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1836-1837 The romance between John Woodhouse and Maria Bachman that
had started three years Forced to delay his reunion with the Bachmans, Audubon departed for Philadelphia having heard from a friend that a haul of birdskins from the Rocky Mountains had just arrived at the Philadelphia Academy. The collection was one assembled by John K. Townsend, an ornithologist, who travelled with the Scottish botanist, Thomas Nuttall over the Rocky Mountains all the way to the California and up the coast to the Columbia River. This collection contained many new birds and others known to Audubon that he had not yet drawn. The skins, if he could obtain them, would save him the time and expense of the trip he once planned to the Pacific Coast. Audubon eventually caught up with Nuttall in Boston, secured several coveted birds and plant specimens, and was delighted when Dr. Samuel Morton, the Philadelphia Academy's leader, agreed to sell him ninety-three of the western birdskins from the Townsend-Nuttall Collection. Audubon and his younger son finally reached Charleston on November 16, 1836. The challenge for Audubon, however, was to paint specimens of lifelike birds from museum specimens. Audubon, Maria Martin, and John Woodhouse once again conducted a painting marathon in the drawing room of the Bachman residence. Audubon painted the Band Tailed Pigeons, to which Maria Martin added Western Dogwood. Audubon placed ten woodpeckers representing five species on one page presenting a real challenge to Maria Martin's skill with a brush. She painted lichen-crusted branches, splintered wood, and time-worn bark to make the Ten Woodpeckers appear at home. Maria next applied her talents to drawing the California sycamore on which the five members of the crow family perched. Throughout December the trio of artists painted more than seventy birds and many backgrounds. Since they had not seen the birds alive, they were unfamiliar with their postures and environments. Maria Martin ended up painting Eastern plants as background for paired western birds. Finally, with the western birds on paper, Audubon was ready to go on an expedition to the "Mexican Gulph." He had been promised a cutter by Washington friends, although the campaign against the Seminoles in Florida raised doubts as to whether a cutter would arrive. Audubon and John Woodhouse departed in mid-February 1837 by train for Augusta, the first leg of an overland trip to Mobile and then to New Orleans, where they boarded a government ship for their expedition a month later. Audubon and his son, John Woodhouse, returned to Charleston on June 9, 1837. A couple weeks later John Woodhouse Audubon and Maria Rebecca Bachman were married by Reverend Bachman. The newlyweds and Audubon left for their journey north shortly thereafter--the young couple honeymooned at Niagara Falls and Audubon rested at a friend's home in New Jersey. The family departed for England on July 16, 1837. Bachman's health deteriorated over the next nine months, and he became so handicapped that his church vestry employed an assistant pastor to take over his duties. He undertook an ocean voyage (with an assistant Christopher Happoldt) coupled with a tour of Europe as a means of regaining his health, and felt a stopover in London was in order given the eminent arrival of his first grandchild. He arrived in Liverpool late on Sunday July 1, 1838 to find a letter waiting at his hotel telling him Lucy (Lu Lu) Green Audubon had been born while Bachman was on the ship Chicora. Audubon had warned his friend, as early as August 1837 that his wife Lucy was not well and frequently confined to her bed, so Bachman's visit at the Audubon residence at 4 Wimpole street was brief. He departed for London three days later for Edinburgh having visited his daughter and first-born grandchild. Bachman spent three weeks at Audubon's side along with Victor and William MacGillivray working on the text of the Ornithological Biography. Audubon wrote a passage for the book's introduction: "The days which we enjoyed together were few, but delightful; and when at the end of a fortnight my friend left us, I felt as if almost alone, and in the wilderness." A crisis loomed at 4 Wimpole Street, Bachman discovered upon his return to London. Lucy's illness, which flared again in the absence of her husband in Edinburgh, raised the question of whether or not John Woodhouse should take his family back to America or to France. Bachman agreed to leave for Europe while John Woodhouse, Maria and their baby would tour France for a couple of months and then go to America in the spring. In the meantime Lucy finally in return agreed to join Audubon in Edinburgh, leaving Bachman and his family alone for a visit in London before their departure for France. Bachman and his assistant spent the next several months travelling, attending scientific meetings, and conducting research on mammals in the collections of London museums. They sailed from Liverpool on the America on November 11, 1838, and arrived in Charleston on December 27. The European trip had not improved his health. He was still free from the duties of his pastorate, but now once again confined to his bed for some months to come. Anxious to escape Charleston's summer heat, he planned a trip to Philadelphia and New York. As outgoing president of the Lutheran General Synod, he attended the General Assembly in Philadelphia, and then went on to New York to attend to some business with Victor Audubon and his father. |
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