Mamah Borthwick

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Mamah Bouton Borthwick
Mamah Borthwick, c. 1911
Born
Martha Bouton Borthwick

(1869-06-19)June 19, 1869
Boone, Iowa, U.S.
DiedAugust 15, 1914(1914-08-15) (aged 45)
Spring Green, Wisconsin, U.S.
Cause of deathMurder
Other namesMamah Borthwick
SpouseEdwin Cheney
PartnerFrank Lloyd Wright
Children2

Martha Bouton "Mamah" Borthwick (June 19, 1869 – August 15, 1914) was an American translator who had a romantic relationship with architect Frank Lloyd Wright, which ended when she was murdered.[1] She and Wright were instrumental in bringing the ideas and writings of Swedish feminist Ellen Key to American audiences. Wright built his famous settlement called Taliesin in Wisconsin for her, in part, to shield her from aggressive reporters and the negative public sentiment surrounding their non-married status. Both had left their spouses and children in 1909 in order to live together and were the subject of relentless public censure. In 1914, a disturbed member of the staff at Taliesin suddenly went on a murder-suicide spree at the estate killing Borthwick, two of her children and others. Wright was away at the time.

Early life and education

She was born as Martha Bouton Borthwick[2] in Boone, Iowa to Marcus Smith Borthwick (1828–1900) and Almira A. Borthwick (née Bowcock) (1839–1898).[3][4] She had two sisters: Jessie Octavia Borthwick Pitkin (1864–1901) and Elizabeth Vilitta Borthwick (1866–1946). Borthwick earned her BA and MA at the University of Michigan in 1892 and 1893.[5] She later worked as a school teacher in Port Huron, Michigan.

Marriage and family

In 1899, Borthwick married Edwin Cheney, an electrical engineer from Oak Park, Illinois. They had two children: John (1902) and Martha (1905).[6] Before their children, they adopted Mamah Borthwick's niece, Jessie Borthwick Pitkin, when Mamah's sister (Jessie Octavia Borthwick Pitkin) died during childbirth in 1901.[7]

Relationship with Wright

Borthwick met Frank Lloyd Wright's wife, Catherine, through a social club. Soon after, Edwin commissioned Wright to design them a home in Oak Park, now known as the Edwin H. Cheney House. Mamah's sister, Elizabeth Vilitta Borthwick, lived in an apartment on the lower level of the house.

In 1909, Borthwick and Wright left their spouses and traveled to Europe.

feminist thinker and writer Ellen Key, whom she admired. In April, 1911, Wright's mother purchased land in her family's valley near Spring Green, Wisconsin[11] so that her son could begin designing a home in which to live with Borthwick after her planned divorce. He named the home Taliesin
(Welsh for "Shining Brow").

Borthwick returned to the United States in June of 1911.[12] She spent time with her children in Canada through the summer waiting to divorce Edwin Cheney, which she did on August 5, and legally returned to her maiden name.[12] Borthwick joined Wright at Taliesin that month, which was then being constructed.

The press became aware of the couple living together at Taliesin shortly before Christmas 1911.

hegira", called Borthwick and Wright "soul mates" and also referred to Taliesin as the "love castle" or "love bungalow".[14][15] Chicago newspapers criticized Wright, implying that he would soon be arrested for immorality, despite statements from the local sheriff that he could not prove that the couple was doing anything wrong. Most of their friends and acquaintances considered their open closeness to be scandalous, especially since Catherine had refused to agree to a divorce. The scandal affected Wright's career for several years; he did not receive his next major commission, the Midway Gardens, until 1913.[16]

Murder

On August 15, 1914, Julian Carlton, a male servant from

Chicago.[21]

In popular culture

A detailed nonfiction account of the tragedy at Taliesin is provided in Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders by William R. Drennan.[22]

Borthwick's time with Wright is the basis of

The Women.[24]

An opera, Shining Brow, covers the story of the Cheneys and the Wrights, from when they meet in Wright's office, through the aftermath of Borthwick's death. Music was composed by American composer Daron Hagen with a libretto by Paul Muldoon. The death of Borthwick is described in the book The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons in a back-story of the persona of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Notes

  1. ^ "The Terrible Crime at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin". 2017-12-05. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
  2. ISBN 978-0-8041-7288-2
    .
  3. ^ "Marcus Smith Borthwick (1828–1900) - Find A Grave..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
  4. ^ "Almira A. Bowcock Borthwick (1839-1898) - Find A..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
  5. ^ Calendar of the University of Michigan for 1892–93. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. 1893. p. 189.
  6. ^ "Frank Lloyd Wright". www.steinerag.com. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
  7. ISBN 978-0-87020-606-1
    . 170, fn 81.
  8. ^ "The queer view of marital life". Fort Wayne Sentinel. 26 February 1912. p. 12. Retrieved 12 December 2016 – via newspaperarchive.com.Open access icon
  9. ISBN 0-226-74414-0
    ., 205.
  10. ISBN 0-226-74414-0
    ., 207.
  11. ^ Taliesin_(studio)#Early_history
  12. ^
    ISBN 978-0-87020-606-1
    ., 25.
  13. ^ "Snow Bound; No Warrant. Story that posse of citizens left for Wright Cottage denied". Baraboo Weekly News. Baraboo, WI. 4 January 1912. p. 1.
  14. ^ a b c "Six are slain in love castle". Racine Journal News. 17 August 1914. p. 10. Retrieved 12 December 2016 – via newspaperarchive.com.Open access icon
  15. ^ "Soulmate stunt loses its zest". Kokomo Daily Tribune. 3 August 1910. p. 1. Retrieved 12 December 2016 – via newspaperarchive.com.Open access icon
  16. ^ "Midway Gardens - Data, Photos & Plans". WikiArquitectura. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  17. ISBN 978-1847923103
    .. Carlton was born in Alabama as explored by Hendrickson in "Coming Before Him in His Dreams: Notes on an Alabama Native Son", 204-208.
  18. ^ a b c d BBC News article: "Mystery of the murders at Taliesin".
  19. ^ "Carleton is held on murder charges". Racine Journal News. 28 August 1914. p. 4. Retrieved 12 December 2016 – via newspaperarchive.com.Open access icon
  20. ^ "Mystery of the murders at Taliesin". 2001. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
  21. ^ "The Massacre at Frank Lloyd Wright's "Love Cottage"". HISTORY.com. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
  22. ISBN 978-0-299-22210-9
    .
  23. ^ "Novel Sheds Light on Frank Lloyd Wright's Mistress". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
  24. ^ "T.C. Boyle's 'Women' Recasts Frank Lloyd Wright Bio". NPR.org. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2014.

External links

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