The Teue Story of Harman Blennerhassett

HALF-TONE PLATE ENGRAVED BY H. DAVIDSON. THE PEEGOLA. follow winter, for life renewed to follow design and beauty—has not here and there death; and realizes the joy and love of the a human being been allowed to taste this Creator in his creation. This joy of creation, divine joy, and thereby been made more of thought becoming form and life in infinite specially in the likeness of God? THE TEUE STORY OF HARMAN BLENNERHASSETT. BY THERESB BLENNERHASSETT-ADAMS. HE intimate relations which existed be misstatements may properly be refuted by T tween Aaron Burr and Harman Blenner- a frank presentation of the facts. hassett, and the mystery surrounding the The purpose of this paper is to give, for latter, have given rise to many public mis the first time, the true story of Blennerhas statements. It is the opinion of surviving sett, his origin and antecedents, his social relatives, who have carefully guarded the standing, and his financial responsibility, and private papers of Harman Blennerhassett, to set forth why, more than a hundred years that the time has come, all of his children ago, he sold his birthright, a magnificent pa and grandchildren being dead, when these trimony, and crossed the Atlantic for the pur- PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED 352 THE CENTURY MAGAZINE. pose of establishing a new home in another during the reign of Elizabeth. Harman Blen- country. Prom time to time articles con nerhassett's father was Conway Blennerhas cerning him and his wife, Margaret Agnew, sett of Castle Conway, Killorglin; his mother, have appeared in print, but they have always Eliza, was a daughter of Major Thomas La- been singularly inaccurate in detail. cey. As the youngest of three sons, Harman Harman Blennerhassett, born in Hamp Blennerhassett, in selecting a profession, shire, England, in 1765, was a direct descen chose the law, but soon after finishing his dant of King Edward HI of England through studies, the death of his brothers, John and Constance of Langley, wife of the Earl of Thomas, made him head of his branch of the Gloucester and daughter of Edward, Duke family. Of his sisters, one was married to of York and Isabel of Castile. The Blen- Lord Kingsale, Premier Baron of Ireland; nerhassetts are English in origin, none of another to the brother of Lord Kingsale, HALF-TONE PLATE ENGRAVED BY H. DAVIDSON. HARMAN BLENNERHASSETT, FROM A MINIATURE TAKEN IN LONDON IN 1796, NOW OWNED BY DR. FRANCIS C. MARTIN OF BOSTON. them having been known in Ireland before the Hon. Michael de Courcy, Admiral of the reign of Elizabeth; but previous to the Blue; one other to Daniel McGilly- that time, as far back as 1357, the family— cuddy, high sheriff of Kerry; one to an Ag originally of Blennerhassett, a small town in new; one to Captain Coxon; and the last, Cumberland, afterward of Carlisle, subse Avice, never married. The children of these quently of Plimby Hall, Cumberland—many sisters in turn married men of high position: times represented Carlisle in Parliament. a daughter of Admiral de Courcy being the They have been continuously in Parliament wife of Sir J. Gordon Sinclair; a daughter for more than five hundred years; on one of Lord Kingsale, the Hon. Martha de occasion a father and two sons represented Courcy, the wife of Major Andrew Agnew, their county and county town at the same son of Sir Stair Agnew of Lochnaw. Added time. to these strong family connections, the power The old manor-house of Flimby Hall is and standing of the family to which he be now owned by the Earl of Lonsdale, whose longed brought Harman Blennerhassett in ancestors bought the Blennerhassett estates. contact with the best people of the day. Over three of the doorways of Flimby Hall Conway Blennerhassett died a very rich the Blennerhassett crest is cut in stone; the man, leaving his daughters handsomely por walls are ten feet thick, and the great oak tioned, and bequeathing a large fortune to his beams look as if they'would last forever. son. When Harman Blennerhassett broke The first of the Blennerhassetts to settle the entail and sold the estate to Thomas in Ireland was Thomas, who, with his son Mullin, afterward Lord Ventry, he received Robert, went from Plimby Hall to Kerry $160,000 in money. Outside of this was an PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED THE TRUE STORY OP HARMAN BLENNERHASSETT. 353 income not vested in the $160,000, and besides that she was disinherited. The young lady a small income of $6600, which belonged to was absent at school; her uncle was sent the entailed property as a separate portion, to take her home; instead of doing so, he and could not be transferred, the use of which married her. But he reckoned without his he had until he died. His wife also came of a host, or perhaps he did not reckon at all. family with money; but, as will be seen, she When he returned with his bride, the family was disinherited when she married Harman afliection that he thought would greet them, Blennerhassett. Her sisters, however, laid the family influence that he thought would aside money for her benefit, and sent it to protect them, were wanting. The couple her regularly. were met only with reproaches: because of Early in 1796 Har'man Blennerhassett, his thirty-one years he was held responsi then thirty-one years old, married in Eng ble; because of her eighteen years she was land Miss Margaret Agnew, daughter of pitied, but not the less blamed. Since re Captain Robert Agnew of Howlish, County maining in his own country meant social Durham, a young lady of eighteen. Her ostracism,^ Blennerhassett sold his property, father was lieutenant-governor of the Isle and brought his young wife to America. No of Man, and a son of General James Agnew political entanglements were about him to of Revolutionary fame. Soon after their cause him to come to this country, for though marriage, the young couple embarked for a close observer of current events, he took America, landing August 1,1796. After ex little interest in politics; his tastes were tensive travels through the eastern part of quiet—literary and musical. Nothing the country, a portion of the island in the brought, him to America but the fact that Ohio which bears their name was purchased, his family would not countenance his mar and preparations for building were begun. riage.^ The house and grounds when completed rep When news of the strange marriage be resented an investment of sixty thousand came noised about in their own country, dollars. After the island house was no those relatives not closely enough alhed to longer an abode, Blennerhassett and his fam •feel injured began to nod their wise heads ily removed to a plantation of one thousand in time to prophesy of dire disaster for the acres on the Mississippi River, six miles above future of the young couple. 'But when it Port Gibson. This home they called " La was decided to sell the estate and leave the Cache," and here they lived for twelve years, country, then indeed all the kith and kin, to when they sold the property for twenty-eight the most remote degree, were up in arms thousand dollars, and, after stopping in New against the breaking of the entail. A few York to pay a visit to the family of Mr. Em of the younger kinsfolk sympathized with met, proceeded to Montreal. In 1821, Blen the young people, but they were in the nerhassett, after a residence in America of minority. twenty-five years, left Canada for England, Let us see how the prophecies referred to where he hoped to be benefited through an were verified. During their residence on the influence he no longer possessed. Ten years island three children were born to Blenner of heartache and buflieting passed, and then hassett and his wife. Of these the eldest, came failing health, which ended in his death Dominick, was, be it said with keen pity, a at Port Pierre, on the island of Guernsey, moral degenerate. No one can read the ref February 2, 1831, in the sixty-sixth year of erences made to him in the letters of his his age. heartbroken mother and not feel sympathy We now come to the secret of the Blen- for her. The second child, Margaret, died nerhassetts,, which was carefully kept from in infancy. The third, Harman Blennerhas their children. Catharine, one of the sisters sett, Jr., was little better than his eldest of Harman Blennerhassett, married an Ag brother, and was restrained from excesses new. It was her daughter Margaret who as great only by the watchfulness of the married Harman Blennerhassett, her mo youngest brother, Joseph Lewis, during a ther's brother,^ and it was for this cause portion of his life. The fourth child, an- ^ The bare fact is mentioned in Poster's " Noble and you are of her blood, and might be kind to her," said Gtentle Families of Royal Descent." the young husband, looking up. "Yes, that is the trou 2 One instance in illustration of this may be cited: ble; I am of her blood," was the rejoinder, as the Soon after his marriage Harman Blennerhassett, his haughty dame left the room. wife, and one of his sisters were seated together. The 3 Within the last twenty years a dispensation was younger woman asked the elder some passing question, granted to certain crowned heads of Europe to wed addressing her, as was her habit, as " Aunt Mary." " I whose consanguinity was of exactly the same degree as am not your 'Aunt Mary,'" was the quick reply.

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