Harriet Bailey Blaine

Harriet Blaine was the wife of James Gillespie Blaine. Her husband served in Maine Legislature, US Senator, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Secretary of State for three US Presidents and was the Republican Candidate for President of the United States in the 1884 Election. (Grover Cleveland narrowly won) She was the daughter of Jacob Stanwood and his 2nd wife, Sally (Caldwell) Stanwood. The family was originally from Ipswich, Massachussetts, they settled in Augusta, Maine in 1820 where Mr. Stanwood was a woolen merchant and became a promient member of the community. Harriet was the seventh child and 5th daughter, she attended Cony Academy in Augusta and later Mr. and Mrs. Cowles School for Girls in Ipswich. Her father died in 1845. She joined her older sister Caroline as a teacher at Mrs. Johnson's School in Millersburg, KY. At that time, James G. Blaine was teaching Latin and Greek at the Western Military Institute at Blue Lick, which was ten miles away. They met while both teaching and were married a year later in 1850. They moved to Pennsylvannia so James could take a position teaching at the Institute for the Blind. In 1851 their first child, Stanwood Blaine was born. They moved to Augusta in 1854, that same year their son Stanwood died at the age of three and shortly thereafter Harriet's mother died. They lived with Harriet's two oldest sisters Susan and "Caddy" at the Stanwood home. Harriet and James had seven children, Stanwood, Emmons, Alice, Walker, Margaret, James Jr. and Harriet. In 1862, James purchased a large house as a birthday present for Harriet. The house is located across the street from the Maine State Capitol Building. Mrs. Blaine was noted for her correspondence. According to the New York Times, "her letters were remarkable for their beauty of expression, cleverness and orginality." The letters were later edited by Mrs. Blaine's daughter, Harriet Blaine Beale and was published in 1908 as a book entitled "Letters of Mrs. James G. Blaine." After her husband's death in 1893, Harriet moved from their home on Dupont Circle in Washington D.C. back to the family home in Augusta. At the time of her death in 1903, she was survived by three of her seven children, James Jr., Harriet and Margaret. In her will, she left the "Blaine House" to the three children and her grandsons by her late daughter Alice Coppinger. Eventually, Mrs. Blaine's grandson Walker Blaine Beale would become the principle owner of the house thanks to a gift from his father Truxun Beale who bought the shares from the remaining heirs (except for Harriet Beales share) and gave them to his son as a birthday gift. Walker served in the US Army during WWI and was killed in France in 1918. His mother donated the Blaine House to the State of Maine in his memory. The house has been used as the Governor's Mansion since that time. Mr. and Mrs. Blaine were buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington D.C. beside their son Walker and daughter Alice. In 1920, the State of Maine created the Blaine Memorial which is located one mile from the Blaine House and State Capital. Upon completion, James and Harriet were re-interred at the Blaine Memorial in Augusta, Maine.

Wife of James G. Blaine was originally buried at Oak Hill Cemetery next to her husband James G. Blaine. In 1920, both Mr. and Mrs. Blaine were moved to Augusta to what is called Blaine Memorial Garden.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Aug 3 2019, 2:39:22 UTC