Alice Mary Longfellow (September 22, 1850 – December 7, 1928) was an American philanthropist, educational advocate, and historic preservationist.Partner Frances "Fanny" Coolidge Stone
Queer Places:
Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, 105 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138
Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA
Alice Mary Longfellow (September 22, 1850 – December 7, 1928) was an American philanthropist, educational advocate, and historic preservationist.
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she was the eldest surviving daughter of the famous poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow.
Alice was a prominent champion of women’s higher education. In 1879, she became one of the original founding members of the Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women (informally known as the "Harvard Annex"). She served as its treasurer and on its governing board for decades as it evolved into Radcliffe College. Today, Longfellow Hall at the Harvard Graduate School of Education stands named in her honor.
Longfellow devoted much of her life to preserving American history. She served as the Massachusetts Vice-Regent for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association for 48 years, working to restore George Washington's estate. She was also instrumental in preserving her family home, Craigie House (now the Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site) in Cambridge.
Historical research by scholars and the National Park Service highlights significant connections between Alice Mary Longfellow, her family, and queer/same-sex relationship networks of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Alice Mary Longfellow never married a man. Instead, she spent over four decades in an intimate, lifelong partnership—often characterized as a "Boston marriage"—with Frances "Fanny" Coolidge Stone, the daughter of a Massachusetts politician.
The two traveled extensively together across Europe and the U.S.
Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, 105 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138
Their preserved correspondence reflects a deeply affectionate, romantic bond characterized by passionate, yearning letters during periods of separation.
Anna Boynton Thompson was a prominent educator, scholar, and philosopher at Thayer Academy in Braintree, Massachusetts.
Within the network of late 19th-century New England women's higher education circles—where Alice Mary Longfellow was a leading figure—Thompson was a close contemporary and correspondent.
Thompson, like Alice and other educated women of their era, navigated the social structures of the late 19th century through intense intellectual and emotional bonds with other women in academic and reform circles.
Alice’s nephew, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dana—known to the family as Harry Dana—was a scholar, activist, and historic preservationist who lived at the Longfellow House for much of his adult life.
Harry Dana was a gay man who maintained intimate friendships and connections with various figures in queer history. Notably, his archived papers reveal a close, affectionate relationship with Glenn Carrington, a prominent queer Black activist and collector of African American history and literature.
Following Alice’s death in 1928, Harry Dana took on the stewardship of the Longfellow House archives and legacy, ensuring the preservation of materials that document both the literary history of the family and their complex personal lives.
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