Emma Crow (April 3, 1839 – September 15, 1920) was an American author, notable for her lesbian relationship with actress

Charlotte Cushman Charlotte Saunders Cushman (July 23, 1816 – February 18, 1876) was an American stage actress. Her voice was noted for its full contralto register, and she was able to play both male and female parts. She lived intermittently in Rome, in an expa ...

, whose nephew she was persuaded to marry in order to camouflage their relationship.

Early life

Crow was born April 3, 1839, in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the daughter of

Wayman Crow Wayman Crow (March 7, 1808 – May 10, 1885) was one of the founders of Washington University, a St. Louis businessman, and a politician. Early life Born in Hartford, Kentucky on March 7, 1808, Crow was the youngest of eight children. His paren ...

, a businessman, politician, philanthropist, and founder of

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

, and Isabella Buck Conn. She had three sisters: Cornelia Carr, Mary Emmons, and Isabella Kealhofer as well as one brother, Wayman Crow Jr.

Career

Emma Crow did not pursue her career until later in life when she wrote two books. The first, ''Insight; a Record of Psychic Experiences: a Series of Questions and Answers Dealing with the World of Facts, and the World of Ideas and the World of Realities Among Death'', was published in 1918 and the second, ''Shadows in the Glass'', was published in 1920.

Personal life

Emma Crow met actress Charlotte Cushman in St. Louis, Missouri in 1858. Cushman had come to St. Louis for a two week engagement where she planned to meet Emma’s father, her friend

Harriet Hosmer Harriet Goodhue Hosmer (October 9, 1830 – February 21, 1908) was a neoclassical sculptor, considered the most distinguished female sculptor in America during the 19th century. She is known as the first female professional sculptor. Among other ...

's patron, in order to receive financial advice. Emma saw Cushman as

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...

in '' Romeo and Juliet'' and wrote in her diary that she was the “incarnation of the ideal lover”, even though Cushman was twenty-two years her senior. Emma’s father introduced the two women shortly after and for the remainder of Cushman’s engagement Emma stayed in her company. Together they took long rides in the afternoons along the Mississippi and visited in Cushman’s dressing room before her performances. By the time the two weeks were up Cushman was calling Emma her “little lover”. However, Cushman was already “married” to another woman with the same first name,

Emma Stebbins Emma Stebbins (1 September 1815 - 25 October 1882) was an American sculptor and the first woman to receive a public art commission from New York City. She was best known for her work ''Angel of the Waters (1873)'', also known as Bethesda Fountain ...

. In order to keep Emma (Crow) close to her and her “wife’s” jealousy at bay, Cushman encouraged Emma (Crow) to marry her nephew and adopted son, Ned Cushman. Although Emma’s father was initially hesitant, Cushman convinced him of Ned’s competence and Emma and Ned were married on April 3, 1861. Emma had five boys with Ned: Wayman Crow Cushman, Allerton Seward Cushman, Edwin Charles Cushman, Victor N. Cushman, and Guy Cushman. However, their marriage couldn’t compete with the passion Emma felt for Cushman as they continued to exchange loving letters until Cushman’s death.

Death

Emma Crow Cushman died of pneumonia on September 15, 1920 in Bar Harbor, Maine. She is buried at the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts along with her husband and two of her sons.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crow, Emma 1839 births 1920 deaths American lesbian writers Writers from St. Louis 20th-century American women writers LGBT people from Missouri