Waterston, Anna Cabot Lowell Quincy, 1812-1899

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Anna Cabot Lowell Quincy was born June 27, 1812 in Boston, Massachusetts. She was the youngest daughter of Josiah Quincy III, who served as president of Harvard University, U.S. Representative, and Mayor of Boston. Her mother was Eliza Susan Morton Quincy. Anna's grandfather, Josiah Quincy II, had also served as mayor of Boston, as did her brother, Josiah. Her other siblings were: Eliza, Abigail, Maria, Margaret, and Edmund.

On April 21, 1840, she married Rev. Robert C. Waterston (1812–93). After passing two years in Europe, and, just as they were all about to return home, their daughter, Helen Ruthven Waterston (1841 - July 25, 1858), died at Naples, Italy.

Some of Waterston's verses were printed in 1863, in a small volume. She also published articles in the Atlantic Monthly. Her sobriquets included, "A. C. Q. W.", and "W. A. C. Q.".

In 1870, after visiting Jeanne Carr, Waterston left Oakland, California for Yosemite. Waterston was able to gather around her a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. She knew well and was intimately associated with many of the most distinguished people of the former generation. When her father entertained Lafayette, she was a school girl, but the occasions made such an impression upon her mind that she retained a vivid remembrance of it in later years. The cause of the blind was important to her ever since the establishment of the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts School for the Blind.

Waterston died October 14, 1899, at her home, No. 526 Massachusetts Avenue, in Newton, Massachusetts, where she lived since 1860, and is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. Her carved marble bust was sculpted by Edmonia Lewis and is held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. In 2003, her diary, written at the age of seventeen, was posthumously published under the title A Woman's Wit and Whimsy.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Waterston, Anna Cabot Lowell Quincy, 1812-1899. Together : autograph manuscript copy of the poem, 1863 July 18. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Oliver Wendell Holmes letters from various correspondents, 1820-1894 Houghton Library
referencedIn Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874. Correspondence, 1829-1874 Houghton Library
creatorOf Greene, Mary C. Gardiner Greene family genealogy, 1832-1891. Massachusetts Historical Society
creatorOf Gay, Frederick Lewis, 1856-1916. Papers, ca. 1690-ca. 1890. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Letters to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1761-1904 (inclusive), 1820-1888 (bulk) Houghton Library
referencedIn Samuel Gray Ward and Anna Hazard Barker Ward papers, 1823-1934 (inclusive) 1837-1900 (bulk). Houghton Library
creatorOf Quincy, Eliza Susan Morton, 1773-1850. Manuscript diary copied by her daughters from scraps of paper on which Mrs. Quincy, wife of Josiah : had recorded her reminiscences of life in New York city and with prominent families throughout New England, plus numerous letters, portraits, newspaper clippings, and scraps of paper laid in, to and from other members of the family as well. University of Wisconsin - Madison, General Library System
creatorOf Quincy, Josiah Phillips, 1829-1910. Letters to Helen Frances Huntington Quincy, ca. 1880-1910. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Century Company records New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
creatorOf Waterston, Helen Ruthven, 1841-1858. Helen Ruthven Waterston diaries, 1823-1859; bulk: 1855-1859. Massachusetts Historical Society
creatorOf Waterston, Anna Cabot Lowell Quincy, 1812-1899. Sketchbook, ca. 1835. Boston Athenaeum
referencedIn Loring, Charles G. (Charles Greely), 1794-1867. Papers, 1768-1866 Houghton Library
referencedIn Henry Oscar Houghton papers, 1773-1932 (bulk 1833-1895) Houghton Library
referencedIn Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874. Correspondence, 1829-1874 Houghton Library
referencedIn Woman's Education Association (Boston, Mass.). Woman's Education Association records, 1871-1935. Massachusetts Historical Society
referencedIn Phillips, Wendell, 1811-1884. Papers, 1555-1882 (bulk: 1833-1881) Houghton Library
referencedIn Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866. Jared Sparks collection of American manuscripts, 1582-1843 Houghton Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
correspondedWith Century Company corporateBody
correspondedWith Dellenbaugh, Frederick Samuel, 1853-1935 person
associatedWith Fields, Annie, 1834-1915, person
associatedWith Gay, Frederick Lewis, 1856-1916. person
associatedWith Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1809-1894 person
correspondedWith Houghton, Henry Oscar, 1823-1895 person
correspondedWith Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882 person
associatedWith Loring, Charles G. (Charles Greely), 1794-1867 person
correspondedWith Phillips, Wendell, 1811-1884 person
sibling of Quincy, Edmund, 1808-1877 person
sibling of Quincy, Eliza Susan, 1798-1884 person
childOf Quincy, Eliza Susan Morton, 1773-1850. person
sibling of Quincy, Josiah, 1802-1882 person
childOf Quincy, Josiah Phillips, 1829-1910. person
associatedWith Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866 person
associatedWith Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874 person
associatedWith Ward, Samuel Gray. person
parentOf Waterston, Helen Ruthven, 1841-1858. person
associatedWith Woman's Education Association (Boston, Mass.) corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Newton MA US
Boston MA US
Quincy MA US
New Haven CT US
Subject
Diaries
Diarists
Novelists
Poets
Writers
Occupation
Writer
Activity

Person

Birth 1812-06-27

Death 1899-10-14

Female

Americans

English

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