Title
Ellen Peter-Bryce, 1841-1929
Subject
Bryce, Ellen Peter, 1841-1929
Bryce Hospital (Tuscaloosa, AL)
Description
Marie Ellen ("Nellie") Clarkson was born on May 22, 1841, in Columbia, South Carolina, to Thomas Boston Clarkson and Sarah Caroline Heriot.
On November 28, 1860, at the age of 19, she married Peter Bryce, a 26 year old native in Columbia, South Carolina. This was less than 60 days before Alabama's secession, and on her wedding night long streamers bearing the words "Separate State Action" floated over her South Carolina home.
Bryce had recently been hired as the superintendent of the recently constructed, state-of-the-art hospital for the "insane" at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and they lived in an apartment in the central portion of the facility. The couple had no children, but raised three of her brother's children, Eugene, Sue and Gusie Clarkson. The Bryces were tenacious advocates for those suffering from mental illness. An emphasis of Nellie Bryce involved providing musical programs and classes to the patients. She also regularly entertained the students at the adjacent University of Alabama.
Nellie and her husband were members of Christ Episcopal Church and cornerstones of Tuscaloosa Society. She was said to be a "great joiner," belonging to over thirty civic organizations. Among those was the Druid City Literary Club and a Tuscaloosa Temperance organization called the Woman's Home Union. She was also a very active member of the Robert E. Rodes Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Tuscaloosa Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, both of which she helped found. She later conceived the idea of organizing a Red Cross Chapter in Tuscaloosa County.
Nellie was described as "a charming lady" who "wields an influence for good wherever she appears." She "captivates all hearts," exemplifying "that nobility of character and devotion to duty which have rendered her so truly a help meet to her distinguished husband, whose home in the midst of the onerous duties she so gracefully adorns." "Sweetness and genuineness characterized every word and act of Mrs. Bryce." She was, wrote a visitor from the North, "widely known as the 'sweetest women in Alabama.'"
Nellie's husband died in 1892, at which time the hospital was renamed for him. In honor of her husband, Nellie changed her last name to "Peter-Bryce." Having lived on the hospital grounds throughout their marriage, she subsequently constructed a large residence on the corner of Seventh Street and Twenty-First Avenue where she lived for the rest of her life. In her later years, she was described as tall, stately, and very gracious, and known for her elegance and simplicity. "She represented fully the ideal of old school southern womanhood, considerate of others, gentle, cultured, elegant and with all a simple unaffected Christian character."
At her death in Mobile in 1929, she was buried alongside her husband on the grounds of Bryce Hospital. The Tuscaloosa News wrote that the city had "welcomed her as a bride; felt her inspiration, energy and ability as a patron; and showed love and appreciation to her in declining years." Now Tuscaloosa releases her body back to its Maker, knowing the soul is destined for all that Heaven affords the good and great. The members of the Tuscaloosa Chapter of the Daughter of the American Revolution erected a marker at her grave in 1938. Following her death, her home housed the first kindergarten in Tuscaloosa, known as the "Playgarden."
On November 28, 1860, at the age of 19, she married Peter Bryce, a 26 year old native in Columbia, South Carolina. This was less than 60 days before Alabama's secession, and on her wedding night long streamers bearing the words "Separate State Action" floated over her South Carolina home.
Bryce had recently been hired as the superintendent of the recently constructed, state-of-the-art hospital for the "insane" at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and they lived in an apartment in the central portion of the facility. The couple had no children, but raised three of her brother's children, Eugene, Sue and Gusie Clarkson. The Bryces were tenacious advocates for those suffering from mental illness. An emphasis of Nellie Bryce involved providing musical programs and classes to the patients. She also regularly entertained the students at the adjacent University of Alabama.
Nellie and her husband were members of Christ Episcopal Church and cornerstones of Tuscaloosa Society. She was said to be a "great joiner," belonging to over thirty civic organizations. Among those was the Druid City Literary Club and a Tuscaloosa Temperance organization called the Woman's Home Union. She was also a very active member of the Robert E. Rodes Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Tuscaloosa Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, both of which she helped found. She later conceived the idea of organizing a Red Cross Chapter in Tuscaloosa County.
Nellie was described as "a charming lady" who "wields an influence for good wherever she appears." She "captivates all hearts," exemplifying "that nobility of character and devotion to duty which have rendered her so truly a help meet to her distinguished husband, whose home in the midst of the onerous duties she so gracefully adorns." "Sweetness and genuineness characterized every word and act of Mrs. Bryce." She was, wrote a visitor from the North, "widely known as the 'sweetest women in Alabama.'"
Nellie's husband died in 1892, at which time the hospital was renamed for him. In honor of her husband, Nellie changed her last name to "Peter-Bryce." Having lived on the hospital grounds throughout their marriage, she subsequently constructed a large residence on the corner of Seventh Street and Twenty-First Avenue where she lived for the rest of her life. In her later years, she was described as tall, stately, and very gracious, and known for her elegance and simplicity. "She represented fully the ideal of old school southern womanhood, considerate of others, gentle, cultured, elegant and with all a simple unaffected Christian character."
At her death in Mobile in 1929, she was buried alongside her husband on the grounds of Bryce Hospital. The Tuscaloosa News wrote that the city had "welcomed her as a bride; felt her inspiration, energy and ability as a patron; and showed love and appreciation to her in declining years." Now Tuscaloosa releases her body back to its Maker, knowing the soul is destined for all that Heaven affords the good and great. The members of the Tuscaloosa Chapter of the Daughter of the American Revolution erected a marker at her grave in 1938. Following her death, her home housed the first kindergarten in Tuscaloosa, known as the "Playgarden."
Source
Beverly Phifer
Contributor
Chris McIlwain (Description)
Type
Painting
Identifier
1243
Coverage
Tuscaloosa (AL)
Original Format
Painting