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Matilda Hays
Matilda Hays and Cushman meet "[s]ometime, probably after 1846" (Merrill 156). Hays plays the Juliet to Cushman’s Romeo in 1848, when Cushman's sister Susan plans to marry James Sheridan Muspratt. Hays is in a relationship with Charlotte Cushman in…
Stebbins's Charlotte Cushman: Her Letters and Memories of Her Life (1878)
Biography of Charlotte Cushman, written after her death by her spouse Emma Stebbins. The transcribed correspondence between Stebbins and Sidney Lanier (who had originally been chosen as the author of the biography) details the painstaking process of…
Rosalie Sully
Rosalie and Charlotte are in a relationship from 1843 until 1845. Rosalie is the daughter of Thomas Sully who once painted the actress. She dies on July 8, 1847, in Philadelphia.
Diary Entry by Anne H. Brewster about the Breakup of Charlotte Cushman and Matilda Hays
The complete diary entry for June 5, 1876 is 24 pages long and details the time Harriet Hosmer and Anne H. Brewster spent together. The last eight pages (transcribed here) recount, how Hosmer witnessed the passionate breakup of Charlotte Cushman and…
Bradford's "Charlotte Cushman" (1925/1932)
In his biography Biography and the Human Heart (1932), Bradford republished the article (The North American Review, Vol. 221, No. 827 (Jun. - Aug., 1925)) as a chapter. Other biographical chapters covered Walt Whitman or Henry Longfellow, for…
Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Emma Crow, February 22, 1858
This letter is the first one available from the time after Charlotte Cushman's breakup with Matilda Hays. It is a prime example of Charlotte's longing for Emma Crow whom she met shortly before this correspondence at the beginning of…
Letter from Ned Cushman to Susan Muspratt, Oct 27, 1853
The letter sums up Ned's experience of the beginning at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. He writes that he wanted to quit, he reports health problems and exam results. He also briefly alludes to Cushman's relationship with Hays. The letter…
Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Emma Crow, Feb 25, [1858]
Charlotte writes to Emma Crow about her feelings for her. Apparently, Emma is very fond of Charlotte and Charlotte fears that she cannot meet Emma's expectations. Charlotte also hints at her troubled relationship with Mrs Kemble and mentions 'little…
Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Emma Crow, Mar 31, 1858
In this letter, Charlotte reassures Emma of her love. She promises to visit Emma soon. Charlotte mentions Harriet Hosmer who is trying to find a winter residence in Rome for Cushman. At the end of the year, Charlotte would eventually move to Via…
Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Emma Crow, Feb 3, 1858
This letter is most likely the first one that Charlotte sends to Emma after they met in St Louis, MO, and fell in love. The preceding week, Charlotte had to leave for Cairo and Emma had prepared basket full of food. Cushman mentions the age gap and…
Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Emma Crow, July 5, 1858
Once again, Charlotte confesses her love to Emma very explicitly. Her letter is written in the night between July 4 and July 5, 1858. Cushman explains to Emma why Emma often does not hear from the actress for weeks. Charlotte emphasizes the…
Letter from Jane Carlyle to Charlotte Cushman, Jan 31, 1862
Jane Carlyle, who had earlier expressed jealousy over Geraldine Jewsbury's attachment to Charlotte Cushman (see, e.g. a 1846-letter to her aunt Jeannie Welsh), here details her deep and sudden affection for Cushman upon finally meeting…
Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Emma Crow Cushman, May 6, 1865
After Lincoln's assassination, Charlotte finds herself in a state of shock. She is also concerned about Emma Crow Cushman's baby and its wellbeing. A note from Charlotte should introduce Emma to some members of London's society.
Credit
Library of…
Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Emma Crow Cushman, May 11, 1865
Charlotte writes about Lincoln's assassination and its impact on her and people she knows. Additionally, she tells Emma Crow Cushman about guests who stayed in her house that were not particularly welcome. Most of all, this letter is about…
Letter from Charlotte Cushman to Annie Fields, Dec 25, 1860
Cushman describes Emma Stebbins as her "much better half" and her "darling." She tells Annie about their stressful journey to NYC and about a favorable article about herself that she encountered. She desires "a likeness of Emerson. with his own…
Letter from Helen Hunt to Charlotte Cushman, Sept 4, 1870
Helen Hunt writes that she misses Charlotte Cushman, referring to her as her "Regina Cara" and "my Queen Carlotta," and Hunt wants Cushman to visit Newport. Furthermore, she talks about Wentworth Higginson who Cushman should take a liking to for…
Letter from Helen Hunt to Charlotte Cushman, Oct 7, 1872
A love letter of Helen Hunt about how much she misses and wants to see her Queen, Charlotte Cushman, again. Helen Hunt also talks about a man who heard Cushman talk and is fascinated by her genius.
Credit
Library of Congress, Charlotte Cushman…
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Charlotte Cushman
Charlotte Cushman becomes widely known on both sides of the Atlantic as the first successful US-American actress. Earlier, she was a singer under the tutelage of James G. Maeder, married to actress Clara Fisher, in Boston. Charlotte has been the sole financial support of her mother since her father…