The Last of the Maine Adventures

 The day before we left to fly home, our daughter-in-law had a fun excursion for us.  We visited the Wadsworth-Longfellow home in Portland.  I enjoyed the tour of the home so much.  

The home was first owned by Peleg Wadsworth, Henry's paternal grandfather,  who was an American Patriot officer in the American Revolutionary War as well as a member of Congress. 

 He was close friends with George Washington hence this picture of George Washington is hung in a very prominent place in the home.

This is a portrait of Henry around the time he became a professor at

Bowdoin College.

Henry graduated high school at the age of 14 and graduated from Bowdoin College at the age of 18.  He was offered a professorship upon graduating from Bowdoin, but he turned it down because he didn't feel equipped enough to do so since he didn't speak any foreign languages.

After touring Europe over a three year period, Henry returned to America having learned five foreign languages.  It was at this time that he accepted the professorship at Bowdoin College.

The Wadsworth-Longfellow house became home to many generations of that family.  Henry's sister, Anne Longfellow Pierce, lived 87 of her 90 years in this home.

She left instructions in her will that everything was to be left exactly as it was at the time of her death.  For the most part, those instructions have been carried through down to where the pictures are placed on the walls.

The kitchen was quite interesting.

It was also noted at the time of the tour that there were never any modern conviences in the home...no running water or bathroom facilities.

This is the chair where Henry would often sit and write while he was living in the home if he wasn't traveling. 

 

When he married Mary Storer Potter they moved to Brunswick Maine in 1831 where they lived for three years.  At that time, Henry was offered a professorship at Harvard, after traveling abroad again.

Mary had a miscarriage during the trip when she was six months into her pregnancy.  She did not recover from this misfortune and died a few weeks later at the age of 22.

Henry returned to the US in 1936, resumed the professorship at Harvard and was required to live in Cambridge.

He did remarry in 1843 to Frances Appleton and they had six children together.

Henry's sister Anne Longfellow Pierce was a rather sickly woman.  

This was her room, where she was able to enjoy it not only as a bedroom but also where she received guests.

I found it interesting that nieces, nephews, and grandchildren all took part in her care.