St. Lawrence church side view From books, newspapers, and journals to online posts and tweets, we craft a sense of place and an understanding of our history and our present day. We become a connected community, both local and global, for better or worse. We appreciate the struggles of the past and apply their lessons to guide our strategies for the present. We find inspiration and motivation and sometimes a break from the demands of our days. With this blog, I hope to continue this tradition.
I’m excited to announce the forthcoming publication of MARIE EQUI Radical Politics & Outlaw Passions. Researching and writing this biography has been my own particular passion for a great many years. The research found me poring through musty boxes pulled out of storage at St. Lawrence Martyr Catholic Church in New Bedford, Massachusetts to discover the wedding date of Equi’s parents and the birth and baptisms of Equi and her siblings.
Those finds led me to the county courthouse to determine the relocations of Equi’s family from her childhood home near the New Bedford waterfront to the outer neighborhood just beyond the grand whaling-era mansions. I located assessments by her grade school and high school teachers.
I’m excited to announce the forthcoming publication of MARIE EQUI Radical Politics & Outlaw Passions. Researching and writing this biography has been my own particular passion for a great many years. The research found me poring through musty boxes pulled out of storage at St. Lawrence Martyr Catholic Church in New Bedford, Massachusetts to discover the wedding date of Equi’s parents and the birth and baptisms of Equi and her siblings.
Those finds led me to the county courthouse to determine the relocations of Equi’s family from her childhood home near the New Bedford waterfront to the outer neighborhood just beyond the grand whaling-era mansions. I located assessments by her grade school and high school teachers.
“I became deeply interested in her for she was an excellent scholar. In those days she lacked self-control and we had many long earnest talks out of school hours.” Marie E. Austin, teacher, New Bedford High School, 1889.”
- Mary E. Austin to Evelyn S. Wall, September 6, 1889, Archives/Dolben Library, Northfield/Mount Hermon School
I tracked the story of how Equi’s girlfriend rescued her from working in the gritty textile mills and sponsored her for a year of study in a private girl’s school in north-central Massachusetts. I found an account of Equi’s disinterest in gentlemen callers, and I traced her escape from the norms and expectations at home to a new life on an Oregon homestead.
By then there was no turning back: I was committed to writing Equi’s full life story. Mostly I was curious to discover how she fashioned a life for herself on the edges of social acceptance and how she risked becoming an outcast for her lesbianism and her radical politics.
Like most biographers, I unearthed a number of episodes in Equi’s life and facets of her many relationships that I could not include in her biography for lack of space. I look forward to sharing these additional stories in future posts here.
By then there was no turning back: I was committed to writing Equi’s full life story. Mostly I was curious to discover how she fashioned a life for herself on the edges of social acceptance and how she risked becoming an outcast for her lesbianism and her radical politics.
Like most biographers, I unearthed a number of episodes in Equi’s life and facets of her many relationships that I could not include in her biography for lack of space. I look forward to sharing these additional stories in future posts here.
RSS Feed