People

Learn more about the people in Marie's letters. Click on a name to browse related letters.

A

Daughter of Professor Elisha Ballantine; lifelong friend of Louisa Wylie Boisen.
Unofficially "adopted" by Emma Dennis, Anna's birth name was Dolan. She lived with Emma and Elizabeth Dennis in Bloomington, IN and attended IU from 1875 – 1878.
Niece of Rebecca Dennis Wylie, through her sister Adelaide Dennis Speck.
Eldest child of Louisa Wylie and Hermann B. Boisen. Graduated from IU, Yale University Forestry School, and the Union Theological Seminary in NYC. Founder of the clinical pastoral education movement.
Older brother of Elizabeth Breckenridge
Son of Maggie and Arthur Mellette
Born in Henry County, Indiana; graduated from Indiana University in 1863; served in Company H of the Ninth Indiana Volunteers during the Civil War. Returned to Indiana University following the war and took a law degree in 1866 and was admitted to the bar. Practiced law and owned a newspaper in Muncie, Indiana. Served as a member of the Indiana legislature from 1872 to 1874. Took his family to the Dakota Territory in 1878 hoping the dry climate there would improve his wife's deteriorating health. Practiced law and then became last governor of the Dakota Territory and first governor of the State of South Dakota. Left the governorship in January 1893; moved to Pittsburg, Kansas in 1895 and died there a year later.

C

Son of Maggie and Arthur Mellette
Sister of Rebecca Dennis Wylie who lived in the Philadelphia area. Married Richard Trimble in 1856; widowed early; she had no children.

E

Youngest sister of Rebecca Dennis Wylie, called Lizzie. She lived with the Wylies for a few years in the 1850s, then returned to Bloomington, IN after her mother's death and ran a boarding house with her sister Susan Emma Dennis until her death. Never married
Eldest child of Theophilus and Rebecca Wylie. Married to Hermann B. Boisen in July 1873, and widowed in Jan 1884. Mother of two: Anton T. Boisen and Marie Louise Boisen Bradley

F

H

Mother of Elizabeth Breckenridge
Hermann Balthasar Boisen (1846 – 1884) Immigrated to US in April 1869 and invited to chair the Modern Language Department at Indiana University in 1870. Later taught at the Normal School in Terre Haute (later Indiana State University), Williams College in Massachusetts, in the public schools of Boston, Mass. and finally at Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, where he died of heart failure.

J

Daughter of Redick McKee Wylie, granddaughter of Andrew Wylie. Jean married Harry Axtell, a Bloomington attorney, in 1898

K

Niece of Rebecca Dennis Wylie, through her sister Caroline Matilda Dennis Egbert

L

Called Laurie by his family, he was the youngest son of Brown and Seabrook Wylie. He was raised by his grandparents and Aunt Louisa in Wylie House; attended but did not graduate from IU.

M

Younger sister of Elizabeth Breckenridge
Margaret Wylie Mellette (1843 – 1938) Daughter of Theophilus and Rebecca Wylie. Married Arthur Calvin Mellette in 1866 and with him had four sons
Cousin
Daughter of Louisa Wylie and Hermann B. Boisen. Marie grew up in Wylie House, graduated from IU in 1900 and married Morton C. Bradley
Niece of Rebecca Dennis Wylie, through her sister Adelaide Dennis Speck. Married James Snedden and served as matron of the Kansas Mason Home in Wichita for many years.
Morton attended IU where he met his future wife Marie Boisen. He graduated in 1899 with a degree in mathematics. Worked for many years as controller for the Boston and Maine Railroad

R

The only daughter of Brown and Seabrook Wylie, Was also raised in Wylie house by her grandparents and Aunt Louisa.
Born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Rebecca married Theophilus A. Wylie in 1838
Eldest son of Theophilus and Rebecca Wylie; a talented artist; enlisted in Company H, Indiana 18th Infantry Regiment on 16 Aug 1861 and died of disease on 25 October 1861, in Missouri.
Grandmother (potentially) of Elizabeth Breckenridge

S

The second son of Brown and Seabrook Wylie, was raised by his grandparents and his aunt Louisa Wylie Boisen. A talented artist, he moved to Boston and then New York where he became a commercial artist
Son of Theophilus and Rebecca Wylie graduated from IU in 1876. Died of Bright's Disease leaving his wife and four children
Married Brown Wylie in 1876 and with him had six children, four of whom survived. Soon after being widowed, she left her younger three at Wylie House where they were raised by their Aunt Louisa Boisen and their Grandmother Wylie
Unmarried sister of Rebecca Dennis Wylie. Lived with the Wylie family in Bloomington from 1872 through 1876, then ran a boarding house in town with her sister, Elizabeth (Lizzie)

T

Theodorus William John Wylie (1857 – 1934) Youngest son of Theophilus and Rebecca Dennis Wylie; called Dory or Dode by his family. Graduated from IU in 1877; married Fannie Thompson in 1882; widowed in 1895; no children
Called Theo by his family, he was the eldest son of Brown and Seabrook Wylie. Went with his mother to Boston after his father's death in 1890 and eventually became a commercial photo engraver
Son of Theophilus and Rebecca Wylie
Born and educated in Philadelphia. Graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1830, studied theology in the Seminary of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, and was licensed to preach in 1836. He later received the honorary D. D. from Miami University in Ohio; Monmouth College in Illinois; and Princeton College in New Jersey. An honorary L.L.D. was bestowed upon him by the University of Pennsylvania. Came to Bloomington in 1837 to teach natural philosophy and chemistry at Indiana College (which became Indiana University in 1838). Was an active faculty member until 1886 except for 2 ½ years in the early 1850s which he spent at Miami University in Ohio; then professor emeritus until his death. Served as IU's librarian for 38 years