 1897. — An 1897 artist’s illustration of Reverend Francis E. Clark, founder and president of Christian Endeavor.

The very next day she set out to learn everything she possibly could about the Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor. She wrote to the Society’s founder, Dr. Francis Clark, or “Father Endeavor Clark,” as he was affectionately called by the young people in the organization. He immediately wrote back with information about the Society, and he invited Isabella attended a Christian Endeavor Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. There she met Dr. Clark in person.

Her first thought as he cordially shook her hand was, “Why, he is just a young man!”

But she soon realized, after watching Dr. Clark interact with the young people at the convention, that he was an earnest and deeply spiritual leader who had a special gift for inspiring young people in Christian work.

A 1914 postcard depicting Williston Church, where the first Y.P.S.C.E. meeting was organized on February 2, 1881.

Isabella used her own experiences with the Y.P.S.C.E as the inspiration for her book, Chrissy’s Endeavor. She even incorporated into the story her first encounter with those baffling initials, “Y.P.S.C.E.”

After the book was published, Isabella received an astonishing number of letters praising her book. One such letter read:

“We want to say that we think here that the book ‘Chrissy’s Endeavor’ is doing a work in the world which will be to its author one of the surprises of heaven.”

Isabella remained actively involved in the Y.P.S.C.E, as did her husband and other members of her family. Over the course of many years, she saw the results of the Society’s good works, and she was thankful for having had the chance to know Dr. Clark in person.

In 1897 The San Francisco Call published a full-page article about the Society of Christian Endeavor, with details about how it came to be organized, and it’s growth world wide to over two million members. Click on this link to read the article.

You can find out more about Isabella’s book, Chrissy’s Endeavor. Click on the cover to read reviews and sample chapters.

God’s Portion (and a Free Read)

Published on September 1, 2015November 4, 2018 by Isabella AldenLeave a comment

As the wife of a minister, Isabella Alden was very familiar with her husband’s congregation. She wasn’t the type of minister’s wife who simply went to teas and receptions and other social events, and never got involved in anything related to the church. Not Isabella.

She was an “old-fashioned minister’s wife,” said her niece, Grace Livingston Hill:

She made calls on the parishioners, knew every member intimately, cared for the sick, gathered the young people into her home, making both a social and religious center for them with herself as leader and adviser; grew intimate with each personally and led them to Christ; became their confidante; and loved them all as if they had been her brothers and sisters.

Isabella’s experiences as a minister’s wife inspired many characters and events in her books. She wove her stories around real incidents and real people, their foibles and inconsistencies, and lessons learned.

Like the country congregation that couldn’t raise the funds needed to keep their church clean in Interrupted.

Or the woman in Aunt Hannah and Martha and John who placed a large donation in the offering plate to impress the congregation, only to slip into the church office later when no one was looking to demand her change because she didn’t really want to give the full amount.

And the Ladies’ Aid Society members who only donated pennies because they believed missionaries and others who did God’s work didn’t need nice things (this happened in a few of Isabella’s novels).

When it came to the subject of money, Isabella had heard all the arguments before. She knew why people preferred to spend their dollars on anything but God’s work. But she also knew her Bible, and believed its instructions about money were just as important as any other commandment.

Isabella was a strong believer in the Biblical concept of tithing, and she knew how important it was to teach children to tithe beginning at a young age. She believed that when we follow God’s instructions about money, we grow to trust God in other areas of our lives, as well.

She illustrated the point in her short story, “Pictures from Mrs. Pierson’s Life.” The story centers around a couple who ignore God’s instructions about money, and what their children learn by the parents’ actions.

“Pictures from Mrs. Pierson’s Life” first appeared in Mrs. Harper’s Awakening, published in 1881. You can read it here for free. Just click on the book cover to get started.

Isabella wrote about money and the importance of tithing in many of her books, including:

Miss Priscilla Hunter (read it for free!)

Aunt Hannah and Martha and John

Interrupted

Household Puzzles and The Randolphs

Spun from Fact (read it for free!)

The Pocket Measure

Doris Farrand’s Vocation

Overruled

New Grace Livingston Hill Book and Giveaway

Published on August 27, 2015August 28, 2015 by Isabella Alden4 Comments

Although there was a nine-year age difference between Isabella and her older sister Marcia, they were as close as sisters could be.

They had a lot in common—they had the same sense of humor, they both married ministers, and they were both talented writers.

Isabella Alden (left) and her sister, Marcia Livingston in an undated photo

Marcia and Isabella co-wrote several novels together, including:

Aunt Hannah and Martha and John
John Remington, Martyr
By Way of the Wilderness
From Different Standpoints

Isabella and Marcia wrote some books while they lived together in the same house in Winter Park, Florida; and when miles and circumstances separated the sisters, they wrote some of their books “by mail.” What’s extraordinary is the way the sisters’ writing styles blended seamlessly so that it’s impossible to tell which sister wrote which sections of their books.

They were both tireless writers. In addition to novel writing, Marcia contributed stories and articles to The Pansy, which was Isabella’s magazine for children. And Marcia’s short stories for adults were regularly published in The Interior, a Christian magazine.

Marcia’s husband Charles was a minister who wrote his own weekly sermons, as well as theological papers. Like Marcia, he, too, wrote stories and articles for The Pansy.

Their daughter Grace Livingston Hill grew up in a home filled with creativity, a love of reading, and a strong work ethic. She learned the letters of the alphabet by clicking on the keys of her Aunt Isabella’s typewriter. She learned the art of writing a short story from her mother Marcia.

At an early age Grace discovered she could earn a living by her writing, just as her mother and aunt did. Her first book, A Chautauqua Idyl was published in 1887. Soon Grace joined her mother and her Aunt Isabella in creating inspiring, uplifting and memorable Christian fiction for women. Marcia encouraged Grace and often edited her manuscripts before Grace sent them off to her publisher.

Grace wrote over one-hundred novels, all of which remain popular today. Less popular are her short stories—not because they are any less well-written, but because they are more difficult to find. Her short stories appeared in magazines and newspapers in the early years of the 1900s and copies of those publications are rare finds today.

Grace working in the out of doors at her home in Swarthmore, PA. 1915.

The same is true for stories written by Marcia Livingston. They were published in the 1890s in magazines that went out of business long ago, their records scattered or destroyed; only a few issues can be found in libraries and museum collections. Their scarcity makes them all the more precious.

A new, exclusive collection of those hard-to-find short stories by Grace Livingston Hill and Marcia Livingston is now available …

… And we’re giving away free copies!

We’re giving away four copies of Faith and Love in e-book format to subscribers to this blog. The winners will claim their e-book through Amazon.

We’ll announce the winners on Friday, August 28. Good luck!

Faith and Love is available at these e-book retailers:

Cooking with Martha

Published on August 25, 2015August 25, 2015 by Isabella Alden2 Comments

When Isabella Alden wrote Aunt Hannah and Martha and John, she created the character of Martha Remington, a young bride who—through no fault of her own—had never been taught to cook and keep house.

Isabella herself was an excellent homemaker. Her niece, Grace Livingston Hill, wrote that her Aunt Isabella was “a marvelous housekeeper, knowing every dainty detail of her home to perfection; able to cook anything in the world just a little better than anyone else.”

Poor, Martha, however, couldn’t cook at all and her bridegroom, John, suffered through many meals that were overcooked, undercooked, sour, or salty.

Cooking in the late 1800s and early 1900s was truly a skill that was acquired after years of practice. A young woman stood a much better chance of learning to cook from an experienced housekeeper than she did if she tried to learn to cook on her own.

This was especially true because of the stoves and ovens that were available then. They lacked one essential feature we take for granted today: A thermostat.

Ranges at the turn of the 20th Century didn’t have any means for accurately detecting the temperature of their ovens or burners, and they had no dials or knobs to turn heat up or down. Cooks controlled the temperature of the oven and burners by the amount and type of fuel they fed the range. They had to rely on their experience and years of trial and error to determine whether an oven was the right temperature for baking a loaf of bread or roasting a shank of beef.

Cookbooks from the time included recipes with very general terms:

“Heat your oven to a satisfactory degree of heat.”

“Bake in a hot oven.”

“Bake in a quick oven for ten minutes.”

With such imprecise instructions, it’s no wonder an inexperienced cook like Martha was so bewildered in the kitchen, and served her husband so many meals that were almost inedible.

Luckily, Aunt Hannah detected the trouble and came to Martha’s rescue, not only as a teacher of the kitchen arts, but as a friend.

Under Aunt Hannah’s gentle tutelage, Martha Remington learned to be a good cook and housekeeper.

And as her confidence in the kitchen grew, so did Martha’s confidence in all areas of her life, as she matured into a caring and capable pastor’s wife.

You can find out more about Isabella’s book, Aunt Hannah and Martha and John by clicking on the book cover.

Chautauqua’s Hall of Philosophy

Published on August 7, 2015August 7, 2015 by Isabella AldenLeave a comment

Isabella Alden considered The Hall of Philosophy one of the most beloved locations at Chautauqua Institution.

The Hall of Philosophy, viewed from the side

The Hall of Philosophy—sometimes called the Hall in the Grove because of its location in idyllic St. Paul’s Grove—was an open-air structure that sat under a canopy of trees that shaded and cooled the Hall during the hot summer months. It was a favorite gathering place for Chautauquans, even when no lectures were held there.

The view from the top of the steps of the Hall of Philosophy; photo courtesy of TripAdvisor.com — A modern view from the top of the steps of the Hall of Philosophy; photo courtesy of TripAdvisor.com

If you were a Chautauqua visitor, you could stand at the edge of the Hall of Philosophy and look out upon different views of the grounds. From one vantage point, you’d see the Hall of Christ and the spires of the different denominational chapels.

Chapel-Episcopal — The Episcopal Chapel at Chautauqua Institution.

Presbyterian Headquarters building at Chautauqua Institution

From another direction you’d see gingerbread-trimmed cottages and inviting expanses of green lawns.

The original Hall of Philosophy was designed by Bishop John Vincent for the Christian Literary and Scientific Circle (C.L.S.C.). Twenty years later, when it was discovered the building needed to be replaced in order to last for future generations, the C.L.S.C. lead a fund-raising campaign and raised the money needed to erect a new Hall of Philosophy in the same location.

When the new concrete floor was poured in 1905, it included 51 different mosaic tiles, each designed by a different C.L.S.C. class, beginning with the class of 1882 (the first class) and ending with the class of 1924. Each tile depicts the class year, name and logo.

For instance, the first C.L.S.C. class of 1882 was called “The Pathfinders.” Their emblem was the nasturtium and their motto was “The truth shall make you free.”

The class of 1915 adopted the name “Jane Addams” and used the American laurel as their emblem. Their motto: “Life more abundant.”

The mosaic tile for the 1915 CLSC class; photo courtesy of TextileFusion.com

Isabella Alden was a member of the 1887 class; her fellow classmates honored her by naming their class the Pansy Class. They used the pansy flower as their emblem and “Neglect not the gift that is in thee” as their motto.

Isabella paid tribute to the Hall of Philosophy and her own experience with the C.L.S.C. in her novel The Hall in the Grove. The story centers around a diverse group of people who each spend a summer at Chautauqua for different reasons—and each end the summer changed by their experience. The Hall of Philosophy is almost another character in Isabella’s story, for it plays a prominent role in the different characters’ spiritual journeys. (You can click on the book cover to learn more about the novel.)

Thanks to the determination and rallying spirit of the members of the C.L.S.C. the Hall of Philosophy was rebuilt, and is still in use today.

This short video by Chautauqua Institution gives a brief history of the Hall of Philosophy and shows some examples of the C.L.S.C. class tiles:

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