nineteenth-century America Archives

Women could not vote in national elections when Augusta Browne Garrett participated in the 1876 presidential campaign.[1] Nevertheless, seventeen songs contributed by Browne Garrett and her younger brother, General William Henry Browne (1825–1900), appeared in the pocket-size Hayes & Wheeler Song Book as part of the 1876 election battle. Although Browne Garrett never advocated for women’s suffrage in her extensive published prose, her contributions to the 1876 presidential race heralded American women’s future political activity.

The Republican National Committee distributed the Hayes & Wheeler Song Bookfrom coast to coast during the contest between the Republican candidate, Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio, and the Democrat, Governor Samuel Tilden of New York.[2] Victory for Hayes ultimately came down to a single electoral vote, making this contest the most disputed presidential election of the nineteenth century.

Who was J. W. B. Garrett?

By Bonny Miller

On April 26, 2023

In Posts

Who was J. W. B. Garrett, whom Augusta Browne married in September 1855, within weeks of first meeting him?

J. W. B. (John Walter Benjamin) Garrett was an artist who specialized in portraits, especially paintings made from small daguerreotypes, just as families today can commission a portrait to be painted from a photograph. Augusta Browne never revealed how they became acquainted. The connection might have occurred through an introduction at an art gallery, at church, a concert, or through mutual acquaintances at the Home Journal, in which Augusta published stories and Garrett advertised his services as a portraitist. Garrett exhibited a portrait of William Henry Browne, the composer’s younger brother, at New York City’s National Academy of Design in 1857. It seems plausible Garrett would have made a portrait of his bride, Augusta, but no evidence proves its existence.

Irish Curiosity (in Honor of St. Patrick’s Day)

By Bonny Miller

On March 17, 2023

In Augusta Browne, Posts

“Irish Curiosity” is the name of a short story published by Augusta Browne in 1848, one hundred seventy-five years ago. The theme of the humorous story is curiosity, which is considered a commendable thirst for knowledge in a man, but in a woman, curiosity is regarded as inappropriate interference in the affairs of others. Further, as Browne expressed in deliberately misspelled language that gave the flavor of an Irish brogue, a woman “of coorse can’t kape a saycret.”

Paper and Pen

By Bonny Miller

On July 3, 2022

In Posts

Introduction

The title page of The Lady’s Almanac for 1854 showcases a romanticized illustration of a lady writing with a quill pen at an ornate desk as time slips away in the winged hourglass.

Augusta Browne’s table and chair would have been far less grand than the engraving depicts, but she was already making contributions as a writer as well as a composer. On page 92, the almanac includes her name—lacking (as often happened) the final e of Browne—among noted American women writers.

Augusta Browne’s American Bouquet, Part 1

By Bonny Miller

On June 29, 2022

In Posts

On the Fourth of July, 1826, Augusta Browne strolled along the streets of Boston with her siblings and parents. The day held special significance since it was the fiftieth anniversary of Independence Day, the day the Continental Congress passed the Declaration of Independence. Bands were marching and performing in parades and celebrations throughout Boston. Augusta’s father had even persuaded Mr. Kendall’s Brigade Band to play his American Grand March in one of the events.

The Browne family had only arrived in Boston a few weeks earlier. It was Augusta’s first taste of America after living in St. John (New Brunswick, Canada) since she was a toddler. The Boston Commercial Gazette reported that the “glorious day was celebrated in this city with every becoming demonstration of joy and gratitude.” The little girl drank in the sights and sounds of the grand celebration in Boston. Memory of the festive, patriotic music heard that day may have lingered in Augusta’s mind as one of her earliest impressions of the United States. That memory may have been a catalyst years later for her American Bouquet.

American Bouquet, first edition (Philadelphia: Osbourn’s Music Saloon, ca. 1840). Digital Image, Boston Public Library

Music, History, Women, and Heritage

Tag: nineteenth-century America Page 1 of 2

Augusta Browne and the 1876 Presidential Election: “The Nation Calls!”

Who was J. W. B. Garrett?

Irish Curiosity (in Honor of St. Patrick’s Day)

Paper and Pen

Introduction

Augusta Browne’s American Bouquet, Part 1