Nellie Kinzie Gordon (born Eleanor Lytle Kinzie;[1] June 18, 1835 – February 22, 1917) was an American writer. She wrote a book about her grandfather, titled John Kinzie, the Father of Chicago: A Sketch, but was mostly known for her humanitarian work during the Spanish–American War and the 1876 yellow fever epidemic.
Nellie Kinzie Gordon | |
|---|---|
| Born | Eleanor Lytle Kinzie June 18, 1835 Fort Dearborn, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | February 22, 1917 (aged 81) Amagansett, New York, U.S. |
Burial place | Laurel Grove Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author |
| Spouse | William Washington Gordon II (m. 1857–1912; his death) |
| Children | 6, including Juliette Gordon Low |
| Parent(s) | John Harris Kinzie and Juliette Augusta Magill |
Her husband was politician William Washington Gordon II; their daughter, Juliette Gordon Low, founded the Girls Scouts of the USA.
Early life
editEleanor Lytle Kinzie was born at Fort Dearborn, Illinois, in 1835 to Major John Harris Kinzie and Juliette Augusta Magill.[2] She was one of their seven children,[3] the others being Julian (who died at six weeks), Frank (who died, aged six, from cholera),[4] Alexander (who also died aged six, having drunk a bottle of corrosive sublimate),[4] John Jr., Arthur and George.[4] Her paternal grandparents were John Kinzie, a noted fur trader, and Eleanor Lytle McKillip Kinzie.
She grew up in a home on Chicago's North Side, at the corner of Cass Street and Michigan Street, past which the city's first board sidewalk was built.[4] She attended the school of a Mrs. Elmore at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Lake Street, crossing the Chicago River at Rush Street on a scow.[5] She later studied at Madame Canda's School in New York City, where she became an expert pianist. She also learned art and became fluent in speaking French and Italian.[6]
Career
editDuring the 1876 yellow fever epidemic which struck Savannah, Georgia, Gordon's husband remained in the city to nurse the sick while Gordon went to Guyton, 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Savannah, where many people had fallen ill.[7]
In 1898, during the Spanish–American War, Gordon accompanied her husband to Camp Miami, a training center in Miami, Florida. There, she assessed the camp's location as having no depth in the soil, tents blowing down in high wind and the water being full of lime, which "disagrees with the men and gives them dysentry." She noted in her diary that the drinking water was not from the water tower but from the railroad tank, "which got its water from two 24 feet wells, located between two brigades, and into which surface drainage flowed from both brigades." Gordon organized a convalescent tent and operated a makeshift hospital. A more permanent facility was set up near the Royal Palm Hotel.[8]
In 1910, Gordon wrote a book about her grandfather, titled John Kinzie, the Father of Chicago: A Sketch.[9] Five years later, she edited a book written by her mother, titled Wau-Bun.[10][11]
Late in her life, Gordon found a narrative of Lieutenant Linai Taliaferro Helm's order regarding the Battle of Fort Dearborn, which had been lost for nearly a century. She published it under the title The Fort Dearborn Massacre, by Lieutenant Helm.[12]
Personal life
edit
After completing her education, Gordon had her portrait painted by George Peter Alexander Healy. It hung in the family's home in Savannah,[13] at 10 East Oglethorpe Avenue (today known as the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, one of Gordon's daughters, who founded the Girl Scouts of the USA in 1912).[14]
In 1857, Kinzie married William Washington Gordon II,[4] son of politician William Washington Gordon, at St. James Church in Chicago.[15] They met at Yale University Library in 1853, when William was a senior and Nellie slid down a library banister toward him.[4] (Another source says they met at the residence of Joseph Earl Sheffield, and that Gordon was in the drawing room when she slid down a banister.)[15] The couple had six children: Eleanor Kinzie Parker, Juliette Gordon Low, Sara Alice Gordon, William Washington III, Mabel McLane Leigh and George Arthur Gordon. Sara died, aged 17, while at school in New York.[16]
In 1883, to prepare for the construction of a monument to Gordon's father-in-law in Savannah's Wright Square, the body of Creek chieftan Tomochichi was relocated from the center of the square to its southeastern corner.[17] Gordon later advocated for a new monument to be erected in honor of Tomochichi. It was completed in 1899.[18]
In 1916, Gordon wrote a letter to the Chicago Daily News, stating that her name was omitted in their September 7 list of the oldest and earliest citizens of Chicago:
I notice that my name is conspicuously absent. This is more surprising, as I am the oldest person now living who was born in Chicago—on June 18, 1835. I am, therefore, older than Chicago itself,[4] which was not incorporated as a city until several years after my birth.
— Nellie Kenzie Gordon, Chicago Daily News, October 27, 1916
Gordon was first president of the Georgia branch of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.[19] She remained in the role for six years and declined reelection.[10]
Death
editGordon died in 1917, aged 81, while in Amgansett, New York. She was interred in Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah. She had survived her husband for five years, and was buried beside him.
Legacy
editHer wax figurine was added to the Chicago Historical Society's original collection of the city's notable women.[4] She had gifted the society the Genealogy of John McKenzie in 1909.[20]
Publications
edit- John Kinzie, the Father of Chicago: A Sketch (1910)[9]
References
edit- ↑ Knight, Charles R. (2021-06-15). From Arlington to Appomattox: Robert E. Lee's Civil War Day by Day, 1861–1865. Savas Beatie. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-61121-503-8.
- ↑ Kirkland, Joseph (2024-09-23). The Chicago Massacre of 1812: All Time Bestseller Book. Prabhat Prakashan.
- ↑ Blanchard, Rufus (1900). Discovery and Conquests of the North-west, with the History of Chicago. Cushing. p. 612.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Shultz, Gladys Denny; Lawrence, Daisy Gordon (2016-01-18). Lady from Savannah: The Life Of Juliette Low. Golden Springs Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78625-784-0.
- ↑ Chicago Daily News, October 27, 1916
- ↑ The Georgia Historical Quarterly. Georgia Historical Society. 1917. p. 184.
- ↑ The Georgia Historical Quarterly. Georgia Historical Society. 1917. p. 190.
- ↑ Seaman, Rebecca M. (2018-04-12). Epidemics and War: The Impact of Disease on Major Conflicts in History. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 979-8-216-08061-9.
- 1 2 Gordon, Mrs Eleanor Lytle Kinzie; Gordon, Eleanor Lytle Kinzie (1910). John Kinzie: The "father of Chicago" ; a Sketch.
- 1 2 The Georgia Historical Quarterly. Georgia Historical Society. 1917. p. 191.
- ↑ The Publishers Weekly. F. Leypoldt. 1915.
- ↑ Taylor, Charles Henry (1917). History of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago. R.O. Law Company. p. 71.
- ↑ The Georgia Historical Quarterly. Georgia Historical Society. 1917. p. 185.
- ↑ The Georgia Historical Quarterly. Georgia Historical Society. 1917. p. 192.
- 1 2 The Georgia Historical Quarterly. Georgia Historical Society. 1917. p. 186.
- ↑ The Georgia Historical Quarterly. Georgia Historical Society. 1917. p. 190.
- ↑ Carlisle, Rodney; Carlisle, Loretta (2019). Savannah in History: A Guide to More Than 75 Sites in Historical Context. Globe Pequot Press. ISBN 978-1-68334-028-7 – via Google Books.
- ↑ "Tomochichi: Death and Burial". Georgia Historical Society. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ↑ "Tomochichi's Monument". The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Georgia. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ↑ Charter, Constitution, By-laws, Roll of Membership, List of Officers and Members. The Society. 1909. p. 298.