The Valedictory

The Life and Writings of Mabel Isabel Dove

Mabel I. Dove, J.R. Rothstein, Chloe Renee Knight

• Publisher: Redstone Publishing
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781087944654
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Women in Poetry
• Index: Literature

Mabel Isabel Dove (1880-1957), an early feminist leader and founder of the Morgantown, West Virginia chapter of the NAACP, was a devoted Christian who, along with her husband, ministered to the people of West Virginia for over thirty years. This anthology contains her biography, details regarding her ancestry, and a collection of some of her essays and poems that she wrote throughout the seasons of her fruitful life.

PART  I 

THE LIFE & ANCESTRY OF MABEL ISABEL DOVE

By J.R. Rothstein

Based upon the research of Catherine Dove Gibbs-Robertson

Mabel Isabel Dove (1880-1957) was born on June 13, 1880, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the third of five children born to Dr. Solon Willet Dove (1850-1934) and Julia Adelia McClure (1854-1927). Mabel’s maternal grandparents were Orrin McClure (1818-1894) and Elizabeth Patterson (1826-1868). Mabel’s paternal grandparents were Daniel Griffen Dove (1828-1910) and Ruth Elizabeth Beers^[1] (1832-1911).

The Story Of Daniel Griffen Dove – Civil War Hero

Mabel’s paternal grandfather, Daniel Griffen Dove, no doubt played a role in Mabel’s imagination.

Daniel Griffen Dove (1828-1910) is a man whose origins and story have been one of intrigue and mystery for generations of Dove historians and genealogists.^[2] Nothing is known about him or his family except that Daniel’s father may have been named Louis and he may have been from Scotland. Daniel Griffen is said to have been born on May 7, 1828, in either Greenwich, Connecticut or New York. He married Ruth Elizabeth Beers on April 22, 1828, in Ridgefield, Connecticut when he was 21. Ruth (1832-1911) was a girl from an established and early New England family whose genealogy is well-known in the annals of New England history. Daniel “followed farming as his occupation until the war of 1861, when he answered the call for volunteers.”

At the age of 34, during the height of the American Civil War, Daniel volunteered to fight to preserve the union from the treachery. He joined the 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry as a Private in a regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He registered for the infantry at the nearby town of Bridgeport on August 13, 1862, and was assigned to Company G. He marched out toward the front lines on August 28, 1862, under the command of Colonel William H. Noble. Daniel was almost five feet six and had fair skin, brown eyes, and brown hair. A man named William Dove, possibly a relative, mustered out with him. Among the many men of the 17th were relatives of his wife, Ruth.

Daniel left behind five children in Connecticut to be raised alone by Ruth, who, in his absence, must have catered to their children’s education. In addition to leaving behind a young wife, Daniel left at home two-year-old Anna Bell (1860-), three-year-old Ida (1857-), six-year-old John Willet^[3] (1854-1934), Mabel’s father, eight-year-old Cyrus Griffen (1852-1916), and nine-year-old Irving Berlin (1851-1911). Daniel and Ruth had lost twin boys^[4] at birth a few years earlier and, no doubt, Ruth’s separation from her husband must have been particularly difficult for her. Whatever the character of the man in August of 1862, what Daniel was to experience in the American Civil War would change him forever.

According to the Adjutant General’s Office of the War Department’s military report dated October 28, 1886, Daniel would have an eventful yet traumatic military service. On May 2, 1863, at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, Daniel was captured and sent to Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. Libby Prison was a Confederate prison during the American Civil War. The prison gained an infamous reputation for its overcrowded and harsh conditions under which the officer prisoners from the Union Army were kept. Daniel would have been exposed to prisoners who suffered from diseases, malnutrition, and with a high mortality rate. By mid-1863, when Daniel arrived at the prison, one thousand prisoners crowded into large open rooms on two floors with open, barred windows, leaving them exposed to weather and temperature extremes.

From Libby Prison, Daniel was sent to numerous parole camps. The parole camps, for the most part, were a result of the parole system where captured soldiers pledged not to fight. In the days of formal warfare, it was customary to exchange prisoners of war by a complex formula of numbers and relative rank. To avoid being burdened with large parties of prisoners, forces in the field would often “parole” them, that is to release them to go home on oath, not to perform any military service until they were exchanged. Early in the Civil War, it was discovered that many paroled men would disappear into the civilian population, not to be found when ready for exchange. So, keeping them under military control until they were exchanged and returned to their units became imperative. It was in one of these parole camps that Daniel G. Dove found himself presumably waiting to be restored to a combat role if some prisoners of war were traded to the other side.

A military report follows of the Adjutant General’s Office of the War Department dated October 28, 1886, concerning Daniel:

Respectfully returned to the Commissioner of Pensions Daniel G. Dove, a Private of Company G, 17th Regiment Connecticut Infantry Volunteers, was enrolled on the 13th day of August, 1862, at Ridgefield for 3 years and is reported on the muster rolls of Connecticut from August 28, 1862, (date of muster in) to April 30, 1863, present; May and June 1863, absent paroled prisoner; same is August 31, 1863; September & October 1863, present; same is February 29, 1863; March & April 1864, absent; no remark. Regiment reports for March 1864, reports him absent in [intelligible]. . . on daily duty [intelligible]. Roll for May and June 1864, present; same to June 30, 1865. Mustered out a Corporal with Co. at Hilton-Head, SC July 19, 1865.

Regiment report for May 1863, reports him missing in action, May 2, 1863, supposed to be paroled; Regiment was in action at Chancellorsville, Va., May 2, 1863; Ret. For January, 1864, does not report him absent. He was captured at Chancellorsville, Va., May 3, 1863, confined at Richmond, Va., May 9, 1863, paroled at City-Paint, Va., May 14, 1863, reported at College Green Barracks, Maryland, May 16, 1863, reported at Camp Parole, Maryland, same day, sent to Washington, D.C., May 20, 1863, was received at Parole Camps, Va., May 21, 1863, and present at Camp Convalescent, Va., May 29, 1863, on the records he appears as deserted since May 25, 1863. This charge of desertion is removed as erroneous. He appears to have been sent from Camp Convalescent, Va., date not stated, to Parole Camp, Va., from which camp he was sent to Camp Distribution, Va., October 4, 1863, and from the latter camp to his regiment, which he rejoined October 21, 1863.

Company morning reports show him June 4, 1863, from missing in action, October 21, 1863, returned from Parole Camp to the regiment. Company release for July 1863, shows him as absent, wounded, and paroled; so, borne on return for August & September 1863. Regimental hospital records show him admitted November 4, 1863, with diarrhea and excused December 30, 1863. The records of this office furnish no evidence of alleged disabilities.

In July 1863, the 17th Connecticut began its campaign at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in what would be the defining battle not only of the unit, but for the Civil War. Others who were captured simultaneously with Daniel at Chancellorsville were released in time to rejoin the unit at Gettysburg. It isn’t clear from the record whether Daniel fought at Gettysburg, or was alternatively sitting in a Confederate prison, and the issue needs further research. Whether at Gettysburg or in a prison, the experience must have been exceptionally difficult for him and he must have been a witness to many horrible sites. The confusion of the record regarding whether Daniel had deserted his unit during the summer of 1863, has no doubt, caused Daniel much anxiety. It must have taken some effort to set the record straight. Daniel’s station and the overall condition appears to have improved as the war went on. He got honorably discharged at the rank of Corporal in July 1865.

Pensions records provide that after that war, Daniel returned home to Connecticut, presumably to Ridgefield. Daniel then spent “one year at Danbury in 1870, [then] moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and from there to Nowego, Michigan, then to Cedar Springs, Michigan.” Daniel’s obituary provides some insight into the last years of his life:

In 1870, with his family, [Daniel and Ruth] came to Michigan, choosing Cedar Springs for their home, where he has resided since. [Daniel] followed draying [a dray is a low cart without fixed sides, used for carrying heavy loads] as a business for many years. Until later in life, he retired from active business. Mr. Dove was converted under the preaching of Rev. J. Malcomb Smith of the Congregational Society and was a member as long as the society remained. He was a much-respected citizen, quiet and loving in all his dealing with his fellow man. A high standard of character to leave to his bereaved family and friends. . . Rev. Carrick gave a very appropriate discourse to a large number of sympathizing friends. Interment in the family lot in Elmwood Cemetery. The family feels very grateful to neighbors and friends for the many acts of kindness shown to them in their sad bereavement, and also to the Masons for many favors.

Dr. Solon W. Dove & Julia Adelia McClure

It is also from the story of Mabel’s grandfather, Daniel, that we can deduce a bit about John Willet Dove, Mabel’s father. John Willet, and his brother, Cyrus Arthur Dove, became wealthy, educated physicians. Dr. John W. Dove was said to have also conducted business and was socially and politically conservative. At some point in life, John Willet changed his name to Solon W., perhaps after the famous doctor of antiquity.^[5] On October 30, 1872, at the age of 17, John Willet married Julia Adelia McClure, also 17, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Julia was the daughter of Orrin McClure (1818-1894) and Elizabeth Patterson (1821-1868).

Julia Adelia had come from a tumultuous past and had many difficulties in her life, which she overcame. Julia’s mother, Elizabeth, had died in 1868, when she was only 13 years old. Her father, Orin, at age 19, drove cattle from Rutland, Vermont to Buffalo, New York and then later emigrated to Michigan, where he was called a “blue bellied Yankee.” Orin later suffered a terrible accident, having fallen off a horse and buggy, and was never the same again. Orin ultimately died of “insanity” in 1894. Julia’s brother, George, had fought in the civil war for the union.

The family of Orin and Elizabeth had been split up when Elizabeth died. Julia’s sister, Charlotte, was sent to live with an aunt, Sarah McClure Rose, and her husband, Willard, before being sent to live with another relative, Arthur McClure and his wife, Mattie, of Rutland, Vermont. The author is under the impression that it was Elizabeth who sang to her children, including Julia, the bedtime song, Run Along Home which has been transmitted in the Dove family for nearly two centuries.

The rhyme, which Julia Adelia sang to her daughter Mabel, goes as follows: “Run along home, and jump into bed, close your eyes, and cover your head, the very same thing, I say unto you, you dream of me, and I’ll dream of you.” The song, in general, seems to have played a large role in Julia Adelia’s upbringing and she and her siblings would sing together as they engaged in chores. Julia did the same thing when she raised her own children.

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Table of contents

• Introduction
• PART I
• THE LIFE & ANCESTRY OF MABEL ISABEL DOVE
• PART II
• THE VALEDICTORY SPEECH OF MABEL ISABEL DOVE
• PART III
• THE POEMS OFMABEL ISABEL DOVE
• Endnote
• About the Author