Rekindling an 18th-century love affair

The tale of an 18th-century love story between two prominent historical Gloucester figures will come to life at a special program on Saturday at the Cape Ann Museum.

Bonnie Hurd Smith, author of "Mingling Souls upon Paper: An Eighteenth-Century Love Story," will present a reading, talk and book signing. The two figures are Judith Sargent Murray (1751-1820) and her second husband, Universalist preacher John Murray (1741-1815).

Judith Sargent Murray was one of the nation's earliest feminists, an essayist and playwright. John Murray established the first Universalist church in the United States in Gloucester.

The letters in Smith's book trace their 14-year friendship while Judith was married to her first husband, and subsequently the Murray's controversial marriage, and their 27 years together as husband and wife when John was the "choice of her heart" and Judith was his "ever devoted wife."

He met Judith when she was 23 years old and married to John Stevens of Gloucester. Murray was a friend to the Sargent family. She was widowed in 1787. The couple, who had corresponded since their first meeting, married the next year.

Smith, a native of Concord, has been studying and promoting Judith Sargent Murray for 20 years as both a scholar and communications professional.

She said their story is poignant for many reasons, one being that the two had a long friendship before they could be married. At the time of Stevens' death, John Murray had to leave Gloucester for his safety because he had angered some local Protestant leaders on Cape Ann and it was not clear that he could return. However, he was able to resume his life here in Gloucester.

Additionally, Judith's siblings did not approve of the marriage, and when they were married, he traveled constantly to preach and organize.

In the end, he had a stroke and she remained by his beside for almost six years.

"We know about Judith as an essayist and playwright and Murray as the founder of organized Universalism in America. We know about them as professionals, but we didn't know about their love story, and the only way we do know it now is through her letters," Smith said. "His personal correspondence is missing, with the exception of a few letters here and there. What remains largely is his business letters, and it's quite likely that she burned his personal correspondence at his request."

If it were not for the discovery about 20 years ago of Judith Sargent Murray's letter books, in which were the duplicates of her original letters, their personal story would not have been told.

"It's a beautiful story. She was a passionate writer and very dramatic," Smith said. "But it's also very sad because for the last six years of his life he was paralyzed by his stroke and she had to take care of him. When he died, she had to move to Mississippi with her daughter but she wanted to die in the same bed as he did. In death they lay thousands of miles apart."

What: Bonnie Hurd Smith, author of "Mingling Souls upon Paper: An Eighteenth-century Love Story," presents reading and book signing. In the 1990s, Smith served as president of the Sargent House Museum in Gloucester, which was Murray's home. Since then, she has written, designed, and self-published three books on Murray's letters, and published four monographs of her essays.

Where: The Cape Ann Museum at 27 Pleasant St. in Gloucester. The museum is wheelchair accessible. For information call 978-283-0455 or visit www.capeannmuseum.org.

Photos

"Mingling Souls upon Paper: An Eighteenth-Century Love Story," a book by Bonnie Hurd Smith is the topic of a presentation at the Cape Ann Museum on Saturday. The book, based on letters nearly 200 years old, tells the tale of two historical Gloucester figures, feminist and writer Judith Sargent Murray (1751-1820) and her second husband, Universalist preacher John Murray (1741-1815). Courtesy photo