This morning I finished Weston Cate's Forever Calais: A History of Calais, Vermont. Janet gave me a copy of this book when I moved in with her three years ago, and to my shame it took me this long to get around to reading it. I'm sure it benefitted from my decision this year to read a variety of books that I usually wouldn't, which is not to say it's not a good book, but, instead, it's more a commentary on me getting into a rut. It's interesting/odd to think that it wasn't that long ago that Calais had a much bigger population, at exactly the time when it would have been much harder to live out here in the wilderness. There are some much larger socio-economic factors that you can't fight, although the good folks of Calais do a pretty good job trying to not only keep the town going but make things better. One of my favorite section was the final chapter where Cate focused on a few of the really interesting personalities who came from Calais. I especially liked the story of Sleeping Lucy Cooke.
Lucy Ainsworth, better known throughout most of her lifetime as "Sleeping Lucy," was born in Calais May 4, 1819. She was one of nine children, and it is therefore not surprising that the family was poor. When the older children were forced to go to work to help support the family, Lucy learned to braid straw and make bonnets. She later became a tailor's apprentice for a time, but her work led to a sickness, which confined her to bed for two years.
Doctors agreed that there was no hope for her recovery. The family, however, sent for a brother living in New York state who seemed to have mastered Mesmerism sleep. The brother came home and help Lucy to fall into Mesmerismic sleep. Shortly thereafter it is said that Lucy spoke clearly saying she would get well if someone would put together a collection of special herbs and give them to her. This the family did, and Lucy gradually returned to good health.
Lucy first appeared to have powers that allowed her to help people find missing objects. Her reputation spread throughout the countryside. While she was not always successful, she was right often enough to maintain her reputation.
In 1846 Lucy married Charles R. Cooke, a native of Morristown. It appears that Coke was a Mesmerist though little is known about him. With the help of her husband Lucy became a professional clairvoyant physician. Her psychic powers seemed to grow. The couple moved to Reading, Vermont, where Charles died in 1855. Shortly thereafter she moved to Montpelier where she lived for 16 years. She had retained Everett William Raddin as a secretary following Cooke's death.
She probably practiced self-mesmerism after her husband died, for she was only able to find missing articles or prescribe medicines when she was in a mesmeric state. Further, when she awoke, she had no memory of what she had said during the trance. Her medical practice included the ability to set broken bones mesmerically and help those with dislocated limbs. She also did a considerable mail order business in herbal medicines.
In 1876 Lucy and Raddin moved to Boston. Her later years were not always pleasant. She was estranged from her only daughter, and family members felt that Raddin had taken advantage of her financially and otherwise. She died in 1896 and was buried in Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, far from her early beginnings in Calais.
The story sounded familiar, although I'm not certain where I would have heard it before. It led to a shallow rabbit hole (I'm too busy writing to give too much time to anything at the moment). Apparently Lucy was involved in a couple famous events when she helped locate missing bodies, and she later married Raddin, although she was decades older than him (hence the note above on why her family felt he had "taken advantage of her financially and otherwise.")
I'd definitely recommend Forever Calais, and not simply if you live here in the wilderness, but also for folks interested in Vermont or more generally a glimpse into life in a very different time.
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