Queer Places:
Seccombe Family Cemetery, 71 Union Street, Peterborough, New Hampshire 03458

Elizabeth "Bessie" Ann Seccombe (January 8, 1877 - May 7, 1915) was born on January 8, 1877, in Northumberland, England, to William Simpson Seccombe, a master mariner and Cunard Line captain, and his wife Hannah. As the second of eleven children in a large literary family, her early life was rooted in England before her father emigrated to the United States in 1895. The family subsequently joined Captain Seccombe in 1897, settling in Peterborough, New Hampshire, near the summer residences of Boston's prominent elite.

Well-read, highly educated, and independent, Bessie trained as a nurse, housekeeper, and secretary, eventually becoming a member of the Boston Athenaeum. Around 1905, she entered into an intense romantic relationship with the American Imagist poet Amy Lowell. The Lowell family likely established contact with the Seccombes through shared social circles in New Hampshire or transatlantic maritime connections. The two women became virtually inseparable, traveling extensively together and receiving recognition as a couple among mutual friends who entertained them and acted as confidantes. Historians view this partnership as pivotal to Lowell's career, as the emotional stability and romance provided her with the confidence and drive to fully commit to her literary calling.

The primary evidence of their romance survives through letters preserved in the archives of Robert Grosvenor Valentine, a poetry professor, bond trader, and government official who served as a trusted friend to both women. However, the relationship ended abruptly in 1907. The sudden breakup left Bessie emotionally devastated, writing to the Valentines that "the bottom had dropped out of the universe" and expressing profound despair over Lowell's refusal to see her again. Lowell was similarly shaken, later noting that she felt a loss of "spontaneity and freedom" following the separation. Afterward, Lowell excised Bessie from her personal papers, causing Seccombe's role in the poet's life to be omitted from early historical accounts until the recent discovery of the Valentine archival records.

Following the rupture, Bessie focused on supporting her household. After her father passed away in 1910, she stepped up as the primary breadwinner for her mother and younger siblings, financing their education—including that of her youngest brother, Percy—through her varied professional work and earning a membership as a primary financial pillar of the family.

Her life came to a tragic end during the First World War. On May 1, 1915, Bessie and Percy boarded the ocean liner RMS Lusitania as first-class passengers in cabin B-35, intending to travel to England, where they planned to volunteer with the Red Cross. On May 7, 1915, the vessel was torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland. Both Bessie, aged 38, and Percy perished in the sinking. Her body, identified as recovered body number 164, was initially slated for burial in Cobh, Ireland, before being repatriated to the United States aboard the SS Lapland for burial near her family's home in Peterborough, New Hampshire.

References:


The Hub of the Gay Universe: An LGBTQ History of Boston, Provincetown, and Beyond Paperback – April 1, 2019
by Russ López

Other references:

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