Baker White Armstrong: "The Happiest Man in Texas"

On August 20, 1887, Louisa Tapscott White Armstrong passed away. Her son Robert had returned to Virginia from Texas earlier in the summer and was at "Edgewood," the family home, those months while Louisa weakened. Her oldest son, Baker White Armstrong, returned to Virginia, also, but we do not know if he returned in time to see his mother alive, though we do have Louisa's family Bible with the inscription indicating that Louisa gave the Bible to him on the day she died. Baker's visit was short, for by September 1st, he had written his father to let him know that he and Robert had arrived safely in Bryan, Texas. But more than a funeral transpired during that visit to Virginia.

The family of Edward McCarty Armstrong, Sr.,  had been acquainted with the Perry Nugent family at least since Perry moved his family from New Orleans to Salem, Virginia, in about 1878.  Perry Nugent had made his money in New Orleans, where he reared   his children before buying "Longwood" plantation in Salem. The Nugent girls were friends with the Armstrong girls. (The photo top left is of Mary Ophelia Nugent, 1879.) Armstrong letters suggest that the girls had attended school together at some time. In a letter to her brother Baker--dated Sept. 6, 1883--Janie had written:

Mr. & Mrs. Nugent, Mary & Paul were out to see us yesterday for the first time this summer. I had seen Mary only once & then only to speak to her, since Commencement and was glad to see her. Since brother Jimmie's death we have not felt like visiting anybody or going any place & that is why we have not been to see her. None of us girls being dressed in mourning it makes us feel so badly to go any place to see any body, that we just feel like staying home.... Mary Nugent is very anxious to go to Hollins this next session to take music but I believe her mother has not yet decided what she will do. They will remain here all winter and Paul will go to Mr. Dabney's school, at Mr. David Shank's old place....

Mary Nugent was also best friends with Katie Dosh, a cousin of the Armstrongs, a friendship that was to last a lifetime. [Katie Dosh was the daughter of Thomas W. Dosh and Kate Baker Brown.] The Nugent girls are mentioned again and again over the years: in a letter dated July 8, 1885, Edward wrote his son Baker that "Katie Dosh and Miss Mary out to see & help the girls on Monday & will I suppose stay several days yet." And Robert described some of the great parties at Longwood over which Mary and her sisters presided. (The photo above right is of Mary Ophelia Nugent, c. 1883-1884.)

But also mentioned over the years are the beaus that Mary Nugent had, particularly John Chalmers. The impression that all these descriptions give is that the Nugents were very stylish, social, well-educated, and talented. (Mary was known for her singing and playing.)

Some time, however, between the parties and the months away at Augusta Female Seminary (Mary) or Texas (Baker), Mary Ophelia Nugent and Baker White Armstrong fell in love. But the feelings between the two were a secret for a while, for Janie wrote her brother Baker on October 20, 1887, practically begging him to tell the family the details so that they could be open with Mary: "By the by we all are waiting very patiently for the answer to my question & when are you going to write. Mary seems so very bright & happy & knowing as much as we do of course it does us good to see her so. We are much crazy for you to answer our question & for her to know you have done it so she will know we know all & we all can talk together." And after a few details about the family, Janie ended the letter: "Of course  if you do not want to tell us what we want to know we do not want to beg too much but it would certainly make us all happy to hear it all from your lips."

What Janie could not know was that Mary probably carried in her pocket Baker's declaration, a little folded packet marked "B. W. A. Strictly Private," with the date 9/9/87. These words indicate some of Baker's emotional state as he dealt with his mother's death and with the love he revealed to Mary Nugent:

My mind has been in such a state of anxiety--then sorrow, that I was unprepared for any extensive exhibition of emotional love, but, down in the deepest recesses of my heart was a love for you that sprang up those 4 years ago and had grown as the years went by, notwithstanding reports of attentions paid you by an other party  and report after report of your coming marriage-- I was uncertain of the truth of these reports until I got a denial from your own lips and then I was overwhelmed with joy at the thought that there was still a chance to make you mine or a chance to try at least--Not knowing whether you cared one straw for me, I was rather rash in communicating myself, but twas the last time I knew [I] would see you for a year or so, so perhaps in my pleading I may be excused for seeming rashly importunate. --Well, I am such a nature that I do not like suspense--I remember reading a long time ago in one of Irving's works a definition of love which was as follows; "Love is the misery of one, the felicity of two, and the enmity & strife of three." Well, as long as I did not ascertain whether you loved me or not, I am, so far as I know in the loneliness of misery an unfortunate "state of misery"--Now to come to the point--I want to know whether  if you love or if not now, do you think there are elements in my "make up" of character that could ever win your love? If you can answer the first in the affirmative, you have made me the happiest man in Texas by thus satisfying the most earnest yearnings of my heart--If negative I can but accept the situation with the consolation afforded by the fact that you dealt honestly with me; for I do not believe in this one sided business in love, and if you cannot give me your heart--your whole heart--do not want you to entrust me with a part--In other words I do not want to be the only one to do the loving--A heart for a heart is my motto to be observed in love affairs--and I would never want a woman to marry me if she could not give me her heart's best affections--Not that I imagine for an instant that you would do that way, for I regard you as the truest girl I ever saw and all I want is one word and I shall forever trust you.

While somewhere in these family letters there may be a written reply from Mary, I haven't found it yet. However, the fact that Thomas Alexander Greene and his sister Linda Katharine Greene Bolano are alive on this green earth, in 2010, is evidence enough that Mary Ophelia Nugent gave Baker White Armstrong  that one word to make him "the happiest man in Texas."

Helen ("Hydie") Frances Armstrong and Her Family

So far, I have introduced two children of Baker White Armstrong, Sr., who left his home in Salem, Virginia, for Texas: those children are Mary Ophelia Nugent Armstrong (named after her mother) and Baker White Armstrong, Jr..  Of the four children of Baker White Armstrong, Sr., and Mary Ophelia Nugent Armstrong, only one had offspring: my husband's grandmother, Katharine Nugent Armstrong. I will introduce this grandmother in the next post. This entry is dedicated to the third child of Baker and Mary: Helen Frances Armstrong, also known as "Hydie."

The family left hundreds of letters, and of those I have read, I have learned that Hydie was epileptic. The family evidently spent a lot of time, effort, and money seeking a cure, or at least comfort, for their daughter. At times Hydie had a personal teacher and a personal nurse, for family letters mention these people. Other letters describe a household filled with sadness during one of Hydie's episodes or sudden onset of illness. As I go through the letters, I will discover more about Hydie and will include some of that information on this blog. Another thing I do know is that Hydie loved creating geometric ink drawings and that she collected postcards. She left behind boxes and boxes of these collected postcards.

The second photo is of Mary Ophelia Nugent Armstrong and her daughter Helen ("Hydie"). The writing on the back of the photograph (dated Oct. 1909) suggests the family sadness over Hydie's health: "Sorry Mother is not more of a comfort to her. She looks neither comfortable nor happy." Click on the photos for larger images.

The next photograph is of Mary Ophelia Nugent Armstrong and her three daughters. The mother is at the far left; next to her is Katharine (my husband's grandmother), Mary ("Mimi"), and Helen ("Hydie").

The photo below is of all the Armstrong children. Although there is no date on the photo, I estimate that it was taken around 1910 or 1911. From left to right: Katharine  ("Tash") Nugent Armstrong, Baker White Armstrong, Jr. (the baby), Helen ("Hydie") Frances Armstrong, and Mary ("Mimi") Ophelia Nugent Armstrong (Jr). The photograph was likely taken at the family home in Houston, Texas.

I'll end this post with another photograph of Helen and with her obituary. She was the first of the Armstrong children to die.; she was sixty-three years old at her passing.

Helen Frances Armstrong: October 2, 1898 to February 15, 1962