With Issue #14 now completed, I figured you all might be interested in knowing what happened to the Warrens after they left us here in the pages of The Dreamer. Today’s guest blog on the matter is graciously provided by Dr. Samuel Forman:
Lora asked me to contribute a guest blog entry about the fates of Joseph Warren’s children and of his brothers on the occasion of Dreamers bidding them all farewell. Readers are getting ready to follow Beatrice Whaley back to the 21st century.
Check out Sam's book to learn much, much more!
I am the modern biographer of Joseph Warren, so these kinds of invitations come to me. I thought of politely declining. June is a busy month for enthusiasts of early Revolutionary Era events and personalities. In the course of a few weeks I note an observance of Joseph Warren’s 271st birthday at the Bunker Hill Monument; an encampment at the same place on June 16-17 of the Charlestown Militia in honor of the 237th anniversary of the battle and Joseph Warren’s untimely demise there; and a ceremony at Forest Hills Cemetery on June 23rd. Dreamers in the vicinity are always welcome at these events.
Despite these commitments, I thought better of begging off. Mrs. Innes wields powerful means of persuasion. In addition to exhibiting a razor sharp talent, she could threaten to draw me, as an honorary member of Knowlton’s volunteers, in a gruesome end at Bunker Hill alongside Joseph Warren. This would be The Dreamer equivalent of inserting pins into a voodoo doll made in my likeness. Consider me persuaded.
Elizabeth Hooton Warren had a brief appearance in The Dreamer. She's not much older than Alan in this scene.
Elizabeth Hooton Warren (about 1748-May 23, 1773) was mother to Joseph Warren’s four children. Their eldest child, Elizabeth, was born in 1765, about a year after her parent’s marriage on September 6, 1764. Fictional Beatrice and Alan Warren take note: this Mrs. Warren was just 17 years old when she married.
There are almost as many Elizabeths associated with 18th century Warrens as there are Josephs. To avoid confusion, I hope Lora will insert a helpful Warren family tree here. The latter Elizabeth is the one pictured with her fictional cousin Alan in the adorable group hug. Young Elizabeth even speaks in The Dreamer about, “The latter.” She apparently is the only 10 year old in the entire 18th century to speak that way. This Elizabeth was notable to contemporaries in other ways.
"So I know big words. Sue me. I don't want to wind up just another shoeless Warren."
Miss Mercy Scollay, widower Joseph Warren’s fiancée at the time of his demise, campaigned to raise Elizabeth and her three younger siblings – “Jose” (Joseph IV, born 1767), “Dickie” (Richard, b. 1769), and “Polly” (Mary, b. 1772). The children’s lots in life were rocky, particularly right after their father’s death at Bunker Hill. They were left orphans in the care of fiancée Mercy Scollay as refugees in Worcester (about 30 miles west of Boston). Their prior life with daddy among a busy medical practice in Boston was wrenchingly and irretrievably lost, what with Boston being occupied by hostile British during the Siege of Boston (April 20, 1775 to March 17, 1776) and father lying dead and hastily buried near British-occupied Bunker Hill.
Mercy Scollay captured those chaotic first days in a letter to John Hancock, then president of the Second Continental Congress. In it she captures her own anxieties and the beginning of the children being shuffled between her and Roxbury Warrens. Mercy writes of her initial interactions with Joseph’s brother Ebenezer. Warning: have two hankies handy.
“…the Doctor’s brother, who is the farmer came up [to Worcester by early July 1775 in the weeks following Dr. Joseph Warren’s death in battle] in order to take from me the two little boys [i.e. Jose and Dickie], I remonstrated against those proceedings, begged as they were so happily placed from danger in the asylum which their Papa had hope for their residence and under the care of those he confided in that they would permit them to remain with me at least `til there was more safety nearer Boston. I told him what you [John Hancock] had said respecting Josey and that I had wrote your aunt concerning Betsey and as I was ready to give them all the instruction their little minds was capable of receiving at present that it a pity they should be deprived of those advantages by a separation. He was very thankful to Mr. Hancock for his kindness but Mr. H[ancock] never said anything to them about the matter and [Ebenezer Warren] seemed to doubt my word as to your proposals. He said their grandmother [Mrs. Mary Stevens Warren] wanted to see them and that very hard they should be kept from her as it was impossible anybody could love them so well as blood relations. I found it was in vain to oppose their measures and with as cheerful an air as I could assume gave up my two little boys, thankful that they had left me the dear little girls [Betsey and Polly], and I hoped something would intervene that might countenance my detaining them as they claimed my fondest attention. For two months I was actuated by the most anxious hopes and distressing fears, I heard nothing from them all this time and was ignorant of their determination `til the uncle [Ebenezer] again made his appearance for the purpose of taking from me the other two. Oh! Mr. Hancock, my pen here refuses to paint the same and my eyes are surcharged with tears as resolution brings to view the dear little creatures clinging round my neck, and begging everybody not to let uncle Eben take them from Miss Mercy. I said everything I could – so did my friend Mrs. Dix [and] the Dr. [Dix] was [away] from home. I offered to take the youngest [Polly] immediately as my own and did not doubt but I should be assisted by my friend in my care and I would with pleasure maintain her and myself should it please Heaven! To deny me the sight of my parents. This offer was likewise rejected and he intimated in an ambiguous manner that my anxiety for the children might be owing to my not having a place for myself. You may judge what an affect such a hint had upon me. I resented it as I thought I ought to, and believe it helped to support me thro’ the parting since w’h beggars description. They were taken from me in October [1775] and I did not see them until within this week [May 1776]. I made several attempts for that purpose but my friends dissuaded me from it. They said I had suffered enough and as I could not keep with `em, it would be a fresh opening an unhealed wound, since I’m to Town [i.e. back in Boston], I have been over to see them and find their tenderness for me unabated, Poor Betsey still cries to come and live with me, which my little favorite Polly joins her [plaintiff] voice to her sister’s and with a sensibility that would astonish you for one of her years discovers by her looks how rejoiced she would be at such a count.”
Poor kids! Poor Mercy! Eben comes off poorly here. But in his defense, what was the best thing to say and do in such an awful situation?
Mercy Scollay jousted with a Mrs. Elizabeth (Charles) Miller to host Elizabeth during the latter’s inoculation for smallpox following the British evacuation of Boston. Leading Patriot Samuel Adams supported Miss Scollay in her quest to look after Joseph’s children. Adams noted Elizabeth in 1777 as a promising young miss who was to be afforded the best education including reading, arithmetic, dancing and needlepoint. How could a young lady go wrong with that kind of education! At one point influential Daughter of Liberty, playwright, and poet Mercy Otis Warren offered to host and supervise the education of orphaned Elizabeth. William Eustis, former Spunker and medical apprentice of Joseph Warren’s, recalled Elizabeth fondly to his compatriot Dr. John Warren during their Continental military service. Perhaps Dr. Eustis had a crush on the tween.
Mercy Scollay’s campaign to adopt Warren’s orphaned children did not succeed, though…
Come back on Wednesday for Part 2 of this blog series to learn the young Warrens’ fates.
Whoa…..on Eben, that is. I mean, I knew they stayed with Mercy for a little while before staying with Jack. I just….didn’t….quite….expect the parting to be that….disagreeable? Is that the word? Still, that would explain a bit of Betsy’s mood (and hell, her presence) in that last bit of issue 14.
I know Mercy was emotional when she wrote this and… well, it *does* sounds like Eben took at least one low blow at her. But… they were all hurting at that moment. Other accounts of Ebenezer Warren depict him as a benevolent, gracious and warm man. I have no doubt that he was.
I have to side with Eben on this one. Grandma Mary Warren probably needed her babies around her. Mercy might’ve loved Joseph, and I’m sure that she did, but grandmas win out over girlfriends every time.
Was Eben being unreasonable and a stinker here, or not? We have 200+ year hindsight (far exceeding typical Monday morning quarter-backing) and an omniscient view – not to mention much missing documentation. It is not so clear to me that grandma was doing what was optimal for the kids. The Roxbury Warren farm was astride the American front lines on the Siege of Boston. Aside from Roxbury houses taking the occasional British cannon ball, townsfolk were under constant anxiety of a British raid or full scale attack. In contrast, Warren’s children would have been safe among friends and their adoring almost step-mom 30 miles away in Worcester. Complicating matters further: in another of Mercy’s letters, it comes out that Dr. Joseph did not get around to telling Jack (who was trying to orchestrate care of brother Joseph’s orphans) that Mercy was his fiancee. Dr. Joseph was certainly busy with momentous political and military affairs, but he inadvertently left personal and family affairs in disarray.
No, I get that guys, and I’m neither condoning or condemning — after all, they weren’t married yet. I’m just saying that I thought it would be more amicable than Eben snatching them from their not-quite-stepmom like that….and how long were they engaged, anyway? And were there ever plans for her to show up in the comic?
Also, question for Lora — would the final scene in the issue take place before or after that last meeting Miss Mercy mentions with melancholy? (Whoops, never mind — I just checked the page, and it said April. Alas…)
It was a fraught situation, any way you look at it. Mercy and Dr. Joseph were engaged for perhaps 2 to 3 months. In any case, there were no formal engagements as we would know them – no rings, no announcements, etc. In peacetime that usually worked out well enough. Throw in a war, the children in residence as refugees with Miss Scollay, and Joseph’s unexpected death – and things got complicated.
Miss Mercy Scollay does not appear in The Dreamer. The cast of characters already is large and, understandably, Beatrice and Alan Warren centric..This is an instance where readers, curious to learn more of the actual history, find that it deviates somewhat from the Dreamer-verse. When learning the actual fates of Joseph Warren’s children, Miss Mercy Scollay must make her appearance.
Brent, Dreamer isn’t 100% historical on this for two reasons: 1. A lot of where/when/with whom about the kids isn’t known so I get to make it up anyway. And 2. I left poor Mercy Scollay out of The Dreamer all together. She entered Joseph’s life so late, and she really has nothing to do with Bea or Alan. So she is never mentioned or fitted in the comic, or the new Three Days Ago short story.
Here’s where you all can go do some reading on your own! :)
Watch out, Lora – my next commission request may be of Joseph and Mercy sharing a big ole hug.
Miss Mercy probably dreamed of such a scene for a half century and the rest of her lonely life.
@Tamesin – Such a commission begs the issue of what Mercy Scollay actually looked like. Officially, no likenesses are known to exist. But I believe we now know from a newly attributed and previously mysterious painting. See the appendix on Mercy in my Warren biography. The adjectives elegant, dignified and regal have been used by critics over the years to describe the pictured lady before her identity was suggested as being Miss Mercy.
@Sam: I do remember reading that in your book (and I’ve got the Lady in a Blue Dress saved on my computer – the likeness to the other Scollays is pretty clear).
I’m also envisioning a literary portrayal of Mercy – a novel, or a one-woman play. There have been some beautiful works produced on lesser-known historical women. (Impatient With Desire by Gabrielle Burton comes to mind. It’s about Tamesin Eustis Donner. Yeah, we were there too…)
Tammy, your commissions are always the most fun! <3
@Lora: Wait…..this story isn’t one hundred percent accurate? JAW DROP!
Nah, just playing. In all honesty, that’s about what I figured. I’m only being so obsessive cuz I read about her and now (to paraphrase that announcer in Starship Troopers) I’m curious to know more.
……the dangers of reading a factional webcomic, right? ;-)
I hope to post on my blog soon the painting of the what @Sam1775 believes might be Mercy Scollay. I got permission from the copyright holder, just haven’t gotten there yet… I’ll post again here once I do.
So neat to read more about them! Thanks for posting!!! (will there be a dreamer update this Wednesday?)
Nope. We’ll start Issue #15 next weekend. I’m going out of town for the opening of the Nathan Hale School House event in New London, CT on Saturday. But, uh, I might be going up a day or two early and leaving a day late. Just… to get more history in. ;)
In any event, I took the week off from The Dreamer. Bea will be back on the Fourth!
You are welcome, Colette. Workaholic Lora’s idea of a vacation sounds like she is just working harder – on related and good things.
I hope my guest blogs will amuse and inform in the meantime this week. Seems like Lora is parachuting into replies to keep us on track. And to defend Eben’s honor.
Hahaha, yes, she sounds a lot like me. So neat to hear more about the Warrens, though! Excellent article :)
LOL. Sam’s guess is right. I called a “vacation” so you all would understand. But I do have a lot of behind the scenes work to catch up on other projects. Though… my extra day in Connecticut this week promises to be a good time! I’m headed out to Mystic Seaport with my parents for a day.
Mystic Seaport: where they do a 24-hour Moby Dick marathon to celebrate Herman Melville’s birthday. Herman Melville: who was the grandson of Mercy Scollay’s sister, Priscilla. Yeah, it’s all connected…
If you have time, drop by the free USS Nautilus Navy Submarine Museum in Groton, CT. Its big draw is to go aboard the first nuclear submarine in the world. But for Dreamer> fans, there is a full size mock-up and descriptions of Bushnell’s “Turtle.” This was a one-person Revolutionary War submarine which actually attempted to blow up British warships in New York harbor in 1776 – when fictional Beatrice and Alan had their romantic moonlight respite before the ominously quiet British fleet at anchor.
@Tamesin: What exactly goes on at the Moby Dick marathon? Is it a showing of one of the movie versions of the story, or some live-action thing?
@David: On the July 30th, they show the film Moby Dick with Gregory Peck. At noon on July 31st, a reenactor playing Herman Melville recites the first chapter of Moby Dick, then volunteers and audience members read the entire book aloud until they finish at noon August 1st – followed by a birthday cake celebration for Herm. For a fee, you can stay overnight on the whaleship Charles Morgan and participate. I plan to do it one of these years!
Jeez Louise that’s so sad. :( Custody battles suck no matter what century they’re in.
Agreed!!!
Caera, sadly it was not all warm and fuzzy. I just posted Mercy Scollay's first brush with Dr. John Warren here. Mercy’s miffed, in addition to everything else, because Jack has sold Joseph’s feather beds to George Washington! How could he do that? And little Elizabeth and Polly are being dragged along for the ride.
It’s curious how things get out of hand so quickly, over EVERYTHING, in these instances. Feather beds!
I love the comic. It’s real intense…but is she ever going to wake up again? It’s been awhile, I feel like she’s in a coma!!
Come back next week to find out. ;)
Bea HAS been “up” for a while. She probably forgot to set her alarm clock, or maybe it’s not a school day and she decided to “sleep in”. It doesn’t look like she’s been getting any “rest”, though!
I think as we speak she’s late to school, but decided to drive through Starbuzz nonetheless. Yvette is disappointed that she missed homeroom… only because she wanted to hear all the juicy details of last night’s dream. And Ben is worried that she’s standing him up… again.
I think all of this was happening at this exact moment: http://thedreamercomic.com/comic.php?id=402
I love all of this Mercy Scollay backstory, both here and on Sam’s site! It’s about time her tale gets told.
I’m going to take the side of wanting to punch Ebenezer in his (handsome) nose for the comment that Mercy was anxious about the children because she didn’t “have a place” for herself. It’s hard enough being single and childless (even by choice) in modern times; it must have been hell back then.
But the saving grace: Cousin Will possibly sweet on young Betsy. Stand aside, Alan! There’s a Eustis in the house!!!
This letter is not Eben’s finest hour – at least in Mercy’s eyes. And in Mercy’s August 15, 1775 letter just posted on my website, brother Jack suffers from hoof-in-mouth disease too. He is driving Mercy Scollay to suicidal ideas: “God All Mighty bless you and soon take from this World of trouble your unfortunate Friend.” Nice going, Jack! Mercy could have benefited from fictional Beatrice’s modern perspective: “I will end you.”
Man, I knew Jack can be a real jerk sometimes but…sheesh!
I would point out that Mercy stooped as low as Eben when she wrote, “I think my dear little girls too valuable to risque for the sake of seeing those who care so little for them,” but I’d be at risk of turning this comment thread into as catty of an episode as that apparently was.
I think the most civil way to settle this is a “Team Mercy” / “Team Eben/Jack” poll.
I call Team Mercy!!! (only for reality, though)
Team Mercy for me, too. (It’s not her fault Joseph may have forgotten to tell the family he wanted her to look after the kids.)
Uh-oh… I feel a t-shirt design coming on…
Oh god, I can just picture that…..or rather, this:
Joseph: *riding away on horse* ” And i want Mercy to raise the kids!”
Sam: “What did he say?”
Eben: “I think he said Mary.”
Sam: “Yeah, that’s what I heard.”
Jack: “Me too.”
Eben: “Good, that’s settled then.”
HAH! Good one.
Hey, it could’ve happened that way. I just spent an evening with my family’s genealogy (as Sam1775 can attest to), and darned if those ancestors can’t come up with original names, or names that don’t sound like other names. I mean, when your line reads something like “William, William, William, Benjamin, Benjamin, John, John, John, William”, you know they just started phoning it in after a while. Combine that with poor documentation, and any old person could end up raising your kids.
I aspire to be an objective historian, but I call Team Mercy.
Just noticed this in the August 1775 Mercy letter on my website. Mercy writes, “I have likewise seen their uncle [Dr.] John [Warren and] found him a good deal touchd with my letter he says his mother after she came from Worcester declar’d her mind more fully about having the children brought down…” Hmmm… Warm and fuzzy Mrs. Mary Stevens Warren went to Worcester at some point to check out Mercy Scollay’s refugee household there with the Dixes. SHE must have decided that the children should leave. Why? Too few cannon balls flying around to toughen up Warren children? Mary Warren may be the quarterback of team Eben/Jack. You know, the fellows who stomp all over Miss Mercy’s feelings only because she has the temerity to fulfill her pledge to their deceased brother and children she loves as if they were her own.
Oh if it’s Mercy vs. Mary I am team Mary Warren all the way. I understand and admire Mercy’s intentions. I just come out on the side of family. How could a woman who had only known those kids a short while love them more than their grandmother? Who was just as grieved over Joseph’s death as Mercy.
Maybe I just have an awesome family, that I feel this way. But from what I’ve read of the Warrens they had some pretty tight bonds too. I think family trumps girlfriend! And they’re not bad people for feeling the same way. Team Warren!!
*Raises hand*. I call team Eben/Jack!!
*high-five*
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