Edith Emerson & Thanksgiving
Portrait of Edith Emerson by William Furness on the occasion of her marriage to William Hathaway Forbes. The painting hangs in the Emerson House parlor, where the wedding took place.
Ralph Waldo and Lidian’s third child, Edith, was born on November 22, 1841. The younger, sociable daughter married William Hathaway Forbes at the age of 23, with her sister Ellen recording, “…down the walk went little Edith Emerson in her brown hat and dress, away from her father’s house for evermore…” Edith’s absence was deeply felt in the household. Birthday wishes were sent with invitations to come home a few days later for Thanksgiving, with her growing family—which eventually included eight children.
By the mid-19th century, Thanksgiving was a well-established and principal New England holiday, rooted in the combined tradition of Puritan thanks-giving fast days and harvest festival feasts. The date of annual celebrations was not fixed until 1863, and was celebrated irregularly from September through December. It was traditionally a day of charity and giving to the less fortunate. It was an important celebration in Emerson’s family, often held over two days into what he called “Good Friday” and his daughter Ellen referred to as “Second Thanksgiving.”
The first Thanksgiving celebrated at the Emersons’ home in Concord was likely in November 1836, about a month after Ralph Waldo and Lidian’s first child, Waldo, was born. Emerson delivered a sermon in Lexington and hosted his step-grandfather, Concord’s Reverend Ezra Ripley, and his aunt Sarah Ripley for dinner. Starting in 1849, the Emersons regularly filled their home with extended relations; twenty to thirty members of the Jackson and Emerson-Ripley families would gather in the Emersons’ dining room for a meal that lasted nearly three hours.
The Emerson House dining room as it looks today.
Preparations began weeks beforehand. The rooms were cleaned, the furniture rearranged, the silver polished, as many as fifty pies baked, and the raisins were de-stoned for hours the night before. Minced turnovers were served for breakfast, with a special duck-turn-over for Emerson (a favorite from his childhood). A typical Emerson family Thanksgiving dinner included: vermicelli soup, roasted turkeys and chickens, escalloped oysters, squash, cranberry sauce, sweet and white potatoes, and macaroni. Port, sherry, claret, and ale were served, while Edith’s small children drank their milk from wine glasses. For dessert: plum pudding; mince, apple, squash, and pumpkin pies; followed by coffee, fruits and nuts. A “flaming pudding” was a highlight and a tradition since 1846. The men then retired to the study for after-dinner cigars, and games such as blind-man’s bluff and rhyming charades ensued in the parlor and study. There were also annual poetry recitals, singing, and music at the piano—which was moved into Emerson’s study for the occasion.
As for so many of us this year, it was not every year that the family could all be together. Emerson’s lecture tours kept him from home several years. In 1866, Lidian wrote her son Edward, “Says Ellen, ‘What is Thanksgiving without Lizzie Simmons and Edward!’” Ellen wrote, “If other Thanksgivings are to be like this what shall we do? Well, I will stop lamenting…” (Letters). In 1871, Lidian and Ellen were unexpectedly the only members of the family at home—with fifty pies!
Whether together or far-apart, the Emersons were grateful for the well-being of their loved ones, sharing love and memories across the miles. As Emerson wrote in his essay “Friendship,” “I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.” We send grateful wishes to you and yours for a Happy Thanksgiving!
— B. Ewen, Emerson House guide
