Beatrice Farnham (February 5, 1876 – February 19, 1979) was a 20th-century American artist and entrepreneur who was notable for her
native-American
Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States (Indigenous peoples of Hawaii, Alaska and territories of the United States are ...
-inspired fashion and handicrafts, her impassioned defense of tribal culture in
newspaper interviews, and her outdoor wedding ceremony with noted Colorado park ranger
John Otto.
Early life
Beatrice was born February 5, 1876, in
Jefferson, Maine
Jefferson is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,551 at the 2020 census. Damariscotta Lake State Park, a popular Mid Coast swimming, canoeing and picnic area, is located within the town limits.
History
Jefferso ...
.
[State of Colorado, Marriage Record Report, No. 2692]
/ref>[New York State Passenger card, October 5, 1958]
/ref> She was the daughter of Briggs C. Farnham, a farmer who was born in Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
and lived in South Weymouth, Massachusetts ("To Work Is to Conquer")
, image_map = Norfolk County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Weymouth highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in Norfolk County in Massa ...
, and Minerva or Minnie C. Farnham. She was "brought up in a prim New England style in an ultra-conservative village" in a house that was more than a century old.[1880 U.S. Cens]
/ref>["Love at the Crossing of the Trails," ''Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Press,'' June 18, 1911, image 48]
/ref>[Commonwealth of Virginia Death Certificate]
/ref>
In the 1880 census, the four-year-old girl was listed as Flover B. Farnham[ or Flora B. Farnham.][
She was graduated with Honours degree, high honors from the Hopkins Art Institute in San Francisco, California, with a specialty of the art of the American Indian. She went among Indian tribes to study their decorations of "pottery, leather things, cloth and ]basketry
Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...
."[
In 1904 Farnham, who had been living in Boston, purchased the Ebenezer Vinson homestead on Randolph Street, South Weymouth, and said she intended to use it as a summer home.
]
Business
In the 1910s she was living at 116 Randolph in Weymouth, Massachusetts ("To Work Is to Conquer")
, image_map = Norfolk County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Weymouth highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in Norfolk County in Massa ...
. Her occupation was given as "designer."
Farnham spent three months a year "among the Indians of various tribes, gathering ideas for her work," and for six months she made articles "required by the chain of stores she supplies." She made "Indian novelties, such as curtains, cushions, baskets and indoor decorations." She traveled for three months to various cities in search of business and taking orders.[
In September 1910, Sarah Comstock interviewed Farnham for '']Collier's
''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...
'' magazine, for an article on women farmers. Farnham told the writer that:
I had a studio, and I worked, worked, worked, until I began to feel the pressure — it got heavier and heavier, and I saw what might happen. So I set to work among the chickens. It's wonderful, the lullaby to nerves that lies in their clucks and cheeps. ... But my designing is my real work.
Interests
Native American culture
In 1911, two major newspapers reported Farnham's interest in Native American culture. "The more I see of this boasted civilization, the more I like – Indians," she told Marguerite Martyn
Marguerite Martyn (September 26, 1878 – April 17, 1948) was an American journalist and political cartoonist with the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' in the early 20th century. She was noted as much for her published sketches as for her articles.
...
of the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-Dem ...
''.["'The More I See of Civilization the More I Like — Indians,'" February 26, 1911, image 1]
/ref> She added:
Civilization! Why the Navajos have a civilization that is older and more tried and true than this. It makes ours look pallid and sickly. Culture? I know old Indians who are more cultured in the real sense of the word than your so-called polished men of the East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
. All Indians have an inborn sense of courtesy and hospitality toward strangers that would forbid such manners as cultivated strangers have shown me here this morning.
The Indians, she told Gertrude Gordon of the ''Pittsburgh Press,'' are "true, honest people, in the main, and the men are absolutely trustworthy, which is more than I can say of some of our white men."[
]
Other
The May 28, 1910, issue of ''Collier's'' noted that Farnham "is investigating our great river highways by means of her own motorboat. She runs the ''Aloha'' herself, has covered hundreds of miles on the Ohio and its tributaries, and contemplates going down the Mississippi iver
Iver is a large civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park.
Geography, transport and economy
Part of the 43-square- ...
on her next outing."
In August 1910, Farnham placed a classified advertisement
Classified advertising is a form of advertising, particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals, which may be sold or distributed free of charge. Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements used ...
in the ''Cincinnati Enquirer'' to sell a "new motor boat, fully equipped for cruising, size 32x8-1/2 feet; heavy duty engine; cost $1,800; ... at big sacrifice if at once; stored at Havana, Ill. Adress '' ic' Miss Beatrice Farnham, South Weymouth, Mass."
A newspaper report in 1911 said that Farnham found South Weymouth "deadly dull and earby
Earby is a town and civil parish within the Borough of Pendle, Lancashire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, Earby has been administered by Lancashire County Council since 1974 and regularly cele ...
Boston far too prim. What's more, she was given to shocking folks with her frank, outspoken opinions on men, women and things."[
After her wedding to John Otto in 1911 (below), she publicized her interest in setting up an "Independence Colony" near ]Grand Junction, Colorado
Grand Junction is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 65,560 at the 2020 United States Census, making Grand Junction the 17th mos ...
, where "girls of high society and the daughters of working men will be brought together to be taught new ideals of a sane American life."["To Discard Corsets in Independence Colony," ''The Leader,'' Regina, Saskatchewan, August 15, 1911, page 7]
/ref>["Establish a Girls' Colony," "The Daily Republican," Rushville, Indiana, September 1, 1911, page 6]
/ref>
We will discard corsets
A corset is a support garment commonly worn to hold and train the torso into a desired shape, traditionally a smaller waist or larger bottom, for aesthetic or medical purposes (either for the duration of wearing it or with a more lasting effe ...
, and rats
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' (pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...
, and puffs, and powder
A powder is a dry, bulk solid composed of many very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms ''powder'' and ''granular'' are sometimes used to distin ...
and give the girls the real complexion. Tan is a good asset for anyone, man or woman. . . . Cigarettes and cocktails
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...
will be tabooed.
Physical appearance
In 1911, at age 35, Farnham was "fully six feet tall, athletic, wiry and bubbling over with high spirits." She had a "lithe figure and sun-tanned features" with "snappy eyes and wholesome ways."[
]She dressed as her whim dictated. Whenever she came to a settlement, folks saw that she wore a costume half Indian, half cowgirl. Her skirt, made of leather as soft as silk, was of the divided pattern, fringed and beaded, and deftly decorated with insertions of bright yellow leather. . . . Her hat was always a sombrero
A sombrero (Spanish , ) is a type of wide-brimmed Mexican men's hat used to shield the face and eyes from the sun. It usually has a high pointed crown, an extra-wide brim (broad enough to cast a shadow over the head, neck and shoulders of the we ...
, sometimes with a burnt leather band and sometimes with beads.
Another writer in the same year noted that Farnham was a "very tall, slender girl, carrying a leather saddlebag rolled and strapped into a package easily handled. On her head she wore a Western sombrero, wide of brim and wound with a leather strap. Another strap passed under the coils of her tightly braided hair," and she used no hatpin
A hatpin is a decorative and functional pin for holding a hat to the head, usually by the hair. In Western culture, hatpins are almost solely used by women and are often worn in a pair. They are typically around in length, with the pinhead bei ...
. She carried a "beautifully dyed" quirt
A quirt is a short whip associated with the Southwestern United States. It often has a braided leather lash.
The falls on a quirt is made of leather, usually cowhide. The core of the quirt can be a leather bag filled with lead shot; the main p ...
made of horsehair
Horsehair is the long hair growing on the manes and tails of horses. It is used for various purposes, including upholstery, brushes, the bows of musical instruments, a hard-wearing fabric called haircloth, and for horsehair plaster, a wallc ...
, which, she said, was "weighted with buckshot and would fell a man if wielded by a strong hand."[Gertrude Gordon, "Bay State Girl, Who Ha Lived Much Among the Indians, Pays Visit Here," ''The Pittsburgh Press,'' February 26, 1911, image 11]
/ref>
Marriages
To John Otto
Farnham and John Otto met in 1910 at a camp in the desert about fifty miles from Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
. She returned a year later with three friends, where she renewed her friendship with Otto. They became engaged, and, instead of a ring, he gave her a burro
The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...
named Foxy.[
She wanted to be married on top of Independence Rock, Colorado, now called ]Colorado National Monument
Colorado National Monument is a National Park Service unit near the city of Grand Junction, Colorado. Sheer-walled canyons cut deep into sandstone and granite–gneiss–schist rock formations. This is an area of desert land high on the Colorado ...
, but Otto declined because he didn't believe he could find any clergyman who could make the dangerous climb.[ Instead, the two agreed to be married at the foot of Temple Rock.][
They were wed June 20, 1911, at the base of Independence Monument "on a narrow ledge a hundred feet from the ground" and reached by a trail sawn out of the solid rock by the bridegroom." She wore a wedding dress of white satin with a veil, the same one worn by her mother and grandmother. (Another source says the gown was her mother's and the veil and scarf were her grandmother's.) After a wedding dinner over a campfire, prepared by the bride, they changed their clothes, and the couple climbed Independence Rock, where they repeated vows "of their own devising."]["Wed on Altar of Quartz and Granite," ''Quad City Times," Davenport, Iowa, June 21, 1911, page 1]
/ref>
Alan J. Kania, ''Colorado National Monument'',
Arcadia Publishing, 2009[
Another report stated:
]Although newspapers in other regions later reported the wedding had occurred "550 Feet in the Air, on Top of Independence Rock," the wedding actually took place near the base of Independence Monument. But, after the ceremony, Otto and his friend, Whipple Chester, climbed to the top of the spire.
Chester, the best man
A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony and performs the first speech at the wedding. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be ...
at the wedding, recalled that the wedding site was "about 300 feet from the base of Independence Mountain,"[ where Otto had built an altar
]about five feet in diameter, a circle made with white bits of quartz rock, flint, etc. . . . Room for just the two of them to stand in, facing north, towards the valley and the river. Arrows pointed to the four directions, and inside were the words – "Truth," "Love," "Faith," "Honor." They stood on a soft carpet of cedar boughs . . .[Al Look, "Newsman Clears Up Fact, Myth on John Otto, National Monument," ''The Daily Sentinel,'' Grand Junction, Colorado, March 21, 1955, page 6]
/ref>
The marriage ended two months after it began, when Farnham "went back to her home near Boston, purportedly to collect some belongings and settle affairs" but did not return.[
Mrs. Otto (Farnham) wrote to Chester that "I tried hard to live his way, but I could not do it. I could not live with a man to whom even a cabin was an encumbrance. He wanted to live in tents or without tents, outdoors."][
They agreed to separate for five years and decide on their future later.]["Girl Who First Wed Hermit Is Now the Bride of a Cowboy," ''New Castle (Pennsylvania) News,'' March 29, 1915 (with photograph of Farnham)]
/ref> They were divorced in February 1914, and Farnham paid $2,000 in alimony
Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial suppo ...
to Otto.[
]
To Dallas Benson
Farnham was married in April 1915 to Dallas Benson, a Kansas cowboy and ranch foreman, whom she had met on a train. Afterward, the couple was known for an equestrian trick called "Chasing the Bride" in which she leapt from her horse into his arms as they were riding side by side.[Bob Silbernagel, "John Otto's Adventurous Bride Sought Life Beyond Rock Cave," ''The Daily Sentinel,'' Grand Junction, Colorado, February 13, 2017, page 3A]
/ref> It is not known when, or if, the two were divorced.
Later life and death
In 1920, Farnham and her mother were living on F Street in Washington, D.C., and she gave her occupation as bookkeeper for the government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
By 1930, the two had moved to Meadows of Dan, Patrick County, Virginia, where Farnham became known as "Miss Bea." She built a private chapel on her property along the Dan River
The Dan River flows in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia. It rises in Patrick County, Virginia, and crosses the state border into Stokes County, North Carolina. It then flows into Rockingham County. From there it flows back int ...
and painted a fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
on its walls.[ She was called a "renowned church artist and patron of Patrick County youth. She was an honorary member of the first ]order of St. Francis
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
."
She journeyed to Israel via El Al
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (, he, אל על נתיבי אויר לישראל בע״מ), trading as El Al (Hebrew: , "Upwards", "To the Skies" or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ar, إل-عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural ...
in 1958.[
Farnham died at the age of 103 on February 19, 1979, at Memorial Hospital in ]Stuart, Virginia
Stuart is a town in Patrick County, Virginia, where it is the county seat. The population was 1,408 at the 2010 census. The town of Stuart was named after Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, of nearby Ararat, Virginia.
History
Incorporation (1753 ...
. Burial was at Mountain View Methodist Church cemetery in Meadows of Dan.["Remembering: Historic7thStreet.org," Kathy Jordan, "John Otto's Marriage Ill-Fated for Reclusive Pioneer," undated, with photo]
/ref>
Tributes
In 1991 and 1992, forest ranger Lisa Eckert portrayed Beatrice Farnham in campfire presentations for visitors to the Colorado National Monument
Colorado National Monument is a National Park Service unit near the city of Grand Junction, Colorado. Sheer-walled canyons cut deep into sandstone and granite–gneiss–schist rock formations. This is an area of desert land high on the Colorado ...
and to the Museum of Western Colorado."Timeout: Monument Program," ''The Daily Sentinel,'' April 1, 1992, image 16
/ref>
References
External links
Mesa County Marriage Record Report (John Otto), June 20, 1911
"To Have Odd Wedding," ''Tampa Morning Tribune,'' Florida, June 4, 1911
(with headshot of Beatrice Farnham)
"Strange Wedding in a Mountain Canyon," ''The Times,'' Montgomery, Alabama, June 19, 1911, image 6
Al Look, "John Otto: Dreamer, Legend," ''The Daily Sentinel,'' Grand Junction, Colorado, July 4, 1976, image 35
1910 U.S. Census
1940 U.S. census
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farnham, Beatrice
1876 births
1979 deaths
20th-century American women artists
Artists from Maine