1892_3-8-March 2002-HKG copy.jpg

Alice Austen Correspondence with H.H. Gilmore

PI

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/9/2025, 9:42:06 PM | Created: 12/9/2025, 7:29:07 PM

Added description

Description

Correspondence with H.H. Gilmore (1892)

Overview

This collection comprises three handwritten letters written by H.H. Gilmore to Elizabeth Alice Austen in 1892. The letters are preserved as high‑resolution JPEG scans of the originals, accompanied by typed transcriptions. The material is part of the Austen Family Papers (MS1) housed at the Alice Austen House Museum in Staten Island, New York.

Background

H.H. Gilmore, a resident of Flushing, Long Island, corresponded with Austen, a prominent Staten Island photographer and socialite. The letters were sent from Flushing, L.I., and reflect the close personal friendship between the two women. The collection was digitized by the Alice Austen House and is catalogued under the subject headings “Correspondence,” “Personal letters,” “Victorian social life,” “Family matters,” and “Death and bereavement.”

Contents

  • March 8, 1892 – Two letters in which Gilmore expresses frustration at not receiving a reply from Austen and requests a visit.
  • April 17, 1892 – A letter in which Gilmore informs Austen of his mother’s sudden death from pneumonia, describes the circumstances of her passing, and mentions plans to send tickets for a Friday event.

Each letter is available as a scanned image (JPEG) and a typed transcription. The transcriptions preserve the original spelling and punctuation, providing a reliable textual record for researchers.

Scope

The collection covers a narrow temporal window (March–April 1892) and a single geographic location (Flushing, L.I., Staten Island). It offers insight into Victorian‑era domestic communication, the social networks of Staten Island’s upper‑middle class, and the personal impact of bereavement on correspondence. The material is limited to the three letters and does not include any replies from Austen.

Raw Cheimarros Data

@alice_austen:person {full_name: "Elizabeth Alice Austen", birth_year: @date_1866, death_year: @date_1952, occupation: "photographer", location: @staten_island_ny}

@h_h_gilmore:person {full_name: "H.H. Gilmore"}

@alice_austen_house:organization {type: "museum", location: @staten_island_ny}

@flushing_li:place {city: "Flushing", region: "Long Island", country: @united_states}

@staten_island_ny:place {state: "New York", country: @united_states}

@gilmore_mother:person {relation: "mother", deceased: true, cause_of_death: "pneumonia"}

@letter_1892_03_08_1:document {date: @date_1892_03_08, location: @flushing_li, snippet: "Dear Miss Austin - I have waited in vain for an indication from you that you are at home again, but all signs seem to fail in damp weather as well as in dry and it looks as though in the language of scripture \"there shall no sign be given.\""} 

@letter_1892_03_08_2:document {date: @date_1892_03_08, location: @flushing_li, snippet: "Hence these translators you let me know if I can't come down and see you, and when? Please let me hear from you, and believe me. As always, Yours, H.H. Gilmore"} 

@letter_1892_04_17:document {date: @date_1892_04_17, location: @flushing_li, snippet: "You will be surprised and shocked to hear that my mother died this afternoon of pneumonia..."} 

@file_pinax:document {title: "Alice Austen Correspondence with H.H. Gilmore", creator: @h_h_gilmore, created: @date_1892, institution: @alice_austen_house, subjects: [@correspondence, @personal_letters, @victorian_social_life, @family_matters, @death_and_bereavement]}

@photography:concept {}

@victorian_social_life:concept {}

@death_and_bereavement:concept {}

@family_matters:concept {}

@personal_letters:concept {}

@correspondence:concept {}

@h_h_gilmore -> wrote -> @letter_1892_03_08_1

@h_h_gilmore -> wrote -> @letter_1892_03_08_2

@h_h_gilmore -> wrote -> @letter_1892_04_17

@letter_1892_03_08_1 -> addressed to -> @alice_austen

@letter_1892_03_08_2 -> addressed to -> @alice_austen

@letter_1892_04_17 -> addressed to -> @alice_austen

@letter_1892_04_17 -> mentions -> @gilmore_mother

@alice_austen_house -> holds -> @file_pinax

@alice_austen_house -> holds -> @letter_1892_03_08_1

@alice_austen_house -> holds -> @letter_1892_03_08_2

@alice_austen_house -> holds -> @letter_1892_04_17

@alice_austen -> associated with -> @photography

@date_1866

@date_1952

@date_1892

@date_1892_03_08

@date_1892_04_17

Metadata

Files (4)

1892_3-8-March 2002-HKG copy.jpgJPEG
490.35 KB
OCR Text

Flushing, L.I. 8th March. Dear Miss Austin - I have waited in vain for an indication from you that you are at home again, but all signs seem to fail in damp weather as well as in dry and it looks as though in the language of scripture "there shall no sign be given."

1892_3-8-March 2003-HKG copy.jpgJPEG
440.21 KB
OCR Text

Hence these trans- lators you let me know if I can't come down and see you, and when? Please let me hear from you, and believe me. As always, Yours, H.H. Gilmore

1892_4-17-April 4002-HKG copy.jpgJPEG
1.17 MB
OCR Text

Flushing, L.I. April 17th, '92 Dear Miss Austin, You will be surprised and shocked to hear that my mother died this afternoon of pneumonia. When I reached home on Wednesday I found she had been taken ill in my absence, and

1892_4-17-April 4003-HKG copy.jpgJPEG
940.12 KB
OCR Text

we felt no cause for anything worse than anxiety last night. She began to fail rapidly about midnight, and from then until she passed away at 2:15 this afternoon if it was evident that it was only a question of time. She remained conscious until almost the last and so far as we could free she suffered no pain— It is impossible for me to make any plans at present but I will write you again in a day or two and send you the tickets for Friday which I truly hope you will be able to use though of course I cannot be on hand to bid you welcome meantime. I am as always, Sincerely Yours H.H.G.

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/9/2025, 9:42:06 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/9/2025, 8:36:55 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/9/2025, 7:49:41 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/9/2025, 7:29:07 PM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Correspondence_HH_Gilmore"

Parent

01KC28TWQXBX9XQKENZ0NNNR8S

No children (leaf entity)