Who Was Emmett Lee Dickinson?
Emmett Lee Dickinson, Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed (at her request), was born on October 12, 1803, in Washert (pronounced “WAS-herst”), Pennsylvania.
Known as “the Boor of Washerst,” Emmett Lee was the 13th of 13 children. His father, Emery Dickinson, was an ice delivery man in Washerst , and is thought to be the inspiration for a title of a Eugene O’Neill play. His mother, Emalee Incross, was a cosmetician at the Perish & Begone Funeral Parlor, owned by brothers Eberhard and Egan Perish and Caldwell Begone.
The Dickinson family lived in the basement of the funeral parlor, and this is possibly one reason why Emmett Lee developed an intense fear of the light (heliophobia), became a recluse, and dressed almost exclusively in shades of black. His reclusivity might also have been brought on by a sluggish liver and biliousness.
Emmett Lee Dickinson was a prolific writer of poetry, and penned such poems as, “After Formal Feedings, a great pain comes,” “Because I could not stop for Debt,” and “There’s a certain slant of Art.”
Known as “the Boor of Washerst,” Emmett Lee was the 13th of 13 children. His father, Emery Dickinson, was an ice delivery man in Washerst , and is thought to be the inspiration for a title of a Eugene O’Neill play. His mother, Emalee Incross, was a cosmetician at the Perish & Begone Funeral Parlor, owned by brothers Eberhard and Egan Perish and Caldwell Begone.
The Dickinson family lived in the basement of the funeral parlor, and this is possibly one reason why Emmett Lee developed an intense fear of the light (heliophobia), became a recluse, and dressed almost exclusively in shades of black. His reclusivity might also have been brought on by a sluggish liver and biliousness.
Emmett Lee Dickinson was a prolific writer of poetry, and penned such poems as, “After Formal Feedings, a great pain comes,” “Because I could not stop for Debt,” and “There’s a certain slant of Art.”
Emmett Lee Dickinson's Poetry
Pictured to the left: the first publication of poetry by Emmett Lee Dickinson,
Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed (at her request). |
Rare Family PhotographEmmett Lee Dickinson was the thirteenth of thirteen children In the picture at the right, Emalee Dickinson, Emmett Lee's mother, and twelve of her children; Emmett Lee is the one in the papoose. Not pictured: Emmett Lee's father, Emery, and his oldest sister, Qwerty Anne.
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The Dickinson's HomeThe Dickinson family lived in the basement of the Perish
& Begone Funeral Parlor owned by brothers Eberhard and Egan Perish and Caldwell Begone. Emmett Lee's mother, Emalee Incross, worked as a cosmetician at the funeral parlor. His father, Emery Dickinson, was an ice delivery man in Washerst , and is thought to be the inspiration for a title of a Eugene O’Neill play. At the left is an extremely rare photograph showing some of the family's basement living quarters. |
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The DickinsonsAlmost two centuries before Emmett Lee Dickinson’s birth, the Dickinson family arrived in the New World. Half of the family prospered under Emily Dickinson's paternal grandfather, Samuel Dickinson, a founder of Amherst College in Massachusetts. However, Emmett Lee Dickinson’s side of the family did not fare as well. Lemuel Dickinson, Emmett Lee’s paternal grandfather, struggled to make a living as a tinker, traveling from place to place mending pans, kettles, and other metal utensils.
The photograph at the left is believed to be Emmett Lee Dickinson's grandfather, Lemuel Dickinson.
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Above: Emmett Lee Dickinson and his five brothers.
FarRight: Dickinson's seven sisters.
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The Five Wives of Emmett Lee DickinsonWax figures of Emmett Lee Dickinson's five wives are in the museum's Great Hall of Wax Figures. Since no photographs or paintings exist with the likenesses of any of the five women, Dickinson's grandson, Lee Thadeus Dickinson, stood in as a model for the each wife (pictured at the right). Lee Thadeus Dickinson was the husband of Velvalee (Blucher) Dickinson.
Sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who also sculpted Mount Rushmore, referred to these sculptures as his finest work: "I gave everything to this project I was able to give. What I have here accomplished, I will never achieve again." Information of Emmett Lee Dickinson's five wives and his failed marriages is available in his biography in Great American Poems – REPOEMED. |
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Uncle HobartEmmett Lee Dickinson's uncle Hobart Dickinson owned a novelty shop in Washerst, PA. He also managed an entertainment partnership (with Dooley Dawson, known to the citizens of Washerst as “Doo-Daw”Dawson) that provided clowns, magicians, and balloon artists to children’s parties. Hobart Dickinson often performed at children's birthday parties as "Gurgles the Clown."
The picture at the right shows Hobart and “Doo-Daw”the day they were inspired by a “Career Day” presentation at their elementary school.
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Dickinson's Uncle Merton was Hobart's older brother. He was employed at the Wasteria Inn as a boot catcher, a servant at who pulled off the boots of travelers. He also appeared nightly in the Inn's lobby as a Tableau Vivant, a costumed actor carefully posed and theatricually lit -- usually in a physical depiction of a famous painting. However, Merton always appeared as a representation of a poem by his nephew, Emmett Lee Dickinson. In the picture at the right he is shown in a dramatic portrayal of Dickinson's poem, "I heard a fly buzz when he died."
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Dickinson's ChildrenEmmett Lee Dickinson's first-born son, Angstrom Dickinson, performed as a ventriloquist for many years. Below, Angstom ("Angst") is shown with his dummy, Jarvis Galumph.
Below is the only known surviving photograph of Qwerty Jean Dickinson, daughter of Emmett Lee Dickinson 
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Dickinson's Beloved PetThe stuffed carcass of Emmett Lee Dickinson’s beloved dog “Monte” (pictured at the left) is on display in the children’s section of the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum
Qwerty Lee DickinsonEmmett Lee Dickinson's fourth wife, Oliveti Remington, was the daughter of Eliphalet Remington, manufacturer of firearms and typewriters. Late in Dickinson's life, rumors surfaced that their daughter, Qwerty Jean Dickinson (for whom her grandfather designed the typewriter’s top row of keys) was really fathered by Jarvis MacKinnon, the Lieutenant Governor of California. Soon after this news broke, MacKinnon was gunned down in Skidoo, California, and Dickinson was accused of but never convicted of the murder. An account of these events are now celebrated in the operatic balled “Bohemian Rhapsody,” by the British rock group Queen.
Pictured at the right is Qwerty Jean's daughter, Qwerty Lee Dickinson (with an unidentified man). |
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The Barrows of Chagrin FallsAfter Emmett Lee Dickinson helped Carmen Seville escape from a prison in Buffalo, NY (detailed in Great American Poems ~ REPOEMED, Volume 1), the two fled to Chagrin Falls, Ohio.There the two fugitives settled as Bonnie and Emmett Lee Barrow. Emmett Lee earned a living as a chimney sweep, and Carmen did occasional work as a seamstress. Although Dickinson scholars are uncertain if Emmett Lee and Carmen actually ever married legally, the two did refer to themselves as husband and wife, and one year after their arrival in Ohio, Carmen gave birth to Emmett Lee’s second son, Clyde.
Pictured at the left: Carmen (still in hiding), with Emmett Lee’s and her son Clyde, and two daughters from another marriage, Aurelia and Ruth.
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A painting believed to be an image of poet Emily Dickinson has surfaced in Washerst, PA, the hometown of Emmett Lee Dickinson, Emily's third cousin, twice removed (at her request). There is, currently, only one authenticated photograph of Dickinson in existence, but an art scholar at ELD Community College in Washerst believes the painting may well also be an image of the reclusive poet. In the painting, she is holding a volume of poetry by her third cousin whom she admired greatly.
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Dickinson's Grandson & EspionageEmmett Lee Dickinson's daughter Qwerty Dickinson’s son, Lee Thaddeus Dickinson, married Velvalee Blucher in the early 1930s.Lee T. Dickinson was a doll maker, and in 1937 he and Velvalee opened a doll shop in New York City, catering to affluent doll collectors.In 1944 Velvalee was convicted for
espionage against the United States on behalf of Japan by sending secret information in her dolls to contacts in Buenos Aires.Lee T. Dickinson escaped prosecution due to the fact that he died in 1943. Information on Velvalee Dickinson is found HERE and HERE. |
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In 1830, Emmett Lee Dickinson married Oliveti Remington, daughter of Eliphalet Remington (pictured at the left with his wife Abelota and his son Philo).
Dickinson worked as a metallurgical apprentice for Remington. Ultimately, he made metal keys for a machine that Mr. Remington was devising to be used for the impressing of transcribing of letters singly or progressively one after another on a piece of paper. Remington was going to call it the "Inked Letter Thumper," but Dickinson suggested that he call it the "Typo-Writer." Remington devised the top row of keys on the "Typo-Writer" so that they spelled out the first name of his grand-daughter, Qwerty Jean Dickinson, daughter of Emmett Lee and Oliveti. |
Pictured above: Dickinson's mother's parents, Severus and Theodosia Incross
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Daphne EndicottThe photograph at the left is thought to be Daphne Endicott, Dickinson's first wife.
Pictured above: Dickinson's passionate poem about "Wild Rice! Wild Rice" was found written on an envelope.
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Some of Dickinson's BrothersPictured below (left to right) are Dickinson's brothers Lewis Clark, Muttley James & Jefferson & their children.
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