Dear
Jean P.S., Karen Chadwick’s Tribute to:
David
Dale, A Life by David J. McLaren, Stenlake Publisher,
Ayrshire, Scotland, 2015, a truly beautiful new book rich with photos, docs,
maps, all supporting Dr. McLaren’s extensive research on David Dale, 1739-1806.
Dale was one of the first “Captains of Industry” at the dawn of the Industrial
Revolution with his new cotton yarn mill in New Lanark, Scotland beginning in
1786. I found this book fascinating for a few reasons, here’s one.
In
1799, Dale’s oldest daughter, Anne Caroline, married Robert Owen. RO married
into a pot of money. In 1825, RO purchased a town from a departing Lutheran
cult in the new state of Indiana and renamed it New Harmony. RO took his
passion for social engineering, six of his well-educated adult children, were
joined by other dreamers, and attempted to create an intellectual communal
experiment that failed two years later. RO could talk the talk; he couldn’t
walk the walk. In spite of this expensive failure, RO became world famous for
his radical ideas of how to shape good humans. To this day, there is a “Robert
Owen Society” in Japan, for instance.
Flash
forward to 1995 and my new job in New Harmony as private secretary to Jane
Blaffer Owen, JBO. She married Kenneth Dale Owen, KDO, in 1941 and I worked for
her when she was in her 80s. She brought great wealth to the marriage as her
Blaffer/Texas roots were in Humble Oil and Texaco Oil, which morphed to Exxon.
KDO was a descendant of David Dale and Robert Owen, through Richard Dale Owen.
Elsewhere on this blog is their genealogy record. Wealth from the Dale/Owen
legacy had evaporated by KDO’s time. Young Jane Blaffer appreciated that this
suitor was not from the lazy wealthy class she grew up with and she was
impressed that he had worked his way through college. That credential and his
notable name sealed the deal.
This
wing of the Owen family continued with the tradition of honoring David Dale.
Kenneth and Jane gave the Dale name as middle name to two of their daughters.
The Blaffer wealth saved an interesting portion of American history as Jane
Blaffer Owen poured herself into the restoration and renovation of New Harmony
for over 70 years. I helped.
All
page references from David Dale, A Life. Buy it! It’s
valuable.
* * * * * * *
David
Dale of New Lanark by David J. McLaren, Caring Books,
Glasgow, 1999, my copy autographed!
* * * * * * *
David Dale of New Lanark by
David J. McLaren, Milngavie: Heatherbank Press, 1983. This research regarding
Dale, New Lanark Mills and child labor is the basis for a letter to my young
nephews on this blog and also an appendix of my manuscript, The Other Woman, Private Secretary to a
Daughter of Exxon Oil. I seek an agent/publisher for this work.
* * * * * * *
Gratitude to Dr. David J.
McLaren and Dougie MacLean, Dunkeld Records, Perthshire
* *
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Dear Jean P.S. Part One of 10
November
2, 2019
Nonfiction this time. And
non-pretty.
First, have you read the four Dear
Jean letters? If not, this P.S. will confuse you, dear reader. They are fiction
yet based on nonfiction of the Industrial Revolution in Scotland textile mill
life in 1787-1806. Much regards mill owner David Dale, his ethics, his
intelligence, and his accomplishments, with deep gratitude to Scot historian
Dr. David J. McLaren for his 30+ years research of David Dale.
Here is Dear Jean P.S.: fat with
facts, and a look at Dale’s legacy and related dynamics in the early USA. Come
with me as I consider the who, what, why, when, and where of a few places and
people who were either overwhelmed by events and crushed, or challenged and had
various measures of success in America of the 1820s and beyond. Socialists
before socialism. What could go wrong?
Now, get that cup of tea and let’s
have some context for what happened after David Dale died in Glasgow, 1806, and
nineteen years later some of his young adult grandchildren did exactly what
Dale deeply worried about — Scots emigrating to the USA and diminishing
Scotland progress. Dale was seriously concerned about the future of Scotland,
and how right he was. By the 1830s, Glasgow became an infamous slum.
Who came to the USA and why? Just
as important, who and what was already here, integral to North America? Keep in
mind it was a new country, about 35 yrs. old, counting from 1783 when Great
Britain declared peace with the Americans. Funny how little things like
“religious freedom” can mean completely opposite concepts to folks. No church,
yes! More church, yes!
Context
Can you imagine yourself in the USA
in 1825? Here’s the reality: no electricity unless you wanted to fly a kite
with a key in a storm. No rail transit in mid-west America until 1840s and then
very limited options. Photography? No. No radios. No phones. No TV. No cars.
Standardized time? No. Mail delivery as we understand it? No. Germs? Only a
rumor, nothing to worry about, now move along. Indoor plumbing? I think not.
Early USA was rough and primitive, yet sophisticated Great Britain was also
clueless about how to have healthy urban space. Quite humorous from this
distance of time, a document in David McLaren’s excellent new book, David
Dale, A Life, pg. 21, shows downtown Glasgow in 1760, and behind most
buildings is “Waste Ground.” Use your imagination! This alone is worth the
price of the book.
Get your brain around this: no such
thing as public mandatory basic free education in USA or anywhere else in the
world. In Scotland’s New Lanark Mills, 1786+, Dale was the first mill owner who
educated his child workers, sometimes included nonworking children of his mill
workers, but not general kids in the neighborhood. And by basic, I mean
what we learn in 3rd grade, learn to read so you can read to learn.
Next, learn numbers, how to add and/or subtract. Include one more, learn how to
write, at least how to sign your name, and that person is equipped to deal with
the world. This “bare bones” education was available only to children whose
parents paid parish school, until Dale’s shocking break from tradition and
educated his young workers for free. Yes, of course those young people worked
long hard hours six days a week, so “free” education was not really free, eh? Uneducated folks, meaning most humans, dealt
with the world as best they could, and some became extremely wealthy,
nevertheless. Englishman Richard Arkwright, for example, had little if any
education, could barely write his name, yet became the richest man in the world
for his genius engineering for textile mill operations. He became Sir Richard.
Money talks. Occasionally genius rises in spite of reality.
How did people communicate? There
were many newspapers, yet in the 1820s, no notable newspapers as we would
understand this in 2019. No problem, as funded Europeans making a life in the
USA often had their own printing press and made their own newspaper to speak
their views of how this new country should be organized. The power of print was
still battling it out in the public square. Obviously, there were enough
readers with money in their pocket to support numerous newspapers, curious, eh?
Another way for thinkers to get
their opinions out was public speaking. It was a thing in early USA, a
good/interesting speaker could attract thousands of people. Print a flyer, get
that out to the area public with the who, when, where, and many people would
attend these speaking engagements, it was a social outing for many. This was
long before any quality amplification for the speaker, so who really heard the
words, the ideas, the schemes was a guess at best. One shocking change: for the
first time in history a woman, a Scot, Fanny Wright, gave public speeches to
Americans and she became as popular a speaker as any notable man. More about
her ahead. Put your seatbelt on.
What was methodically swept under
the rug were the crimes taking place all through the USA: the crime of the
treatment of First Nations people. Specifically, here, I discuss land west of
the Allegheny Mountains, some of which was newly under the control of the
Indian Territorial Government, an entity of the USA. The colonists were
terrible to East Coast/Eastern North America First Nations people, but when the
USA took over, it got worse. Much worse.
We’ll look at the massive crime of
Africans being forced to slave labor up ahead, that crime was front and center
of American policy, unlike the studied silence of the cruel and horrid abuse of
American Indians.
The
Harmonists
Pieces of a map were being fought
to the death as the War of 1812 was occurring a few hundred miles north of a
site we’ll discuss in detail. Would the Great Lakes region, formerly French,
remain British or become American? Oh, those Lacs Du Canada. As that war raged
on, a few hundred miles south, in 1814 the Indian Territorial Government, an
entity of the USA, eagerly sold 20,000 acres along the lower Wabash River to a
group of 900 isolationist Lutheran Germans, the Harmonie Society. We’ll look at
this development briefly, as it matters to what happened next.
The Harmonists left Europe as
another war was in the making and all young men in some of those areas we now
call Germany were being forced to be in one or another army. Harmonist strict
leader Fr. Rapp realized departing Europe with his group would be salvation for
his followers. First they built a town in the wilds of western Pennsylvania,
but soon Fr. Rapp became increasingly uncomfortable with new white neighbors
who were too close and weren’t so religious, and how they might influence his
flock. So he looked west, seeking a remote location to be left alone. The Indian Territorial Land Agent, William
Henry Harrison — soon to be ninth President of the United States, for one month,
he died 31 days after taking office – his campaign slogan, “Tippecanoe and
Tyler, too” was bragging of his participation in the “Tippecanoe” war against
First Nations population, Tyler was his VP who quickly became 10th
President — was very happy to cut a lucrative deal with these whites. The
Harmonists built a second solid town on the banks of the Wabash River, named it
Harmonie, even though they were quite sure Jesus was returning any day and they
would be called to the Rapture. I wonder, wouldn’t it be smart for True
Believers to just live in tents for their temporary stay? Those serious Germans
just couldn’t help themselves and constructed sturdy buildings, several still
stand today.
Indiana became a state in 1817,
three years after the Harmonists moved in. Think about those dates for a
minute, please. What they suggest is that the Harmonists came in as final
indigenous Americans were being kicked out. This land was the western edge of
civilization, exactly what the Harmonists wanted, to be isolated for their
beliefs but near enough to markets for the very profitable goods they made and
sold. Just a few years earlier, in 1804, Lewis and Clark and crew did their
exploration of the west and from their documents we know that St. Louis, on the
Mississippi River, one hundred and forty miles west of Harmonie, was merely a
few outbuildings.
A point to clarify, regarding
indigenous people departing the Wabash and Ohio River Valley in the early
1800s. Historians consider that indigenous people living in this area in the
early 1800s were on the move as east coast tribes were disrupted by Europeans
populating eastern North America. Long ago, there were considerable populations
of local First Nations tribes living here. Historians generally agree that many
of those ancient tribal groups are now collectively referred to as Woodland and
Hopewell Groups. The terms represent several individual tribes over several
centuries as they grew and evolved. Historians know that these people left the
area long before the Europeans came in 1492. Why? Perhaps the vast flooding of the
lowlands between these strong rivers gave indigenous folks reason to head for
higher ground. I once took a guided tour of a Hopewell area along the Ohio
River near Evansville, Indiana, some of the mounds remain. What puzzles
researchers is that the mounds were not used as burial mounds, but clearly were
very important to the folks who hauled many tons of dirt higher and higher.
Were they a safe place for the elders when the land flooded? There wasn’t
enough turf on the top of the mounds to accommodate the whole tribe, what were
they thinking? Nothing remains to give context, except the mounds themselves.
If only the Europeans would have just left the horses and gone back home, eh?
In 1814, on the banks of the Wabash
River, in spite of culture conflicts that might have occurred with three
distinctly different groups, those being a few white pioneers and landless
whites on the move who very often had violent conflicts with each other, any
remaining indigenous folks, and the extremely religious and strict Germans,
those Harmonists put their heads down and built a whole town from scratch. One
of the largest buildings, for grain and farming storage, is still standing
today as the Granary, beautifully repurposed for public gatherings. It has an
interesting feature of narrow slits for some windows, possibly a design for
grain aeration or for strategic protection from either white thieves or hostile
indigenous folks? During my years while I lived and worked in New Harmony, my
boss, Jane Blaffer Owen, was always instantly and passionately eager to correct
anyone who considered the slit windows could have been intended for defense.
She wanted the legacy of New Harmony to be one of peace and insisted that those
windows were for air flow. Did she give much time and thought to the context of
the circumstances the Harmonists found themselves in? Most likely not.
Nevertheless, she was clear about how to spin her version of truth.
The Harmonists worked entirely for
the strong leader of the group, Fr. George Rapp. He convinced them they were
working for each other. They had their German efficiency so dialed in that they
had work crews taking down trees, cutting them to specifics for the next
building down the hill, and another crew would start building the next house
when those cut logs would come to town that day. Their strict religious lives
were built on communal labor, group unity, and celibacy.
Women in the group were the crew to not only
tend to basic domestic needs like clean clothes for all, yet also worked to
feed everyone with communal meals. Families could and did join the group, so
there were children in the Harmonist way of life, but the husband and wife were
expected to live as brother and sister, no more children. Families were
entitled to a house, I lived in one for over six years. All single adults lived
in simple and comfortable dormitory arrangements. Many men and women were
assigned to food production and several business enterprises like making rope, making
woolen and cotton yarn then weaving for fabric, and making booze for sale.
Anything with the Harmonist icon of a Golden Rose on the box meant that it
would be quality merchandise. They even figured out a way to grow orange trees
in a climate unsuited for trees that do not handle freeze conditions. No problem,
the Harmonists built greenhouses with retractable roofs, when the weather was
good, open the roof. Visitors reported that the Harmonists worked long hours,
went to church several times a day, and didn’t smile very often.
The Harmonists were a part of the
demise of the First Nations folks. The Harmonists did not drink booze, but they
made a lot of it, it was a solid money maker, and who bought it? Perhaps
thirsty whites? Yes, of course, yet more likely best sales of Harmonist booze
was to whites pushing west to have a very effective “gift” to subdue any
Indians they might meet. Native Americans had no biological or cultural
experience with booze and the results were simply awful.
For reasons unknown, ten years
later, in 1824, the cult decided to vacate the substantial town they had just
built. They had even erected a dramatically impressive church that would hold
1,000 followers. Now a lovely miniature replica of this church is on view at
the Visitors Center of Historic New Harmony, and tours of many of the remaining
buildings are available. You can learn more about them here: https://www.usi.edu/outreach/historic-new-harmony.
One possible reason for their
departure is that the Wabash River is unfit for commercial navigation, and the
Harmonists could not reliably move and sell their highly sought-after goods on
the highways of the day, rivers. What they found out the hard way was this: the
Wabash either runs so fast it’s dangerous as trees along the banks get uprooted
then submerged, this results in boats getting smashed, crashed, and sunk, or
the other problem, low water and boats get hung up on frequent sand bars.
Another conjecture for their departure: as the work crews accomplished major
building plans, they had time on their hands and Fr. Rapp was performing
emergency marriages, not good for a group that claimed celibacy. The Harmonists
returned to Pennsylvania and built a third town, Economy, from the ground up.
It’s now a historic site, Old Economy Village, open for tours in Ambridge,
Pennsylvania http://oldeconomyvillage.org/visit/hours-admission/. One significant advantage to
Harmonie and the German solid construction, it was an attractive piece of real
estate for sale, eh?
1824 - For Sale: In new state of Indiana, new
solid constructed town only 10 years old, suitable for 1,000, includes very
large church, barns, and 20,000 acres of fields and woods, river frontage, make
an offer.
Stay tuned. I’m guessing the seller
did not chat up river hassles, you think? Hope the buyer likes surprises!
Here’s a portion of the actual
sales flyer:
Valuable Property for Sale
The entire and very valuable
Property hereinafter described, belonging to the Harmonie Society, is now
offered by them for sale, and is well worthy the attention of capitalists or
persons composing or inclined to constitute a company or association, either
for pecuniary or social purposes.
… includes 2,000 acres in high
cultivation, therein 15 acres vineyard, 35 acres apple orchard with 1500 apple
and pear trees, also peach orchards … 3 story merchant mill, two saw mills, and
one oil and one hemp mill … factory for manufacture of cotton & woolen
goods … tavern house … six large frame buildings used as mechanics shops …
barns, sheep stables … two large distilleries and one brewery … tan yard… after
sale, mechanics will be much wanted by area settlers. ~~~~~
The Europeans, aka settlers,
pioneers, citizens of the new USA, put everything into this grand dream of new
opportunity and escape from crowded, limited, restricting, and often warring
Europe. This location on the western edge of the Atlantic Ocean offers fresh
land, fresh laws, fresh thinking of how to survive and thrive in this gorgeous
piece of real estate. Won’t it be perfect when those savages leave?
* * * *
* * * * * * * * *
To be continued next month
* * * * * * * * * * *
Citations
and Bibliography
Apted, Michael,
Director, and Rostock, Susanne, Editor. Incident
at Oglala, 1992. Film.
Cep, Casey. Book review Finish The
Fight!, The New Yorker Magazine, July 8 &15, 2019. Print.
Cole,
Margaret. Robert Owen of New Lanark.
Augustus M. Kelley, Publishers, New York, 1953 and 1969. Print.
Dickens,
Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. 1859.
Print.
Dickmeyer,
Elisabeth Reuther. Putting the World
Together, My Father Walter Reuther: The Liberal Warrior. LivingForce
Publishing, 2004. Print.
DuVernay,
Ava. Director, When They See Us. Netflix. 2019. Film.
Fraser,
Antonia. Mary Queen of Scots. Dell Publishing Co., Inc. 1969.
Print.
Gallagher,
Marsha V., Sears, John F. Karl
Bodmer’s Eastern Views. Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha Nebraska. 1996. Print.
Grann,
David, Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and Birth of the FBI.
Doubleday, 2017. Print.
Greenberg,
Joel.
A Feathered River Across the Sky,
The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight to Extinction. Bloomsbury, USA, New York.
2014. Print.
McLaren,
David J. David Dale, A Life. Stenlake Publishing Ltd. 2015.
Print.
McLaren,
David J. David Dale of New Lanark, A Bright Luminary to Scotland. Caring
Books. 1999. Print.
McLaren,
David J. David Dale of New Lanark. Milngavie: Heatherbank Press. 1983.
Print.
MacLean,
Dougie. Songs, “Rank and Roses” “Thundering In” Indigenous. Dunkeld Records. 1991. Album.
Mallett,
John.
Malt, A Practical Guide from
Field to Brewhouse. Brewers
Publications. 2014. Print.
Maximilian
of Weid-Neuwied, Prince. Travels
in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834. 1843. Print.
Morris,
Celia. Fanny Wright, Rebel in
America. Harvard University Press. 1984. Print.
Nair,
Mira. Director. Queen of Katwe. Disney/ESPN. 2016. Film.
Owen,
Robert. A New View of Society. 1813. Print.
Preston,
David. “The Trigger.” Smithsonian. October 2019. Print.
Walker,
Janet R. and Burkhardt, Richard W. Eliza
Julia Flower, Letters of an English Gentlewoman: Life on the Illinois-Indiana
Frontier 1817-1861. Ball State University. 1991. Print.
Walker,
Janet R. Wonder Workers on the
Wabash. Historic New Harmony.
1999. Print.
Warren,
Leonard. Maclure of New Harmony.
Indiana University Press. 2009. Print.
Other web sources include:
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