Frances Lewis Wilson: Letters from Haiti 1843-1870

Frances Lewis Wilson: Letters from Haiti 1843-1870
Thursday, March 24 @ 7PM
Edgell Memorial Library & Zoom

Featuring: Joan Spinazola, Adjunct Professor of English at Worcester State University

Frances Lewis Wilson lived on Indian Hill in Framingham as a full-time resident for 20 years before she died at the age of 100 in 1920.   She led a remarkable life with her husband John Littlejohn Wilson – who like his brothers-in-law – was a Boston shipping merchant.  John’s business in Haiti was destroyed in 1842 when an earthquake leveled the town of Cape Haitian killing 7,000 people.  He was determined to rebuild and Francis moved to the island in 1843 where she lived for 27 years.  Copies of Frances’ letters in the FHC collection shed light on her experience as the only white woman on the island and her reflections after witnessing 11 revolutions.  After several years in St. Augustine, Frances moved to Framingham permanently following her husband’s death in 1899.  Her life has fascinated presenter Joan Spinazola since the first time she portrayed her during a FHC Haunted Cemetery Tour in 2017 and we are so pleased to share a more in-depth look at this remarkable woman.

This program will be both in-person and on Zoom webinar.  Frances Lewis Wilson: Letters from Haiti 1843-1870 is made possible by the Libby Franck Storytelling Fund. A recording will be available to ticket purchasers only.