She knew poverty and wealth, wifely obedience and independence, sorrows and joys.
She knew poverty and wealth, obedience and independence, sorrows and joys.
After their long trip to Europe, Harry and Mary Converse were happy to return home. They still lived in his parents’ house even though they had already begun to build their own residence. Harry hired Tristram Griffin, a well-known architect of the Greater Boston area and Massachusetts. A native of Gloucester, during the Civil War Griffin served with a regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers. After the end of the war he moved to Malden, where he practiced architecture. His architectural offices were on 114 State St., Boston and 172 Washington St., Malden. Many of his apprentices also became famous architects.
In Malden, Griffin designed the Opera House, YMCA, Home for Aged Persons, courthouse, schools and municipal buildings, and firehouses.
Converse’s 32-room mansion – a gift from his father - was built in May 1893. It was located close to Elisha Converse’s – at the corner of Main and Appleton Streets. The house included a large hall, reception room, music room, library, dining room, and two piazzas.
Mary, who had no experience managing such a house, regularly asked her mother for advice.
The couple often traveled to New York where Mary could enjoy the latest plays and dine at the finest restaurants. But soon family duties cut into their activities.
Their first son, Elisha Edmands, was born in 1894, their daughter Margaret in 1896, and their second son Parker in 1897.
In 1897 Harry became the vice-president of the Boston Rubber Shoe Company.
After a short period of “civil life”, Harry continued his military service.
After the explosion of the U.S. battleship “Maine” in the Havana harbor on February 15, 1898, the newspapers blamed the Spanish army for the tragedy. This “inflamed” many Americans, who demanded immediate retaliation, refusing all attempts of President McKinley and House Speaker Thomas B. Reed to solve the problem diplomatically. As a result, at the end of April the Navy began the blockade of Cuba which led to the formal declaration of war by Spain and the U.S. However, the Navy didn’t have enough ships for the blockade. The American fleet included only 6 battleships, 2 armored cruisers, 13 protected cruisers, 6 steel monitors, 8 old iron monitors, 33 unprotected cruisers and gunboats, 6 torpedo boats, and 12 tugs. There were no colliers, supply vessels, transports, hospitals, or repair ships. So, in order to improve the situation, on March 9, 1898, Congress passed a $50 million emergency defense appropriation bill that provided funds for the acquisition of vessels. In total, the Navy had purchased or leased 103 warships and auxiliaries. In 1898 the naval board enlisted the services of Harry and his yacht “Penelope”. The 218' steam yacht was purchased by the Navy, renamed the “Yorktown,” and used as a battleship tender for patrol and blockade duty.
Governor Wolcott appointed Colonel Harry Converse the acting quartermaster for the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. During a month, 30,000 American soldiers and 25,000 volunteers were sent to Havana. The war was short and victorious for the Americans: after 10 weeks Spain lost sovereignty over Cuba, and sold the Philippine Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam to the U.S. for $20 million.
Governor Wolcott participated in the celebration of the 250th anniversary of Malden not only as a state official, but also as a friend of Converse family. Despite the large age difference, Gov. Roger Wolcott and Harry Converse were close friends for many years. A few times Harry Converse invited Gov. Wolcott on short cruises aboard his yacht. Mary Converse and Mrs. Wolcott as well as their children were also friends. The Converses’ third son Roger Wolcott (“Govy”) Converse, who was born in 1900, was named after Governor Wolcott, who untimely died from typhoid a few months later.
Over the course of all these years, Mary not only learned how to manage the large house, raise children and be a good companion to her husband, but also how to entertain numerous guests, to drive and to sail aboard the yacht.
In 1902, she gave birth to her fifth child - Mary. Despite the large family, she didn’t consider herself a matron and was always ready to pursue different paths, either singing, composing, or writing.
Inna Babitskaya is a regular contributor to the Malden Observer.
Converse, M. A. Captain Mary.
Hall, C. W. Regiments and armories of Massachusetts; an historical narration of the Massachusetts volunteer militia, with portraits and biographies of officers past and present.
Memorial of the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Malden, MA. May, 1899.
Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
