# Representative women of New England/Ethel Hyde

​ETHEL HYDE.— The earthly sojourn of Miss Ethel Hyde, comprised within the brief period of twenty-eight years, was a healthy, contented, happy life, that reflected the sunny radiance of a pure soul, and, measured by quality, may be said to have been rounded out and complete.
Miss Hyde was born in Bath, Me., on the thirtieth day of August, 1871. Her father was General Thomas Worcester Hyde, and her paternal grandparents were Zina and Eleanor (Davis) Hyde. As a leading merchant of Bath in his day, Zina Hyde held an influential posi​position in the community. He was a man of scholarly and artistic tastes, and travelled extensively in Europe. Thomas Worcester Hyde was born in Florence, Italy, January 15, 1841, and was graduated at Bowdoin College in 1861. In the summer of that year he raised a company of volunteers for the Seventh Maine Regiment. Appointed Major in August, he had the honor, in the absence of the colonel and lieutenant colonel, of leading the regiment to the field. He commanded the Seventh Regiment at Antietam and in other engagements. Later he was commissioned Colonel of the First Maine Veteran Volunteers, and at the age of twenty-three years he was commander of the Third Brigade, Second Division, Sixth Army Corps. He was mustered out in the summer of 1865, after four years of gallant service, and was brevetted Brigadier-general. Later on he received from Congress a medal of honor. Returning to Bath, he purchase the Warden Foundry, which soon, owing to his energy and business ability, developed into the famous Bath Iron Works, of which he was president. He also established the Hyde Windlass Company.
General Hyde endeared himself to all by his manly bearing, business integrity, courteous manner, and cultivated conversation. He was frequently chosen to fill high political offices in both city and State. His classical attainments and literary abilities are evinced in a translation of some of the odes of Horace, published by the Bibliophile Society of Boston, and in an interesting book of reminiscences of the Sixth Corps, entitled "Following the Greek Cross." He died greatly mourned in November, 1899.
His wife, Mrs. Annie Hyde, who survives her husband, was well qualified to be the companion of such a man. Her father, John Hayden, was, to quote a newspaper account of him, "an astronomer, a mathematician, and a profound scholar." He was one of the early abolitionists, and he, too, held some of the highest political offices in the city and State. Mrs. Hyde's mother, Mrs. Martha Brown Hayden, was noted for her beauty and wit. Mrs. Hyde herself, finely educated, sympathetic, kindly, of polished manner, keen intelligence, and gracious presence, has maintained her position as chatelaine of Elmhurst, her beautiful home in Bath, with dignity and happy hospitality. To her mother's influence Ethel owed much of her charm of manner and brilliance of conversation. The relation between Mrs. Hyde and her children is ideal.
Miss Ethel Hyde went through the usual routine of the schools in Bath, the instruction there received being supplemented by private tuition. At the age of eighteen, with her aunt, Mrs. Eames, mother of the famous vocalist, Emma Eames, she went to Europe to "finish her education," as the expression is, although, as a fact, her education never was complete. She was always learning, not satisfied with that which she had already acquired, but eager to gain knowledge in all directions. The result was the possession of a well-balanced, resourceful mind, which appreciated the higher impulses of life while not disdaining its lighter claims. Blessed with a fine physique and graceful in form, she united in her person the classic requirements of the healthy mind in the healthy body. She was fond of outdoor life, and excelled in all athletic exercises. Her artistic sense was highly developed. This was characteristically displayed in her love of flowers, of which the beautiful beds at Elmhurst were her especial care. Her fine perception and good judgment as an amateur of art were attested by her fine collection of pictures from European galleries.
But, of all the gifts with which nature had endowed her, none was more marked than that of music. It was born in her, inherited to a large extent from her mother, who is a finished and artistic musician. Early promise of a musical voice was detected by the mother, who fostered and cared for it until the time came for higher cultivation. Miss Clara Munger, of Boston, was her first teacher. She subsequently studied under Olivieri in Boston and Madam Picciotto, Van den Heuvel, and Manouri in Paris. The promise of early days was more than fulfilled. A voice of exquisite beauty and purity of tone had been trained in the highest and most artistic method, and a brilliant singer appeared. Had her ambitions tended in that direction, Miss Hyde would have won laurels on the operatic stage; and, indeed, she was ​often urged to devote herself to this career. Eminent critics who had heard her were unanimously of the opinion that she would adorn the lyric profession. Anton Seidl declaied she had "a voice of velvet," while Jean de Reszke pronounced it the best amateur voice he had ever heard. But her own tastes did not lie in that way, and she voluntarily gave up an opportunity that many might covet.
The gift, however, was not hidden; and Miss Hyde was ranked among the highest of amateur singers. Not only in her own home, but in social circles of New York, Boston, Newport, and Lenox, as well as in Paris, Venice, and other places abroad, she delighted all who heard her. In Washington she was a guest of the British and German Ambassadors, and on more than one occasion was specially invited to sing at the White House. In accordance with her habitual desire of making good use of her accomplishments and acting up to the beneficent instincts of her nature, she devoted her talents largely to the cause of benevolence and charity. To this end she frequently organized concerts or gave recitals, in order to be able to minister to the wants of needy and deserving people, and there are many to-day who owe education and all that they are to her thoughtful consitleration.
Confirmed in Grace Church, Bath, Miss Hyde was sincere and unostentatious in her religious life. The Christian virtues and graces beautified her character. She took an active part in church work, and her own parish gratefully recalls the practical and financial assistance she rendered. Thus, adorning her station in society, pursuing a life of unselfish goodness, she was respected and loved by all.
It was in the midst of such a life, so bright and useful, that Miss Hyde was suddenly stricken down with incurable disease. Tenderly ministered to with all that loving hearts could supply, for three months she bore her sufferings with beautiful patience and Christian fortitude. Then God called her to higher service on Sunday, August 27, 1899. On the twenty-eighth anniversary of her birth all that was mortal of Ethel Hyde was laid to rest amidst a sorrow that was universal. Many glowing tributes have been paid to her memory. The regard in which she was held by those among whom she lived may be gathered from the words of her rector at the funeral service, when, speaking of the wonderful voice, he said, "It seemed as if it were the very expression of her life, tuned to a higher key—as all her life was—sweet, true, pure, inspiring," and from the opening and closing sentences of an editorial in the local paper: "The entire city mourns to-day for the sad death of Miss Ethel Hyde. . . . She will be held in long and grateful remembrance for her many deeds of charity and loving kindness."