The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1911-02-10
PEACEFUL Emo TO
An ACTIVE LIFE
Death Calls Mrs. R. B. Spring in
Her 0ne-Hundredth Year
Remarkable Career.

-
Los ANGELES, February 8. - Mrs.
Rebeeca BufTum Spring died at her
home, 500 North Soto street, today,
aged ono hundred years. She was a
member Of the Friday Morning Club
aud was honorary FIRST vicepresident
of the Federation Of Women q Clubs
two years ago. She passed away in
her sleep, retaining her faculties until
almost the last day of her life.
Mrs. Spring was one of the remark.
able women Of her time and a link be,
tween the modern progressive thought
for women and the early days Of the
nineteenth century. She was an init.
mate friend Of Julia Ward Howe, Mrs
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Mrs. c. NJ.
Severance, of Whittier, Emerson, Long.
fellow, Bryant, Greeley, Garrison, Fred.
ericka Bremen, Thomas Carlyle and other
men and women of worldwide fame
AT her home on the banks Of the Rari.
tan, known as Eagleswood, she was the
hostess 1t many gatherings at which
the best-knOwn people of half cen.
tury ago were the guests.
Revolutionary Stock.
Mrs. Spring was born in Providence,
Rhode Island, June s, 1911. She was
the daughter of Arnold Buffum, the first
president of the Anti.Slavery Society
in America, and of Sarah Gould Buffum,
daughter of General Gould of the Revo.
lutionary War, who led the patriots at |
the burning Of the Gaspe in Naragan.
sett Bay in 17T5.
She married Marcus Spring, one of |
the old merchant princes of New York, |
and afterward the organizer of sys.
tematic fire insurance, in 1885, and |
travelled extensively in Europe. There |
she met Buchanan (the historian), Car. |
lyle, De Quincy, Margaret Hewitt and |
many other English literary and scien. |
tifc men and women. She was the |
guest of the Queen of Denmark and Of |
the Crown Princess of Sweden. She |
visited the home of Hans Christian An. |
dersen, and in Sweden became acquaint.
ed with Frederick Bremen and brought |
her to America, afterwards taking her |
to Italy, where she met and married the |
Count d'Ossoli. She was a passenger
on the first steamer to cross the At |
lantic.
NURSES JOnn 6rOWn.
When the news reached her, of the |
fight at Harpers Ferry and that John |
Brown was wounded, she chartered a |
special train and went to Charlestown, |
where he was a prisoner, passing un.
scathed through a mob which threat. |
ened to tear her to pieces, to the Jail |
where the wounded man lay. There she |
bound up his wounds properly and
cared for him.
When Hazlett, Stevens, Brown and !
their companions were hanged, Mr.. !
Spring took their bodies from the gal |
lows, with the exception of Brown s,
whose body had disappeared before he |
could get there, and brought them to |
Eagleswood, at Perth Amboy, New Jer. |
sey, and buried them in an oak grove,
his sons standing guard with loaded |
rifles over the graves for days to pre-.
vent the bodies being dug up and |
thrown into the bay by the proslavery
men of the district. In 1898 these |
bodies were removed to Vermont and |
reburied beside their old leader.
Her brother, William Buffum, who |
died recently in Boston, visited Homo
lulu in 1854, and afterwards settled for
time in San Francisco, where he be-
came chief clerk of the city. At his
death he left to the Boston Museum of
Art a collection of antique amber or
naments gathered during sixty years Of
travel, which is stated to be the finest
collection of the kind in the world and
is valued at over 100000.
Active in women's Crusade.
Mrs. Spring became a widow in 1874, |
and few years later sold her great |
estate and moved to California, settling
at Los Angeles She was for many |
years before her death a factor in the |
crusade for a wider sphere of influence |
for women, writing many articles along |
these lines. Her son, Edward A. Spring, |
who died in New York recently, was |
well-known sculptor and one Of the |
organizers Of Chautauqua. Her dauqh- |
ter, Mrs. Jeanne Spring Peet, who sur
wives her, is well known as an artist
and writer.
Mrs. Spring leaves number Of
grandchildren, including one grandson,
Arthur l.. MacKaye; great.grandson,
David Lorlng MaeKaye, and a great |
great-grandson, David Loring MaeKaye
Jr., in Honolulu. The funeral will be |
held Friday, under the auspices of the |
Friday Morning Club. She was also
the great aunt, by marriage, of Presi-
dent Taft.
Shortly before her death Mrs Spring |
entertained at her home Mrs. Charlotte |
Perkins Gilman, Mrs. c. M. Severance,
Mrs. s. M. Bowman and number Of
other wellknown women, a gathering |
which will be remembered by all who |
were present for many years to come.
At great reception given Mrs. Spring
on her ninety-ninth birthday at the
Women's Clubhouse, she entertained
the gathering of several hundred
women for half an hour in charm
ing talk from the platform. In her
ninety-third year she acted the princi-
pal part in a three.act play, written
by her daughter, in which her great
grandson took one of the male parts.
PLEAGUE REACHES CHEF00.
cHEFoo, February s.-Two hundred
10 4. H. z.