Letters from the Governor's Wife

Annie Constance Christensen

Description

In 1859 the Finnish-Swedish aristocrat and naval officer, Hampus Furuhjelm arrived in Alaska as one of the Russian colony's last ambassadors. He brought with him his young wife Anna Furuhjelm, who wrote many long letters in English to her mother. These letters, for the first time, give us a vivid picture of everyday life in the colonial capital, Sitka, in the period shortly before the USA. took over Alaska. The letters have been edited and commented by Anna Furuhjelm's great-granddaughter, Anni Christensen.

Sujets

• Colonisation
• Modern history
• 19th century

Informations

• Publié par: Aarhus University Press
• Date de parution: 04 novembre 2006
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9788779349056
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

BERINGIANAisaseriesofpublicationsrelatingbroadlytotheexplorer VitusBering.ItsscopeencompassesDanishRussianrelations,exploration oftheNorthPacifi c,Russianeighteenthcenturycultureandhistory, Sibirianstudies,thehistoryofRussianAmerica.

SeriesEditor:PeterUlfMøllerattheSlavicDepartment,AarhusUniversity

ThelogooftheBERINGIANAseries,designedbyLotteBruunRasmussen,is afreevariationofVitusBering’scoatofarms.Its“bear”(German:Bär)and “ring”componentsaredrawnfromtheexplorer’ssurname.

LettersfromtheGovernor’sWife AViewofRussianAlaska18591862

EditedbyAnnieConstanceChristensen

WithanIntroductionandanEpilogueby AnnieConstanceChristensenandPeterUlfMøller

AarhusUniversityPress

LettersfromtheGovernor’sWife.AViewofRussianAlaska18591862 ©AnnieConstanceChristensenandAarhusUniversityPress2005 Cover:LotteBruunRasmussen Coverillustration:AnnaandHampusFuruhjelminSt.Petersborg1859, cf.letterNo.11.BycourtesyofOliviaSderhjelm

ISBN8779349056

AarhusUniversityPress Langelandsgade177 DK–8200rhusN

www.unipress.dk

Tableofcontents

Editor’spreface  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Introduction .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Anarrangedmarriage  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  RussiansintheNewWorld  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  .  .  . Thepenultimategovernor .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  ..  .  .  .  .  . 

AnnaFuruhjelm’sLetters  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No1 HenriksdalFebruary2nd1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No2 FredrichshamnFebruary4th1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No3 St.PetersburgFebruary6th1859 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No4 St.PetersburgFebruary9th1859 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No5 St.PetersburgFebruary11th1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No6 St.PetersburgFebruary13th1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No7 St.PetersburgFebruary16th1859 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No8 St.PetersburgFebruary19th1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No9 St.PetersburgFebruary21st1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No10St.PetersburgFebruary23rd1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No11St.PetersburgFebruary25th1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No12DunaburgFebruary27th1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No13WarsawMarch4th1859 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No14DresdenMarch7th1859 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No15DresdenMarch13th1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No16LondonMarch19th1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No17CheltenhamMarch21st1859 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No18LondonMarch27th1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No19WoodsideApril1st1859 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No20Onboard“Magdalena”AtlanticApril13th1859 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . No21OnboardHMShip“Trent”April25th1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No22PanamaApril29th1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No23SanFranciscoMay18th1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 

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9 9 12 17

23 23 26 27 30 31 32 34 34 37 38 39 40 41 42 45 46 48 50 53 55 61 64 69

No24SanFranciscoMay29th1859 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No26SitkaJuly3rd1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  .  .  . No25Sitka5th1859 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No27SitkaAugust6th1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No28SitkaSeptember21st1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  .  . No29SitkaOctober20th1859  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . No30SitkaDecember4th1859 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No31SitkaFebruary2nd1860 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No33SitkaApril6th1860  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No34SitkaApril26th1860  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  .  .  . No35SitkaMay5th1860  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  .  .  . No36KodiakJune20th1860 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  .  .  No37KodiakJuly24th1860  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No38SitkaSeptember18th1860 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No39SitkaOctober16th1860  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No40SitkaDecember7th1860 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No41SitkaNewYear’sday1861 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No42SitkaMay3rd1861  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  .  .  . No43SitkaMay22nd1861  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  .  .  . No44SitkaMay261861. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No45SitkaJuly7th1861 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No46SitkaSeptember25th1861 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No47SitkaDecember29th1861 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No48SanFranciscoFebruary2nd1862 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . No49SitkaMarch26th1862 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No50SitkaApril28th1862  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  .  .  . No52SitkaSeptember21st1862  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  .  .

Epilogue .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Bibliography .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Indexofnames

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Maps  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  ..  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

74 79 89 92 96 101 110 117 125 129 133 141 154 162 165 176 188 206 210 212 212 217 225 232 235 243 247

250

258

262

24, 25,276,277

Editor’spreface

AnnaFuruhjelm’sletterstohermotherAnnvonSchoultzformakindofdiaryof herfi rstyearsinAlaskaastheRussianGovernor’swife.Afewhoursaftertheir weddingonFebruary2nd1859,shedepartsforAlaskaonasledgewithherhusband HampusFuruhjelmfromHelsinki,andwritesthefirstlettertohermotheronthe eveningofthesameday.HerlastletterNo.52wasleftunfinishedonOctober 17th 1862,asthenewsreachedAlaskathathermotherhaddied. TheletterswerenumberedbyAnnaherself.ExceptforNos.32and51,theyhave allbeenpreservedandarenowkeptinthearchiveoftheUniversityLibraryofÅbo, Finland(ÅboAkademisBibliotek,Handskriftsavdelningen,Furuhjelm,Annie14). BesidesAnna’sletters,therearetwoshortlettersfromhermaid,IdaHöerle. Alleditorialadditionsareinsquarebrackets.Abbreviatedwords,forinstance‘yr’, aregivenintheirfullform:‘y[ou]r’.Aquestionmarkimmediatelyafteraworddis- cerned[?],forexamplemeansthatIamnotcompletelysureIhavereadtheword correctly;twofullstopsfollowedbyaquestionmarkmany[..?]lips,forexample meansthatIhaveomittedanunreadableword.Thelettershavebeenslightlyab breviated.Somepassagesthatdiscussorinquireaboutfriendsbackhome,andalso someofAnna’smuchrepeatedreligiousreflectionshavebeenomitted.Allomissions aremarkedbythreefullstopsinsquarebrackets[…].TheshortlettersNos.7and 44havebeenomittedalltogetherforthatsamereason.Allunderlinedwordshave beenrenderedinitalics. Anna’sorthographyandpunctuationhasnotbeencorrected.Thepeculiaritiesin spellingthatcatchthemoderneyeareduetoarchaicspellingorhaste.Theortho- graphicalnormwasnotyetfullyestablished.Shewrites:‘desert’(forasweetcourse), ‘trowsers’,‘tare’for‘tear’.Parallelformsexisted,forinstance‘honour/honor’,‘ex pense/expence’,‘English/english’.AnnahadnoformaleducationinEnglish.For spellingproblems,sheconsulted“Grandmother’sspellingbook”(Letter33,cf.the presentedition,p.128).Misspellingoccurssinceshewritesquicklyandrarelyseems tofindtimetoreadwhatshehaswritten:‘govenor’,‘woud’,‘exellent’,‘probaply’, ‘discription’,‘for’for‘four’,‘bands’for‘banns’.Anotherpeculiarityisherindifference towritingdoubleorsingleconsonants:‘arrive/arive’,(to)‘finish/finnish’,‘innocent/ inocent’,‘British/Brittish’,‘occasion/occassion’,‘droll/drol’,‘summer/sumer’.Some slighterrorshavebeencorrected,suchas‘to’for‘do’,‘that’for‘than’,‘in’for‘it’. AnnaoftenusesSwedish,GermanorFrenchwordsandexpressions.Theyprob- ablycometomindbecauseshehasspokentheselanguagesfrequently,orbecause

8

letters from the governor’s wife

theyseemtoexpressherthoughtsbetter.Inthefirstcasetheyareeasytotranslate, butinthesecondthetranslationmightseemsomewhatawkward. Thefollowingabbreviationshavebeenusedintheeditorialtext:Swed./ish,Fr./ ench,Ger./man,Rus./sian,RACRussianAmericanCompany. TheRussiansstillusedtheoldJuliancalendaratthistime.AnnaFuruhjelmoften writesadateinboth‘old’and‘newstyle’.Inthe19thcentury,thedifferencebetween themwas12days. Allinformationaboutpersonsmentionedintheletters,isgivenintheindexof names. IwouldliketothankTheDanishResearchCouncilfortheHumanitiesandAarhus UniversityResearchFoundationformakingthepublicationofmygreatgrandmoth er’sletterspossible.MoreoverIwouldliketoexpressmygratitudetoLeifLudwig Albertsen,DorisMetzner,HannaandMartinEhrensvärd,JulianLewisandmypre- cioushusbandJørgenChristensenforinvaluablehelpindecipheringgothicGerman handwritingandillegibleEnglishwords,andtranslatingandeditingallthathadto bewritteninEnglish.

ÅrhusMay2005 AnnieConstanceChristensen

Introduction

Anarrangedmarriage After1830,itseemstohavebeenanunwrittenrulethatanyoneappointedgovernor ofRussianAmericahadtobringawifewithhim.TheBoardofDirectorsofthe RussianAmericanCompanywantednomistressesinthegovernor’shouseatSitka. Itwasamatterofupholdingthedignityandmoralsofthecolonialadministration therepresentativeofRussianempireandChristiancivilisationintheseremote partsoftheworld. GovernorsofthecoloniesinAlaskawerenormallyappointedforaperiodoffi ve years,andtheBoardcouldverywellimaginetheprivationsandtemptationscon- nectedwithbeingalonesomemanatthisnorthernoutpostofcivilisation,without aspouseofEuropeanupbringingandChristianbelieftostandbyhisside.When thefirstRussianmissionariesarrivedinAlaskain1794topreachthegospeltothe heathens,theywereappalledtofindtheircompatriotsfurhuntersandmerchants 1 livinginunconjugal,orevenpolygamousrelationshipswithnativewomen. Oneof theearlygovernorsleftbehindanativemistressandtheirthreeillegitimatechildren 2 onreturninghomeafterhisterminAlaska. ArrivingatSitkain1830,BaronFerdinandWrangelwasthefirstgovernortobring hiswifewithhimfromRussia.“Hercomingwasaneventofsomeimport,forthe youngbaronesstransformedlifeintheroughfrontiercapital.Theold‘castle’which wastheChiefManager’sresidencenowfeaturedformaldinnersandballs.Thecasual relationshipsofcompanyemployeeswiththelocalwomengavewaytopermanent 3 wedlock,andtheoldroisteringsociallifeofthetownacquiredahighertone”. All laterRussiangovernorsofAlaskaweretofollowtheWrangels’example.Married appointeesbroughttheirwives,andunmarriedonesfacedthetaskoffindingawife 4 beforetheirdepartureforSitka. Inearly1858JohanHampusFuruhjelm,anunmarriedRussiannavaloffi cerof Finnishbirth,receivedaproposalfromtheRussianAmericanCompanytobecome thenextgovernorofRussianAmericaforatermoffiveyears,from1859.Hewas thenharbourmasterofthePortofAian,agloomyplaceontheeasterncoastofSi- beria.HehadservedtheresinceOctober1855(from1856asCaptainoffi rstrank).

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Bolkhovitinov19971999,1,p.268. Pierce1986,p.11. Pierce1986,p.13. Pierce1986,p.40.

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letters from the governor’s wife

DescribingsociallifeinAianinalettertooneofhisfriends,Furuhjelmwrote:“Apart fromthreemarriedbookkeepers,onedittopriestandonedittojuniorcommissioned officer,Aianisinhabitedonlybyworkerswiththeirwives.Nevertheless,Ihavefrom timetotimearrangedadanceforthelocalfops.Theydancevigorouslywiththeir 5 ownandeachothers’wives–theonlyladiesinAian.” Intheautumnof1857Furuhjelm’stwounmarriedsistersarrivedunexpectedlyat AianbyshipfromFinland.Theyhadbeensentaroundtheworldtotheirunmarried brother,who–intheopinionoftheirelderbrotherOtto–wasmostabletoprovide forthem.Thesisters’unexpectedarrivalseemstohaveupsetanybuddingmarriage plansthe36yearoldbachelormayhavehad.InFebruary1858,Furuhjelmwrote tohisbenefactorandfriendArvidAdolfEtholén,anotherFinlanderwhohadbeen GovernorofAlaska(from1840to1845),informinghimofhisdecisiontoaccept thepostofGovernor.Laterintheletter,Furuhjelmconfi des:“Ihadveryseriously consideredgoingtoFinlandforaperiodoftimetogetmarried,butnow,afterthe arrivalofmysisters,Ihavegivenuptheidea,sincesistersandwiveswillnever agree,astheysay”.Moreover,heconcludedwithironyandresignation:“Imust consequentlyendmydaysasanold,sulkybachelor.ButeveninthismatterIconsole myselfthateverythinghappensforthebestandthatIcanliveasamonk,ifIhave 6 to,whichIhavealreadyproved”. Thewayofthemonk,however,wasnotreallyanoptionforafuturegovernorof Alaska.ButtimewasrunningoutforFuruhjelm.SinceAianhadnothingtooffer bywayofasuitablepartner,itwasquiteclearthathisoneandonlyopportunityto getmarriedbeforegoingtoSitkawouldoccurwhenhecametoSt.Petersburgto receivehisinstructions.HearrivedintimeforhisofficialappointmentbytheBoard ofDirectors,whichtookplaceonDecember1(oldstyle),1858.Asforfindingawife beforehisimminentdeparture,hehadtorelyontheadviceandservicesofgood societyinHelsinki(Swed.Helsingfors),inspiteofthefactthathehadnotsetfoot thereforeightyears.Andgoodsocietydidnotlethimdown.BythetimeHampus arrivedintheRussiancapital,asuitablecandidatefortheroleofgovernor’swifein Alaskahadalreadybeensingledout.HernamewasAnnaElisabethvonSchoultz. AlthoughshebelongedtooneofHelsinki’snoblefamilies,shewasneverthelessa 7 newcomerinFinlandandmorecosmopolitanthanmostofherFinnishrelatives. AnnawasbornonMarch4,1836inKarlskrona,animportantnavalharbourin southernSweden.Herfather,NilsGustafvonSchoultz(18071838),wasofFinnish stock,buthisbranchofthefamilyhadmovedtoSwedenwhenFinlandbecameapart oftheRussianEmpirein1809.Nilsappearstohavebeenaverycharmingyoung

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CopyofanundatedletterfromFuruhjelm,probablyfrom1856orearly1857,inthe editor’spossession. CopyofaletterfromFuruhjelmtoEtholén,February26,1858(oldstyle),intheedi tor’spossession. AnnieFuruhjelm1932,p.107.