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Gilchrist Family papers Ms. Coll. 116 Finding aid prepared by Donna Brandolisio. Last updated on April 15, 2020. University of Pennsylvania, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts 1992 Gilchrist Family papers Table of Contents Summary Information...................................................................................................................................3 Biography/History.........................................................................................................................................4 Scope and Contents.......................................................................................................................................7 Administrative Information...........................................................................................................................7 Controlled Access Headings......................................................................................................................... 8 Collection Inventory..................................................................................................................................... 9 Correspondence and writings..................................................................................................................9 Miscellaneous memorabilia.................................................................................................................. 13 Diaries of Grace Gilchrist..................................................................................................................... 13 - Page 2 - Gilchrist Family papers Summary Information Repository University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts Creator Gilchrist Family Title Gilchrist Family papers Call number Ms. Coll. 116 Date circa 1823-1939 Extent 2 boxes Language English Abstract A small but interesting collection of letters and the diaries of Grace Gilchrist Frend from 1907 to 1939. Family members include Anne Burrows Gilchrist, wife of Alexander Gilchrist and mother of Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (scientist/engineer), Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (physician who committed suicide), Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (painter who also committed suicide later in life), and Grace Gilchrist Frend (would-be singer). The family were intimates of Thomas Carlyle and many pre-Raphaelite painters. Anne was a champion of Walt Whitman; Alexander researched the life of William Blake (a posthumous publication compiled by Anne). Cite as: Gilchrist Family papers, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, - Page 3 - Gilchrist Family papers University of Pennsylvania Biography/History The accomplishments of the Gilchrist family enabled them to form unusual relationships with famous literati and artists of the nineteenth century. Each member of the Gilchrist family pursued individual interests in the disciplines of art, literature, science, and medicine. As each member of the family expanded in his/her discipline, interaction with notable individuals expanded. The correspondence and diaries contained in this collection disclose not only the unique relationships they had with writers and artists of the nineteenth century but also reveal the joys and hardships of this unconventional family. Anne Gilchrist was born Anne Burrows in 1828 to John Parker and Henrietta Borrows. She was a descendent of an upper-class family, a fact which enabled her to receive a formal education. Anne was interested in literature and exchanging theoretical ideas with intellectuals: an interest that her father enthusiastically encouraged. At the age of eleven she suffered the death of her father, who died from an illness which ensued after a fall from a horse. Anne had had a close and supportive relationship with him, and his death affected her deeply. Living with her mother Henrietta in London, Anne met Alexander Gilchrist. Alexander (known as Alex) was born in 1828 to James and Dorothy Gilchrist. James Gilchrist, the son of a Scottish farmer, was a writer and philosopher, whose most successful work was titled The Intellectual Patrimony. (Alcaro 1991, 49). According to a biographer of Anne Gilchrist, Marion Walker Alcaro, Alex and Anne had a comfortable intellectual friendship, but Anne was not interested in marriage. Because of Anne's social stature many suitors were vying for her hand in marriage. The first time Alex proposed marriage to Anne, she refused. There is not much known of the courtship between Anne and Alex, but Anne finally agreed to marry Alex because of their intellectually-compatable friendship. Alex encouraged and respected Anne's academic interests, and Anne often aided Alex in his work. Although Anne may not have had a deep and unwavering love for Alex, they shared the same scholarly interests and both had lost the supportive relationships they had shared with their fathers through a saddening early demise. After a two-year engagement during which Alex was finishing his law degree, Anne Burrows finally wedded Alex Gilchrist in February of 1851. Alex chose not to pursue a career in law and decided to fulfill his life-long aspiration to become a writer. Numerous poems written by Alex between 1843 and 1850 and contained in this collection demonstrate his love for writing. At the time Alex and Anne Gilchrist were married, Alex was working on a book entitled The Life of Etty (William Etty, British painter, 1787-1849). While spending the initial years of their marriage traveling in England, Alex conducted research for the biography of William Etty, and Anne gave birth to their first son, Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (1851-1935). Alex relays the news of the event in a cheerful letter to a life-long friend of Anne's, Julia Mary Newton. In 1853—two years after the birth of Percy—the Gilchrists made their first home in an old manor in Guilford. Here the Gilchrists celebrated the birth of their second child Beatrice Carwardine in September of 1854. Due to the fact that Alex put aside a profitable career as a barrister and was pursuing his desire to become a writer, the Gilchrists lived modestly in their old manor at Guilford. Even though money was meager, the Gilchrists still entertained during these years. Guests included persons such as William Haines, a dear friend and almost brother to Alex (Alcaro 1991, 68, William Haines as described by Anne - Page 4 - Gilchrist Family papers Gilchrist), and popular magazine author Walter White. Other acquaintances of Alex included sculptor William Calder Marshall (1813-1894). An 1855 letter from Marshall concerns corrections of a biographical sketch that Alex had written about the sculptor. Alex completed The Life of Etty, and the two-volume work was published in 1855. Even though Alex's first work was not a literary success, it gained him a friendship with British writer Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881). Alex had sent Carlyle, whom Alex idolized, a copy of The Life of Etty, and Carlyle found fit to praise it. Soon there were correspondence and visits between the two men, and their friendship became more intimate. During the mid-1850s Alex began a new project on the life of William Blake (1757-1827). This new endeavor would require extensive research in London. Because of the Gilchrist's growing friendship with the Carlyles and Alex's need to research in London, Carlyle suggested that the Gilchrists move into the home next door to his own in Chelsea. In 1856 the Gilchrist family settled at 6 Cheyne Row. It is here that Anne gave birth to two more children: Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (1857-1914), who was born in March of 1857, and Grace Gilchrist (1859-1947), who was born in January of 1859. During their residence at 6 Cheyne Row, the Carlyles introduced the Gilchrists to several accomplished writers and artists. Alex made contacts with collectors and artistic descendants of William Blake who willingly helped Alex with his research. This residential location proved a great asset for Alex's research on the new book. By 1860 the Gilchrists had associated and corresponded with pre-Raphaelite painters Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), Samuel Palmer (1805-1881), and Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893). In a letter from 1861 Samuel Palmer writes to thank Anne for a ticket to a production she gave Samuel. Alex's research was ongoing to compile the facts, anecdotes, writings, and paintings from Blake's life. The lives of the Gilchrists and their four children were pleasant at 6 Cheyne Row: while Alex worked on The Life of William Blake, Anne pursued her love for writing by publishing magazine articles. The Carlyles and Gilchrists continued to entertain and remained intimate friends. Alex worked incessantly in his years at 6 Cheyne Row to complete The Life of William Blake. Macmillian publishers accepted the work, even though Alex submitted only a partial manuscript. In October of 1861 Alex was nearing completion of The Life of William Blake when Beatrice Gilchrist contracted scarlet fever during an epidemic of the disease. Anne, in isolation with Beatrice, nursed her daughter back to health. Just as Beatrice was recovering, the Gilchrist's son Percy contracted scarlet fever. Alex, through contact with his son, also contracted the dreaded infection and became critically ill. Alex Gilchrist succumbed to the disease in November of 1861. With the death of her husband Anne Gilchrist was left with four children and Alex's nearly completed manuscript of The Life of William Blake. In 1862, shortly after the death of her husband,
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