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Madame Blennerhassett portrait
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Madame Blennerhassett portrait
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Description
Title
Madame
Blennerhassett
portrait
Subject
Blennerhassett, Margaret, ca. 1778-1842
Blennerhassett, Harman, 1765-1831
Burr, Aaron, 1756-1836
Burr Conspiracy, 1805-1807
Blennerhassett Island (W. Va.)
Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood
Time Period
1810s
1820s
Description
This
portrait
of
Madame
Margaret
Agnew
Blennerhassett
(ca
.
1778-1842)
is
a
photographic
reproduction
of the
original
, a
painted
miniature
.
According
to
Ray
Swick
and
Christina
Little
,
authors
of
“Blennerhassett
Island,”
the
original
miniature
was
painted
in
Montreal
,
Canada
,
between
1819
and
1824
.
It
is
believed
that her
husband
commissioned
the
miniature
as a
replacement
for a
portrait
of his
wife
that was
stolen
from his
saddlebag
in
1807
. The
oval
portrait
portrays
a
woman
with a
slender
face
and
neck
,
wavy
hair
piled
high
, and
penetrating
eyes
that
look
directly
at the
observer
.
Margaret
Agnew
was the
daughter
of
Robert
Agnew
,
lieutenant
governor
of the
Isle
of
Man
. She was an
intelligent
,
well-educated
young
woman
with
linguistic
and
literary
talent
.
Sometime
between
the
ages
of
17
and
20
, she
flouted
legal
,
religious
, and
social
convention
by
marrying
her
maternal
uncle
,
Harman
Blassenhassett
(1765-1831)
, a
wealthy
Irish
aristocrat
. The
couple
left
England
for the
United
States
during
the
late
1790s
and
eventually
moved
to
Marietta
,
Ohio
. In
1797
they
purchased
174
acres
of
land
on an
island
in the
Ohio
River
. The
land
formerly
belonged
to
George
Washington
.
During
their
first
years
on the
island
, the
Blennerhassetts
lived
in a
blockhouse
until
a
permanent
home
was
ready
. In
1800
they
moved
into their
new
residence
, a
mansion
where
the
couple
lived
the
life
of the
wealthy
. The
Blennerhasetts
were
famous
for their
hospitality
, and
many
travelers
down
the
Ohio
River
stopped
at the
couple’s
home
. Their
most
famous
guest
was
Burr
,
whom
they
met
in
1805
when
he
visited
the
island
. In
1805
and
1806
, the
Blennerhassetts
assisted
Burr
in his
scheme
to
break
away
the
western
part
of the
United
States
and
form
a
new
country
that he would
lead
. The
federal
government
heard
rumors
of the
uprising
and
sent
a
detachment
of
Virginia
militia
to
seize
the
Blennerhassetts
'
island
.
Harman
Blennerhassett
was in
hiding
; his
wife
was
away
in
Marietta
.
When
she
returned
, she
discovered
that the
militiamen
had
ransacked
the
home
, and she
fled
with her
children
. Her
husband
was
arrested
a
few
weeks
later
, but he
quickly
gained
his
release
. The
Blennerhassetts
briefly
returned
to their
mansion
, but
now
destitute
, they
sought
their
fortunes
in
Mississippi
,
where
Harman
raised
cotton
to
support
the
family
. An
embargo
during
the
War
of
1812
brought
more
financial
hardship
. In
1819
the
family
moved
to
Canada
,
where
Harman
tried
unsuccessfully
to
establish
a
law
firm
.
Margaret
and their
surviving
children
remained
in
Canada
when
Harman
moved
to
Ireland
in
1821
to
pursue
an
old
legal
claim
. He
settled
on the
Isle
of
Guernsey
While
still
in
Canada
,
Margaret
published
two
books
: "The
Deserted
Isle
"
(1822)
and "The
Widow
of the
Rock
and
Other
Poems
"
(1824)
.
Margaret
and the
children
left
the
United
States
in
1825
to
live
with
Harman
on the
Isle
of
Guernsey
.
After
his
death
in
1831
, she
remained
there
until
1842
,
when
she and her
son
Harman
Jr
.
sailed
to
New
York
City
.
Margaret
petitioned
Congress
for
restitution
for the
destruction
of the
Blennerhassett
Island
property
. A
Senate
committee
voted
in
favor
of her
appeal
, but its
decision
came
too
late
for
Margaret
. She
died
in
June
1842
in a
New
York
City
poor
house
and was
buried
in
New
York
by the
Sisters
of
Charity
. In
late
the
1990s
the
remains
of
Margaret
and her
son
Harman
Jr
. were
moved
to
Blennerhassett
Island
and
buried
near
the
mansion
,
which
had been
reconstructed
on its
original
foundation
during
the
1980s
and
early
1990s
. The
island
is
now
a
West
Virginia
historical
state
park
.
Date of Original
ca.
1810
Collection
Dolores
Cameron
Venable
Source
P
86
;
Box
1
,
folder
8
Format
Picture
;
Drawing
;
Black-and-white
photograph
Submitting Institution
Ohio Historical Society
Rights
Online access is provided for research purposes only. For rights and reproduction requests or more information, go to
http://www.ohiohistory.org/images/information
Type
StillImage
File Name
AL05838.tif
Image Height
2011
Image Width
2011
File Size
16955944 Bytes
Date created
2011-08-05
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