153
1983, the others are alive and well in Philadelphia. Helen is the mother of Harry V. Ryder Jr., whose foray into the attic had led to the discovery of these letters from Edith Rowe.
Nothing is known about the Rowe family. Since they were able to send their daughter to a private school that involved payment of fees, the parents must have been at least comfortable. In her letters to Louese, Edith had not mentioned any brother or sister, but it was clear that she had carried on a regular correspondence with her mother. Edith's mother had enjoyed seeing the drawings that were scattered throughout her daughter's letters, much like travellers today sending home photographs they took.
Explaining the reason for sending Louese the drawings, Edith wrote,
In lieu of a camera I tried to make these (drawings) pretty often in Mother's letters. They are very roughly done but they amuse Mother and so I venture to inflict them on my friends once in a while.*
5
Very little is known about Edith herself, except what can be gleaned from her letters. She had a teacher referred to in these letters as Miss Amy, and friends one of whom was named Florence. The fact that Edith had arrived in China in 1902 has been established by scanning missionary records. Louese was thirty-seven in 1909, therefore must have been born in or around 1872. As her classmate and contemporary, Edith must have been about the same age. This means that in 1902 Edith would be thirty. Being thirty and unmarried at that time probably had influenced her decision to become a missionary in China.
American women of Edith's educational and social background in 1900 were following the same kind of spirit of service that had led Jane Addams a decade or so earlier to found Hull House, a settlement house in the slums of Chicago. Whereas women at home were also championing such radical causes as the right to vote and abolition of alcoholic drinking, the more conservative ones, like Edith Rowe, were going abroad as
153
1983, the others are alive and well in Philadelphia. Helen is the mother of Harry V. Ryder Jr., whose foray into the attic had led to the discovery of these letters from Edith Rowe.
Nothing is known about the Rowe family. Since they were able to send their daughter to a private school that involved payment of fees, the parents must have been at least comfort- able. In her letters to Louese, Edith had not mentioned any brother or sister, but it was clear that she had carried on a regular correspondence with her mother. Edith's mother had enjoyed seeing the drawings that were scattered throughout her daugh- ter's letters, much like travellers today sending home photo- graphs they took.
Explaining the reason for sending Louese the drawings, Edith
wrote,
In lieu of a camera I tried to make these (drawings) pretty often in Mother's letters. They are very roughly done but they amuse Mother and so I venture to inflict them on my friends once in a white.*
5
Very little is known about Edith herself, except what can be gleaned from her letters. She had a teacher referred to in these letters as Miss Amy, and friends one of whom was named Florence. The fact that Edith had arrived in China in 1902 has been established by scanning missionary records. Louese was thirty-seven in 1909, therefore must have been born in or around 1872. As her classmate and contemporary, Edith must have been about the same age. This means that in 1902 Edith would be thirty. Being thirty and unmarried at that time probably had influenced her decision to become a missionary in China.
American women of Edith's educational and social back- ground in 1900 were following the same kind of spirit of service that had led Jane Addams a decade or so earlier to found Hull House, a settlement house in the slums of Chicago. Whereas women at home were also championing such radical causes as the right to vote and abolition of alcoholic drinking, the more conservative ones, like Edith Rowe, were going abroad as
I
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