Document 7
Author: Abby Adams Oleson
Recipient: Adelia Field Johnston
Date: 25 July 1910
Location: Adelia A. Field Johnston Papers, Series II. Correspondence
Document Type: Autograph Letter, Signed by Author
Introduction:
Abby Jane Adams was born on 19 Feb 1850 to John Adams and Maria A. Adams in Brookfield, Massachusetts.1 She attended Oberlin College and graduated from the Ladies’ Course in 1881.2 In 1882, she married the Rev. William Brewster Oleson, with whom she had seven children. Rev. Oleson was a Congregationalist preacher, and twice he found work in Hawaii, where the Olesons spent over ten years.3 Throughout her life, Abby Oleson worked as a teacher and was an active member of her various Congregationalist churches. Abby Adams Oleson died 3 June 1916 of kidney and heart troubles.4
The following document is a letter written by Abby Oleson to Adelia Field Johnston; tragically, the letter was penned three days after Johnston’s death.5 Oleson, who was in Honolulu at the time, would not yet have heard the news, but given the contents of this letter, one can imagine how great her grief would have been.
This simple and sweet letter offers a glimpse into how profoundly Adelia Johnston impacted the lives of her female students, many of whom carried on her legacy as educators and reformers. It also reveals just how deeply many of them cared for her.
Honolulu, July 25. 1910
My dear Mrs. Johnston,
Mr. Oleson6 and Alice7 are making all sorts of speeches to interrupt my letter because forsooth I said “I am going to write a ‘Love Letter’ .
Mr. Oleson is to the manner born while I only shine by a sort of reflected radiance.
Perhaps I love you is a good beginning, strengthened by I have loved [added sideways between the words: you] for thirty years, or I shall love you always_ [sic]I wish you were here so I could know if you cared.
Dr. Sinclair8 has recently visited us and told us you were not strong; and it made me so homesick for you that I must needs write to send you loving sympathy across the sea and land. It always seems such a pity that a strong spirit should not have a strong body. When my grandmother lamented her inability to serve longer my mother said to comfort her, – “but you have done enough already.” So ist [sic] a satisfaction for you to know your pupil friends have appreciated your service.
I do hope you are better and stronger than Dr [sic] Sinclair reported. I wish you could have the cool air from Hawaii. Do take the best of care of one so many hold dear.
We are having a happy outing together on Mt Tantalus (1500 ft)9
We have such cool air it drives the girls into their sweaters and closed doors and blankets are comfortable at night. [At the top of the page: 2] We have enchanting views of land and sea, of mountain and valley of moonlight and sunset.
Of course the charm of it is that we are together and away from all work or worry.
We were so surprised to have our six weeks’ visit lengthened to six months and that time multiplied by five; but life here seems pleasanter than the former sojourn.10 Comfort is at the maximum and work at the minimum. Mr. Oleson is just completing his third annual report;11 I will remember to send you one if you are interested.
We have a cozy little bungalow home and trees and ferns and chickens are very interesting. We are in College Hills two miles from the heart of the city. We have fine mountain views and breeze and always the trade winds.
Alice’s eyes failed her in April but are restored again after the long rest.12
She will be assistant secretary of Y.W.C. A.13 in Sept. She shows an eager ambition to help others which is very gratifying to us but not so surprising for has she not known Oberlin? and you?
We expect Pres. King14 next week; and the days will be all too short to do all we wish to honor him and to give him pleasure.
Tomorrow it will be decided by a special vote whether there is to be Prohibition here.15
Dr and Mrs Whitney are in Japan and The Bowens in Europe.
Wishing for you all good and with heart’s love
I remain
Your Grateful Friend
Abby Adams Oleson.
Transcribed by Rebecca Debus.
1Former Student File, Oleson, Mrs. William Brewster; Adams, Abby Jane. Record Group 28/2, Box 771. Oberlin College Archives.
2Former Student File, Oleson, Mrs. William Brewster; Adams, Abby Jane. Record Group 28/2, Box 771. Oberlin College Archives.
3Former Student File, Oleson, Mrs. William Brewster; Adams, Abby Jane. Record Group 28/2, Box 771. Oberlin College Archives.
4Former Student File, Oleson, Mrs. William Brewster; Adams, Abby Jane. Record Group 28/2, Box 771. Oberlin College Archives.
5Harriet Louise Keeler, The Life of Adelia A. Field Johnston Who Served Oberlin College for Thirty-Seven Years … Britton Printing Company, 1912. Memorial Record of the County of Cuyahoga and City of Cleveland, Ohio. Genealogical Committee, Western Reserve Historical Society, 1894.
6This is Abby’s husband, Rev. William Brewster Oleson (1852-1915) who did not attend Oberlin. They married in 1882. He was a Congregationalist minister (Former Student File, Oleson, Mrs. William Brewster; Adams, Abby Jane. Record Group 28/2, Box 771. Oberlin College Archives).
7Alice (b. 1887) is Abby’s Oleson’s third child and oldest daughter, and was twenty three at the time of this letter. She attended Mt. Holyoke College for one year, and then Oberlin College for three years, leaving there in 1909. It is unclear whether or not she graduated (Former Student File, Oleson, Mrs. William Brewster; Adams, Abby Jane. Record Group 28/2, Box 771. Oberlin College Archives).
8This is probably Dr. Mary Emily Sinclair (1878-1955). She received a BA from Oberlin College in 1900, an MA from the University of Chicago in 1903, and a PhD, also from the University of Chicago, in 1908. She began teaching at Oberlin in 1907 as a Professor of Mathematics, and remained at Oberlin for 37 years. She did not marry, but had two adopted children (Judy Green and Jeanne LaDuke. Pioneering Women in American Mathematics: The Pre-1940 PhD’s. American Mathematical Soc., 2009).
9An extinct volcano overlooking Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of of Oahu.
10It is unclear why the Olesons’ stay in Hawaii was lengthened so greatly. They had lived in Hawaii before, from 1882 to 1893, when Abby Oleson taught at Kamahamaha College. They returned there for a visit that became lengthened when Rev. Oleson presumable found a job there. They stayed in Hawaii for eight years, until Rev. Oleson died in 1915, whereupon Abby Oleson returned to live with her family in White Plains, New York (Former Student File, Oleson, Mrs. William Brewster; Adams, Abby Jane. Record Group 28/2, Box 771. Oberlin College Archives).
11This is presumably a report meant for the missionary society or Church for which Rev. Oleson worked.
12This is possibly due to an inflammation of the optic nerve, called optic neuritis, which can lead to pain and temporary blindness. The condition most commonly affects young to middle aged women (“Optic Neuritis | Pathology.” Encyclopedia Britannica. web address, accessed 29 July 2015).
13The Young Women’s Christian Association. This association was begun in New York in 1858, and was initially called the Ladies Christian Association (the term YWCA was first used in 1866). It was aimed at providing aid to women in need and has often been associated with anti-racist and labor movements as well. It is still in existence today and its modern mission statement (adopted in 2009) is: “YWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all” (“History – YWCA USA.” YWCA USA. web address, accessed 29 July 2015).
14>Henry Churchill King (1858-1934), served as President of Oberlin from 1902 to 1927.
15The Prohibition vote failed to pass. Saloon keepers and other supporters of the ‘wet’ vote had a massive campaign to ensure the failure of prohibition, including offering transportation to the polls, and running advertising campaigns to ensure that voters knew the correct way to complete their ballots (“The Hawaiian Gazette. (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, July 29, 1910, Image 8,” July 29, 1910).
