DHR: Chapter 3 - Origins of American Deaf World
early Henniker, NH
Thomas Brown (gr,father) b. Stow Ma
1785 went to NH
son - Nahum (deaf), 8 hearing daughters
married hearing woman, 2 deaf children
Thomas Brown b. 1804
3/5 grandch were deaf
5/9 GrGrch deaf
Thomas Brown (grandson)
enrolled in American Asylum
studied under L. Clerc, T. Gallaudet, Harvey Peet
age 25, could have been a teacher, moved back to Henniker
impacted the American Asylum re: deaf people as distinct social group "we-who-use-this-language"
Chilmark, Ma, Martha's Vinyard
Mary Smith
met T. Brown at school, married 1832
from MV, descendent of founder and 1st deaf person on MV
multiple ancestors & pat grfather deaf
8 hearing siblings
most deaf people on MV shared 3 ancestors James Skiffe, Samuel Tilton, Jonathan Lambert
1700 - about 400 deaf people
these families linked in Kent and Scituate / moved to Barnstable, then Chilmark
1800 - about 3000 deaf people, lots of intermarriage; 32 last names = 3/4 island population
later in 19th C - 1/155 MV population born deaf
most deaf people on island married hearing people = blended communmity (mainland 20% deaf married hearing; MV=65%
most deaf people had hearing parents
deaf and hearing used sign, British sign language / over 12 generations
people valued their village more than the company of other deaf people; deaf people have access to everone
like Mayan community "village first" - first family, then village, then Mayan society
moved to Henniker, Brown's family had more deaf people
children had both MV and NH geneology
Henniker, Cont (Mary and Thomas move back)
farm, frugal, practical
had deaf and hearing offspring
Social, Deaf workers e.g, Joseph Livingstone, lived on farm and worked
1880's Census
Census 1880 - Alexander Graham Bell, Deaf & Dumb = 27 people
1887 - enrollments in American Asylum = 44
both underestimated due to couldn't go more than 2 towns.
Thomas Brown
has an idea - largest gathering of deaf people to show gratitude to THGallaudet and L.Clerc (also political)
1850 - 200 deaf people & 200 students in Hartford, celebrate founders of American Deaf Education
forefunner of convention and association of deaf people in US
1853 - Convention in Montpelier, VT; people from MA and NH
1854: deaf representatives from each NE state - Brown House = Constitution for New England Gallaudet Association; Thomas Brown = president
Fall of that year, Deaf sculptor (Carlin), Deaf artist (Newsom) with monument/ tribute; "Henniker Constitution" - T. Brown = president
1856 - 2nd meeting /Representatives: MA-44; NH 34; CN 30; VT 19; ME 11; RI 7; Ill 1; LA 1
"mute Cincinnatus" = Thomas Brown
Constitution of Deaf People as a distinct class
1860 - Publication: Gallaudet Guide and Deaf Mutes' Companion, one of earliest just for deaf readers
c. 1860, TB had personal losses - dad died, wife Mary died, mom died, other family members died, son graduated from American Asylum, became teacher at Deaf and Dumb Asylum in Michigan
became interested in Sophia Curtis in Maine after wife died
Sandy River Valley, Maine
after American Revolution, MV families migrated to SE Maine
many towns created and populated
many moved, went to school, settled
deaf families = Rowe, Campbell, Lovejoy
2 early American Deaf families with 3 consecutive generations of deaf people, first born before 1800
Lovejoy-Jeillison-Berry family
Brown-Swett-Sanders
Sophia Curtis
5 hearing sibs, 4 deaf sibs; married T. Brown 1864, Maine, moved to Henniker
Thomas Brown and Sophia Curtis
1864 married
1866 NEGA had 500 people; Thomas resigned after 12 years
1869 sister Persis (and Leclerc) died
William Swett (nephew) became director of Deaf Mute Library Association
1880 National Convention in Cincinnati (TB couldn't attend)
1886, T. Brown Died
married
Emerging Class Consiousness: Chilmark vs. Henniker
Chilmark, Tisbury
did not separate as sep. class
no organization of deaf; leader, etc
heredity = recessive = have gene but not deaf, many deaf children had no deaf parents; many deaf parents did not have deaf children
Henniker
heredity = dominant = began with Nahum Brown (0 above him deaf; 57% her deaf; all deaf members had one deaf parent; all deaf members had at least 1 deaf child
differences
each generation has a deaf child to pass it along
distant relatives, generational depth less likely
in language, marriage
sign language more into community as result of recessive genetic heredity
blending of hearing and deaf (MV) shared langauge and life; not us vs. them mentality
comparison to Bali - Desa Kolok "Deaf Village"
recessive = MV, blending of hearing and deaf lives
sign = universal
attitudes generally positive toward deaf members
low awareness of class consciousness
deaf villagers interact freely and equally with other villagers