|
Jessie Ann Benton Frémont (May 31, 1824 – December 27, 1902) was an American writer and political activist. Frémont's initial notability came from her family: she was the daughter of Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton and the wife of military officer, explorer and politician, John C. Frémont. She wrote many stories that were printed in popular magazines of the time as well as several books of historical value. Her writings, which helped support her family during times of financial difficulty, were memoirs of her husband's, and her own, time in the American West—back when the West was an exotic frontier. A great supporter of her husband, who was one of the first two Senators of the new U.S. state of California and a Governor of the Territory of Arizona, she was outspoken on political issues and a determined opponent of slavery, which was excluded from the formation of California. By maintaining a high level of political involvement during a period that was extremely unfavorable for women, Jessie Benton Frémont proved herself to be years ahead of her time. ==Early life== She was born near Lexington, Virginia, the second child of Thomas Hart Benton (1782–1858) and Elizabeth McDowell (1794–1854). She was born in the home of her mother's father, James McDowell. Her father, Senator Benton, had been wanting a son, but went ahead and named her in honor of his father, Jesse Benton. Jessie was raised in Washington, D.C., more in the manner of a 19th century son than daughter, with her father, who was renowned as the "Great Expansionist," seeing to her early education and introducing her to the leading politicians of the day, an unusual thing for the period. Jessie was very close to her father and stuck by his side. He shared with her the many books and maps in the valise that always accompanied him on their trips to and from Missouri and Virginia. She began, too, to share his dream of a nation stretching from ocean to ocean. In this manner, she became well educated in the ways of social structure and the disciplines of politics, history, literature and languages. After attaining some fluency in French and Spanish, Jessie helped in the translation of government documents. In 1840 at age 15, while studying and living at Georgetown Seminary, she met Lieutenant John C. Frémont who was in Washington preparing a report on explorations he had made between the Missouri River and the northern frontier of the United States. They became engaged, but her parents objected to a marriage at that time because of her age. Probably through the influence of Col. Benton, Frémont then received an order from the war department to make an examination of the Des Moines River on the western frontier. The survey was made rapidly, and shortly after his return from this duty they eloped and were married on October 19, 1841. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jessie Benton Frémont」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|