Happy 98th Anniversary Ruby & Ganny!

From The Annals of Sandy Spring, Volume V, 1929-1947, edited by Herbert Osburn Stabler, published by American Publishing Co., copyright 1950, p. 181:  On June 7th [1940], the Brigham children gave Reuben and Marjorie a reception in honor of their 25th anniversary.

Translating for Richard Nixon

These photos were taken when Dad was serving in the Peace Corps in Santiago, Chile, in 1966 and 1967. My father, David Brigham, is the tall, thin young man pictured at the far left. This was during Richard Nixon's "wilderness years," the time between being Vice President and being elected President. Nixon was on a goodwill tour in Latin America, and during this stop in Santiago, Chile, my father acted as translator. The photos are remarkable considering Nixon's dismal view of the Peace Corps--he thought it would become a haven for draft-dodgers and tried to quietly dissolve the organization. My father served both in the Peace Corps and the US Army, so that's how much Tricky Dick knew.

Family homes

Initially I was working on this project for myself, but lately I realized that I'm really putting together a family history for my daughter Maureen. Hopefully one day she will enjoy these notes. Here are some small photos (borrowed from Google) showing the houses where Charlene, Theresa, Liz, Ken, and Rick--Maureen's grandparents--grew up.

More on Aunt Elsie

My dad's cousin Petie surprised me last night with two photographs of Aunt Elsie and an essay written by our Aunt Sissy. Although Elsie Brooke Snowden did not have any children of her own, her great-niece Petie definitely received Elsie's aesthetic inheritance. First, I would like to say a few words about Petie.

Artist Petie Brigham is a landscape painter working mostly in alkyd oils but I've seen some of her lovely watercolors and sketches as well. Her subjects are usually the sea, beaches, sounds and marshes of the Outer Banks. She studied painting in Woodstock, NY from 1969-73. Her approach to painting is to work from the abstract, loosely at first, toward realism. Petie layers paint opaquely and transparently, juxtaposing subtlety-mixed neutral colors against brighter more saturated color, until she achieves a sense of atmosphere and distance, but not necessarily detail, that reads to her eye. I am privileged to have two of her paintings hanging in my home. Petie Brigham lives and works on Roanoke Island. She is passionate, intelligent, and delightful to visit. Her work is custom-framed by Lynn Atkins Custom Framing in Manteo--Lynn is equally delightful. Petie's artwork is available through Greenleaf Art Gallery in Duck, North Carolina.

Marjorie Brigham Miller was the author of the essay below. We lovingly call her Aunt Sissy. She was Petie's aunt and my great-aunt. In turn, Aunt Elsie was Sissy's aunt and Petie's great-aunt. Sissy was 23 years old when Elsie died on December 21, 1945; Sissy was 72 years old when she wrote this down for Petie. There are some minor typos and historical inaccuracies, but I have not corrected them. I will share this essay with you as it was given to me, same as it was given to Petie. As Petie wrote to me, our Aunt Elsie "was a Mystery Woman in many respects."



Elsie Brooke Snowden

Excerpt from a letter written to my niece in Virginia with requested information about my Aunt Elsie Brooke Snowden. (Written in 1994 by Marjorie Brigham Miller)

This morning I have betaken myself to a faraway place, where only the green fields, distant hills, morning mist and lovely sounds of the birds claim my attention. Ever since you asked me to write a little about Elsie, my mind has been crowded with such a myriad of thoughts of her that had been stored away for many, many years. The mere mention of her name brought such a rush of childhood memories, with a combination of deep sadness and affection which swept over me so suddenly my eyes were filled with tears. All at once I realized that this woman, my aunt, had influenced my whole life, probably more than I had ever before realized, and I had an overwhelming desire to pull back as many memories as I could, to be given the privilege of, as an adult, being able to absorb the impressions and lessons and images with which she fired my childhood imagination so long ago.

There was always an air of sadness about her, and I always knew her life was a hard one. She was the eldest of five children and the two pictures that come to my mind are the first of her as a child with a pouty mouth, a toddler early displaced by other babies. The same mouth in adulthood became sensitive in early years and then firmly, grimly set as the dreams faded and the cruel years of the Great Depression made earning a livelihood next to impossible in the fine arts world. She had one fling at world travel; and that as a companion to a wealthy lady who traveled a few weeks “abroad” in Europe. On that wonderful journey, she sketched enough vistas and objets d’art to last all her life and had great memories of Rome and Paris.

Foremost among her talents must surely have been her gift for portraiture for which she won the Corcoran Art Gallery Gold Medal. As far as I know, any training she received was there, and it was there also she met her two dearest lifelong friends. There was the hint of an early love, but I never heard much about it. I only know she always seemed a very pensive, sad kind of person who had a deep sense of appreciation for beauty and nature and enjoyed funny situations and little jokes. She always made me feel that “if you could see something, you could draw it” and I always believed it and listened enraptured as she explained the wonderful mysteries of color, mixing, perspective and balance. Her teaching has remained with me all my life, although it was only the tag-along fun of a little girl watching a friendly aunt who enjoyed answering all my questions. I still remember the importance of ox-gall, the fragility of pastels, the sin of leaving brushes stiff with paint – not because she ever let me do any art work in her studio, but just because I was fascinated just to be allowed to watch her and listen to her.

Just the mention of the name ”Elsie” brings a picture to my mind of large serious sea-blue eyes, an ample sensitive mouth, and a mass of strawberry-blonde hair piled above a sad, pale face.

Blessed with a very practical and forward-thinking little Quaker mother, she was ever somewhat at odds with her viewpoint. After my grandmother gathered her girls together and gave them a brief explanation of feminine hygiene and an even briefer summary on the facts of live, Elsie’s only comment was: “I think the whole thing is perfectly disgusting!”

Ever the artist and aesthete, she recoiled as her elderly semi-invalid little mother would retire for her afternoon nap and say, “Now, Elsie, thee has two hours. Go and paint!” So many nights, her weary but inspired artist-daughter could be found painting beautiful flower still-life creations by the flickering light of a kerosene lamp. After a hard day’s work keeping house in a large old house and caring for her demanding, aging parents, the spark of her talent still managed to produce lovely rich creations on her canvas.

In order to make money when the market would not demand expensive oil paintings, she put “pride in her pocket” and taught herself heraldry – researching it out at the Library of Congress. She did coats of arms and sold them, framed, for $25.00 each, hating every minute of the exacting, detailed, unimaginative work, all the while longing to be working with her beloved oils.

Her only years of freedom were the two or three she had lived alone in a Washington, D.C. basement studio-apartment at Henderson’s Castle on 16th St. After that it was back to the old family home “Ingleside” in Ashton with no electricity, an aged pump, woodstoves and in later years, needy parents.

Somehow, almost osmotically, her appreciation for beauty, her love of color, delicate fragrances, the exquisiteness of Nature – all seemed to absorb into my own being, just from sharing days with her. I realize now how great was the privilege of my brief association with her and I wish the world of art could have known her better. The cursing blight of those hard years must have smothered many great creative talents, forced to scratch out a livelihood under rigorous, grueling conditions. Like Monet, she gardened all her life, carefully raising the flowers she wanted in her pictures. The delicate blues, soft rose tones and pure whites for light effects, the rich golds, crimsons and tawny oranges to group with rich blue plates and aged crockery.

The rare opportunities to do portrait work gave us glimpses of the depth of her talent, kin to that of the Dutch Masters and sadly, not many remain in the family. She requested that all unfinished works be burned at her death. Looking back, I'm reminded of Wordsworth’s “Lucy”. “She dwelt among untrodden ways” and spent her life at a period when times were hard and maintaining even “genteel poverty” was almost impossible.

She longed for a trip, a rest, a break from so much care. In her mid-fifties she required surgery for abdominal malignancy. She welcomed the “rest”, saying to her sisters, “I am the only one of you girls who has never had a good rest in the hospital”. She enjoyed the cards, flowers, pretty lingerie and being cared for. Two days after surgery, she died in her sleep – the one thing in her life that was easy. Until I began to write, I had never realized the indelible mark my dear aunt left in my personal outlook on life. Perhaps her greatest legacy lies in the great appreciation of beauty she gave by example, which I, in turn, have so enjoyed sharing with my children. She never knew them, but a lot of what they know and are may well have come from what she taught me by attitudes and example. To me, she was what Robert Henri would term “a true art spirit”.

[More on Elsie Brooke Snowden's life and artwork is here.]

Polaroid album

My mother gave me a little red Polaroid album a while back, and I have finally gotten around to scanning the pictures. The photos begin with Thanksgiving and Christmas at Foxley, then a trip to the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, and finally Easter photos in the front yard at Foxley. Polaroids were certainly fun and convenient--but they don't have a date printed on the back of them like processed film. I know that the Polaroid Swinger camera was produced between 1965 and 1970. The photos are certainly from that era. Julie and Rich were married in 1967, and they appear together here, possibly in their first home in one. Ganny died in July 1970, and Doc Bussler died in 1972. Do you see Anna Bussler in any of the pictures?--she died in October 1967. I'm going to do my best to identify everyone below the photos, but please help me if you know who is in the pictures and when they were taken. Thanks!



Thanksgiving at Gladys and Dave's home Foxley. Around the table clockwise: Young Dave's eyeglasses and nose (my father), Rich, Julie, an unknown man whose hands are in the picture, Dottie, Vernon, at the head of the table is Gladys (my grandmother), unknown young lady, Ganny (my great-grandmother), the top of Pat's head, unknown young lady with dark hair, Liz in white sweater holding food (my mother), and unknown young lady with blonde hair. One of the unidentified young ladies is probably Dottie's daughter Anita.



Thanksgiving at Foxley, around the table clockwise: Ganny (my great-grandmother), Pat , unknown young lady with dark hair, Liz (my mother), unknown young lady with blonde hair, at the head of the table again is Gladys (my grandmother), Dave (my father), Rich, Julie, unknown man, Dottie, and Vernon Swiger.



My grandmother's sister Dorothy Beall Swiger. This is the dining room at Foxley on Thanksgiving.



Christmas at Foxley: Dave unwrapping an aquarium set (my father), Gladys cleaning her glasses (my grandmother), and Ganny (my great-grandmother).



Julie next to the Christmas tree. This does not look like Foxley--maybe it was taken at her new home with Rich.





It looks like my grandparents went to see the Liberty Bell with Julie and Rich. The first photo shows the backs of heads: stranger, Rich, and Julie. The second shows Gladys in a fur coat, the Liberty Bell, Rich, and Julie. This is perhaps the fur coat my grandfather gave her as a Christmas gift one year, wrapped in a garbage bag.





Always collies at Foxley. This little one appears prominently in the Easter photos, too.



Dave (my grandfather) snoozing in a wingback in his stocking feet.



The bow tie is a dead giveaway: this is Doc Bussler.





Easter at Foxley, clockwise starting at the top: Rich, Julie, Young Dave, Gladys, and Pat.



Easter at Foxley, clockwise starting at the top: Rich, Julie, Pat, Gladys, and Big Dave.

Elsie Brooke Snowden

Elsie Brooke Snowden, born March 4, 1887, at Ingleside in Ashton, Maryland, was the oldest child of Francis "Frank" Snowden and Frances "Fannie" Brooke Stabler. She had three sisters (Miriam, Anna, and Marjorie) and one brother (Edward). Her sister Marjorie was my great-grandmother. Elsie never married or had children. Instead she studied art at what is now the Corcoran College of Art & Design in Washington, DC, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Elsie was awarded the prestigious Cresson Travelling Scholarship twice (I am trying to verify this info with PAFA archives) and used the prize money to travel to Europe in the summers of 1913 and 1914. Exhibiting regularly with the Society of Washington Artists and Washington Watercolor Association, and at the Corcoran Gallery Biennials, Elsie became known for her atmospheric landscapes and city scenes. Elsie Brooke Snowden died December 21, 1945, and was buried next to her parents in the Sandy Spring Friends Meeting Graveyard marked by a granite marker in Row L, Plot 3, Site 3.



What follows are excerpts from The Annals of Sandy Spring that provide snapshots of Elsie Brooke Snowden's life and career as an artist. They also reveal Elsie the avid gardener and Elsie the caregiver to her ailing widowed mother. Because most of Elsie's life, aside from art school and Europe, was spent at the family home in Ashton, Maryland, where she was born, I have also excerpted a section of the Snowden family history that describes Ingleside (or Engleside as Mr. Cook spells it). Throughout the excerpts my own notations are in brackets. You may click on the images for a larger view and more information about each. As always, I strive for accuracy--please notify me of any factual or typographical errors.


(This is a photo of art students at the Corcoran around 1890--not a photo of Elsie--but probably similar to her classes there 20 years later. I am surprised that the group is mostly women. From the Smithsonian collection.)

Excerpts from The Annals of Sandy Spring, Volume IV, 1909-1929:

p. 10 - May 28th [1909] Elsie B. Snowden finished a successful year at the Corcoran Art School in Washington, receiving from her instructors honorable mention of her work and $25.00 in gold as a more substantial reward. Some time during the following winter she resumed her studies at this institution. [This entry appears to have been added a year too late. I found an article in the Washington Times dated May 29, 1908, about the award.]



p. 93 - [Early 1912] Elsie B. Snowden has again distinguished herself by having some of her work accepted at the water color exhibition in New York and by the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts where she is a student, at its exhibition in oil.

p. 151 - [June 1913] About this time Elsie Snowden who had been attending the Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, went abroad with some of her artist friends to spend a number of weeks on the continent of Europe. [I believe this travel was because Elsie received the Cresson Travelling Scholarship for the first time.]



p. 187 - [June 1914] Elsie B. Snowden in early June won a $500 scholarship at the Art League in Philadelphia. This gifted young woman sailed soon after for Europe, where the skies, unclouded at the time, were soon darkened by the terrible war clouds. Her experiences there were both interesting and exciting, and her family were most anxious when all communication was cut off. Her safe return home without previous notice, was a great relief. [The award was Elsie's second Cresson Travelling Scholarship.]

p. 209 - [January 1915] Elsie B. Snowden won still another prize for a picture at the New York Art League, the amount being $50.00.  The subject given her was "Equal Opportunity", and her interpretation was given first place and first prize.



p. 216 - [May 1915] Again we record with pleasure the prize of $100 won by Elsie B. Snowden at the Philadelphia Art League, in the May competitions, giving Sandy Spring a thrill of pride that this one of her daughters continues to distinguish herself and honor her birthplace.

p. 442 - [Winter and Spring 1924] During the winter, Elsie B. Snowden received several more agreeable recognitions of her unusual talent as an artist. A picture hung at the Independent exhibition at the Waldorf in New York was bought by Phelps Stokes, a well known connoisseur, for $100.00, and a French count who had seen some of her work in this country wrote for a French Art Magazine an article describing it in most appreciative terms. [The exhibition was the 9th Annual Exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists. The "connoisseur" was most likely architect Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes.]



p. 523 - [1926] Elsie B. Snowden's work at the Exhibition of Water Color Artists in Washington received high honor; hers was one of the only four paintings that sold and was bought by Mrs. John B. Henderson.  Miss Leila Mechlin, prominent art critic of Washington, wrote of the painting as a notable work. [According to the Corcoran Archives, this exhibition was either the 30th Annual Exhibition of the Washington Water Color Club from February 5 - 28, 1926 or the 31st Annual Exhibition of same from December 18, 1926 - January 16, 1927. Mrs. Henderson was Mary Foote Henderson wife of the Senator from Missouri. At this time Leila Mechlin was art critic for The Washington Daily News, also known as The Star.]

Excerpts from The Annals of Sandy Spring, Volume V, 1929-1947:

p. 16 - Sept. 15 [1930] a large number of people visited the unusual and beautiful detura plants of Elsie Snowden at Engleside [sic]. During the night of bloom two plants had 90 bell-shaped blooms, six inches in length and three inches in diameter, and very fragrant. There was also a night-blooming cereus with fourteen blooms. The garden lovers of the neighborhood visiting this unusual sight felt that this was the most beautiful display of floraculture ever seen in Sandy Spring.


p. 207-8 -  [Winter 1941-1942] Fannie B. Snowden and daughter Elsie again spent the winter at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Louis and Anna Bussler at Ashton. [Elsie's father Francis Snowden died September 11, 1936. And the latter years of Fannie's life were spent as a partial invalid, so mother and daughter wintering with "Doc" and "Nan" makes a lot of sense. The Bussler's home was located less than half a mile away from Ingleside. Elsie's mother died March 25th, 1943.]



p. 279 - Elsie Brooke Snowden passed away Dec. 21st [1945] after a brief illness at Garfield Hospital in Washington. The daughter of Francis and Frances Brooke Snowden, she was born at Ingleside March 4th, 1887. After training at the Corcoran Art School in Washington and the Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, she twice traveled abroad on scholarships from the Philadelphia Academy. She received recognition in the United States and Europe for her landscape and portrait paintings, and the Corcoran School honored her with its Annual Gold Medal. Interment was in the Friends Meeting House grounds at Sandy Spring. (E.T.S.) [Garfield Hospital merged with several other facilities to become present day MedStar Washington Hospital Center. I had photographed Elsie's parents' headstone a few years ago; next time I'm in Sandy Spring I will photograph Elsie's marker. Elsie Brooke Snowden was 58 years old when she died.]

Excerpts from Montpelier & The Snowden Family by William G. Cook:

p. 52 - ENGLESIDE [sic.]  At 17720 New Hampshire Avenue in Ashton, Md. still stands Engleside, built after 1800. A sign post on the highway marks the lane leading to this delightful home that sits several hundred yards back.

William Henry Stabler built this home for his son William. Henrietta (Stabler) Snowden, the daughter of William, Jr., moved here wit her children after her father's death in 1867. She and her husband, Nicholas Snowden, had made their home at Avondale in Laurel, Md. until he lost his life fighting with the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Henrietta lived at this place for forty years where she passed away in 1907. Her son Francis, who married Frances Stabler, took over his mother's home and lived there until his death in 1936. Elsie Snowden, who never married, was the last of the family to own the home place. She passed away in 1945. Engleside was sold to a Mr. McLaury who sold the place to William F. Bowling. Today the residence is occupied by the James P. O'Connor family.

Hand-hewn pine uprights were used in the building of this home in place of studding for the outside walls of brick. In some places the brick had been left exposed on the inside walls.

A large living room, hall, and dining room, library with a fireplace, and a kitchen made up the first floor. Many changes and additions have been made since the Snowdens have gone. A few have been made on the inside and several rooms have been added on the outside.



[More on Elsie Brooke Snowden is here. Entry updated 3/5/2013.]