1 George Corner's Dr. Kane of the Arctic Seas (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1972) is the most comprehensive monograph on Kane. It is a reliable biography and provides a starting point for all subsequent Kane scholarship by skillfully reconstructing his Second Grinnell Expedition and comparing his published narrative to the actual events of the voyage.
2 This article is excerpted from my recent dissertation "Raising Kane: The Creation of Fame in Antebellum America, or, The Thrilling and Tragic Narrative of Elisha Kent Kane and his Transformation into Dr. Kane, the Hero of the Romantic Age" (Ph.D. diss., University of Texas, Austin, 2001).
3 Residents of Cooperstown saw the Kane family as shrewd and successful but somewhat suspect. In 1792, Moss Kent, Elisha's cousin who lived in Cooperstown, thought about marrying Elisha's sister, Sally. Moss saw this as advantageous as the Kanes were wealthy merchants and he expected the union would "add to my Happiness & advance my Prosperity to many Thousand." He decided not to marry her, however, as his brother warned that he had "little respect for most of her connections." See Alan Taylor, William Cooper's Town (New York: Vintage Books, 1995), 306.
4 Early Kane family history is covered in: John K. Kane, Autobiography: Myself from 1795 to 1849, ed. Sybil Kane, (Philadelphia: privately printed, 1949); George Corner, Dr. Kane of the Arctic Seas (Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1972), 6-17; and Elizabeth Dennistoun Kane, Story of John Kane of Dutchess County, New York (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1921). John K. Kane's autobiography was written in 1848 and published with additional information and a family tree in 1949. Though informative, both of these books are not entirely reliable as they are based largely on John Kane's recollections and family stories told many years after the events described.
5 John Kane did not have a middle name at birth, but as a young man he adopted his stepmother's maiden name, "Kintzing" as his middle name.
6 Charles K. Shields, "The Arctic Monument named for Tennyson by Dr. Kane," Century Magazine 34 (Aug. 1898): 482-92. In 1824, Jane, then a 28 year-old mother of two boys, was selected by the city to join the Marquis de Lafayette in opening a dress ball in his honor. Her beauty and grace at this event was recorded by Thomas Sully, the leading portrait painter of the day, who painted her portrait in her ball costume as Mary, Queen of Scots.
7 Edgar Richardson, "The Athens of America," in Philadelphia: A 300-Year History, ed. Russell F. Weigley, (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1982), 237-38; Corner, 6-17; Henry Simpson, ed. The Lives of Eminent Philadelphians (Philadelphia, 1859), 648-50; Dictionary of American Biography, "Thomas Leiper."
8 [John K. Kane], "A Candid View of the Presidential Question," (Philadelphia, 1828). A copy of this rare pamphlet is housed at the American Philosophical Society.
9 John Kane, Autobiography, 36-42; Corner, 9-11.
10 Pennsylvania Freeman (Dec. 4, 1851), 3; Corner, 279n8.
11 Thomas Slaughter, Bloody Dawn: The Christiana Riot and Racial Violence in the Antebellum North (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991); W.U. Hensel, The Christiana Riot and the Treason Trials of 1851 (Lancaster, PA: New Era Printing Co., 1911); and Randall Hudson & James Duram, "The New York Daily Tribune and Passmore Williamson's Case: A Study in the Use of Northern States' Rights," Wichita State University Bulletin (November, 1974). For the Kane family's take on Williamson's case see EKK to JKK (Oct. 30, 1855), letter in the possession of Eliza Cope Harrison. A good view of how Philadelphia's elite society viewed Judge Kane's ruling in the Williamson case is available in Sidney George Fisher, The Diary of Sidney George Fisher, 1834-1871, ed. N.B. Wainwright (Philadelphia: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1967), 249-51.
12 John Kane, Autobiography; Corner, 9-11; and Simpson, 613-18.
13 Simpson, 615. It seems likely that this biographical sketch was written by John Kane's son, Tom Leiper Kane, who appears as a contributor to this work and who was himself a skilled manipulator of public opinion.
15 folder, "Notebook (Childhood)," APS EKK papers.
16 EKK to JKK (June 10, 1828), APS EKK papers. For Elisha's roof-climbing story see William Elder, Biography of Elisha Kent Kane (Philadelphia: Childs & Peterson, 1857), 22-25.
18 EKK to JKK (Sept. 16, [1831?]), APS EKK papers.
19 James Park McCallie, "Elisha Kent Kane," Alumni Bulletin, University of Virginia 6 (1889), 103-6; Corner, 22-24. It seems Kane may have began taking classes at UVA in 1837 though he did not matriculate until 1838.
20 Robert Patterson to Mrs. Patterson (June 6, 1839), Dow Papers, Stefansson Arctic Collection, Dartmouth College Library.
22 EKK to U.S. Naval Board of Examiners (June 2, 1842), APS EKK papers. This letter outlines Kane's work over the previous few years. For his experiments with Kiesteine see Elisha Kent Kane, "Experiments on Kiesteine with Remarks on its Application to Pregnancy," American Journal of Medical Sciences 4 (1842), 13-37.
23 EKK to JKK & JDLK (May 23, [1842]), APS EKK papers.
24 Elder, 41. Quoted from a letter McPheeters wrote to Elder about EKK while Elder was working on Kane's biography in 1857.
25 Elder, 52; Corner, 32-33, 280n1. Elder's goal for the biography was to show Elisha as a selfless hero, one who did not seek out fame and fortune. This would explain why he would have attributed Elisha's sudden change of career to his father, not Elisha.
26 Carl Bode, The Anatomy of American Popular Culture, 1840-1861, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1960), 221.
28 JKK to Elizabeth Kane (April 1, 1842), Kane family papers, Clements Library, University of Michigan.
29 EKK to JKK & JDLK (May 23, [1842]), APS EKK papers.
30 Corner, 33; Mary Leiper to EKK (May 23, 1843), APS EKK papers. Sixteen letters from Mary to Kane housed in the APS show that over the next decade the two stayed close as Mary's infatuation with her older cousin slowly turned into a warm friendship.
31 This change is apparent in the letters between Elisha and his family over the next several months and years. See especially EKK to TLK (undated, c. August, 1844), folder "Robert Patterson Kane, n.d.," APS TLK papers. A rough draft of this letter in the APS EKK papers shows that this letter was written from Whampoa, China.
32 EKK to U.S. Naval Board of Examiners (June 2, 1842), APS EKK papers.
35 Elisha wrote Cushing, volunteering for the mission as an "honorary" member and Cushing accepted. See Cushing to EKK (May 20, 1843), Library of Congress, Manuscripts Division, Caleb Cushing papers.
36 Corner, 32-48. Corner did an amazing job of piecing together Kane's route during this two year escapade, meticulously verifying and correcting Elder's exaggerated account. My telling of this journey relies heavily on Corner's work as well as his research notes now housed with the Elisha Kent Kane papers at the American Philosophical Society. One date discrepancy appears in his book; he cites Kane as returning to Philadelphia on April 6, 1845, undoubtedly a typographical error of the correct date, August 6, 1845.
37 Weaver's logbook, housed in the APS EKK papers, is now the only complete account of this part of the journey as this section of the ship's official log is now missing. For Kane's work with Weaver see William Robinson to EKK (Oct. 10, 1845) APS EKK papers.
38 Corner, 35-36; Elder, 55-56. Kane's journals from this time were lost and so this information comes from the remembrances of the Kane family as told to Elder in 1857. The events do match with the logbook of William Weaver noted above.
39 Elder, 75-76. When writing his biography of Kane, Elder wrote many of Kane's friends for their remembrances of him; this quote comes from Webster's response.
41 This note still exists in the APS EKK papers. It reads, "Being about to descend into the Crater for the first time since its great alteration, I would exempt my friends from all participation in my attempt and I beg that this may be forwarded to my friends at home should I not return. E.K. Kane April 14th Manila Time, Crater of Taal Forward to J.K. Kane Esq. Philada."
42 Folder, "Travel Notes," APS EKK papers
43 This story appears in ibid.; and Elder, 59-65 (Elder's account comes from Kane's travel notes and family stories).
44 folder, "Manila Rough Notes," APS EKK papers. Marks in the journal show that they were edited for potential publication and letters between Elisha and Tom allude to these journals as the foundation of a book.
45 JKK & TLK to EKK (undated, c. Spring, 1844), APS EKK papers.
47 Baron Loë to EKK (May 23, 1844), APS EKK papers.
50 JKK & TLK to EKK (Dec. 9, 1844) APS EKK papers.
53 The Friend of China and Hongkong Gazette, an English-language newspaper published in Hong Kong, contained several ads placed by Kane and O'Sullivan, informing foreign captains of their services. A clipping can be found in the APS EKK papers and is reprinted in Corner, 41.
55EKK to TLK (undated, c. August, 1844), folder "Robert Patterson Kane, n.d.," APS TLK papers. A draft of this letter shows that it was written from Whampoa, China.
56 TLK to EKK (Dec. 6, 1844), APS EKK papers. Bess (Elizabeth), Pat (Robert Patterson) and John (John Jr.) were Elisha and Tom's younger siblings.
57 folder, "Whampoa Medical Affairs," APS EKK papers.
58 Judging from the letters he quotes, William Elder had many letters that have not survived to the present. However, Elder's biography was purposefully hagiographic (commissioned by Kane's publisher to promote further book sales) and is thus exaggerated the scope of Kane's travels.
59 Willie Kane to EKK (March 19, 1845), APS EKK papers.
61 Ibid.; Corner, 44, 281-82n20. Corner speculates on each of these possible routes and shows that a sea route is much more likely.
62 Corner, 44. Kane also gained membership in the Egyptian Literary Association. See Henry Abbott to EKK (Dec. 2, 1845), APS EKK papers.
63 folder, "Notebook #7," and EKK to JKK (Aug. 3, 1845), APS EKK papers.
64 Elder, 81, 84. This comes from a long letter excerpted by Elder. The original is not present among Kane's surviving papers.
67 Corner, 45-46; folder, "Notebook #7," APS EKK papers.
68 Elder, 96-97. Elder notes that Kane visited "the Delphic oracle at Castri" but the Delphic oracle is in Delphi, not Castri. When Elisha was in Delphos (then known as Castri) he probably visited the oracle of Pythos, dedicated to the god Apollo.
69 Ibid., 97. Though this letter is no longer among the EKK papers, I do not doubt its authenticity because Elisha proposed a similar plan a few months earlier. See Washington Irving to EKK (Feb. 8. 1845), APS EKK papers.
70 Note the success of Richard Dana's Two Years Before the Mast (1840), and Herman Melville's Typee (1846) and Omoo (1847).
71 TLK to EKK (undated, c. May, 1846), APS EKK papers. This letter discusses a chapter Elisha sent Tom for review.
72 TLK to EKK (Dec. 6 & Dec. 9, 1844), APS EKK papers. For more on Tom Kane, see Albert L. Zobell Jr., Sentinel in the East: A Biography of Thomas L. Kane (Salt Lake City: Nicholas G. Morgan, 1965).
73 JKK to EKK (Dec. 14, 1844), APS EKK papers; Corner, 10.
74 TLK to EKK (Dec. 9, 1844), APS EKK papers.
76 EKK to Henry Selden (Sept. 1, 1845), APS EKK papers.
77 folder, "Mary Leiper to EKK," and EKK to Helen Patterson (May 7, 1845), APS EKK papers.
78 EKK to Henry Selden (Sept. 1, 1845), APS EKK papers.
79 Not surprisingly, Kane worked hard to keep Reed's identity hidden. I have been unable to learn who she was or the nature of their relationship. The condescending tone in his letters, and the fact that he had no concerns about her family, suggest that he saw her as a lower-class citizen. She is not listed in the 1845 Philadelphia directory.
81 J[ohn] T[aylor] J[r.] to EKK (Feb. 4, 1846), folder "Letters to Dr. Kane," APS EKK papers.
82 folder, "Miscellany #1," APS EKK papers.
84 C.C. VanWyck to EKK (May 27, 1946), APS EKK papers.
85 folders, "Miscellany #1," and "Miscellany #5," APS EKK papers.
86 RPK to EKK (Nov. 12, 1846), APS EKK papers. Other surviving letters show that Patterson know about this whole affair and is here using false names only to protect Elisha. It is evident that "Hensenker" is a pseudonym because they alternate spelling it "Hensenker" and "Hensenken." See folder "Elisha Kent Kane," APS RPK papers.
87 Corner, 50. That John Kane had prior knowledge of the events in Mexico is suggested in the journal of Philadelphia merchant Thomas Cope who, on Dec. 13, 1845, noted that he sought advice from John Kane on the situation and Kane had "affected ignorance on the subject." Philadelphia Merchant: The Diary of Thomas P. Cope, 1800-1851 ed. Eliza Cope Harrison, (South Bend, IN: Gateway Editions, 1978).
89 Mark Metzler Sawin, "A Sentinel for the Saints: Tom Leiper Kane and the Mormon Migration," Nauvoo Journal 10 (Spring, 1998).
90 TLK to EKK (May 27, 1846), APS EKK papers.
91 TLK to EKK (undated, c. May, 1846), APS EKK papers.
92 TLK to EKK (May 27, 1846), APS EKK papers.
93 JKK to EKK (May 31, 1846), APS EKK papers. Tom included a note on the back of this letter. The "Moore" referred to is almost certainly William H. Moore of the Cincinnati publishing house Moore, Anderson, Wilstach & Keys who specialized in travel literature and medical books. See John Tebbel, A History of Book Publishing in the United States vol. 1 (New York: R.R. Bowker, 1972), 483.
94 Corner, 52-53; EKK to JDLK (July 13, 1846), APS EKK papers.
96 Note for example Richard Francis Burton, A Mission to Gelele, King of Dahome (London: Tinsley Brothers, 1864).
98 T[homas] Dillard to EKK (May 12, 1847), APS EKK papers. Dillard addresses Kane's friend as "King Freeman" but this is almost certainly the same "king" as Westerners often referred to African rulers by a number of different names and this was the only king Kane met while in Africa.
99 George A. Prentiss to EKK (Jan. 5, 1847), APS EKK papers. Bickering between the two began in the fall of 1846; Kane complained about Prentiss several times to his commanding officer, J.R. Smoot. See folder, EKK to J.R. Smoot, APS EKK papers.
100 JKK to EKK (Nov. 11, 1846), APS EKK papers.
101 Orson Spencer to Brigham Young (Nov. 26, 1846), in Zobell, 28.
102 TLK to Brigham Young (Dec. 2, 1846), in Zobell, 29-30.
104 TLK to EKK (Nov. 12, 1846), APS EKK papers.
106 JKK to EKK (Nov. 11, 1846), APS EKK papers.
107 It is difficult to ascertain just what this crisis was. It may have been monetary; several of the family letters of the time discuss finances. More likely, it refers to Judge Kane's work and political life-at this time he was serving as Attorney General for the State and was prosecuting many of the men arrested in the anti-Catholic riots of 1844, a process that put him in the middle of harsh political crossfire.
108 folder, "E.K. Notebook-Egypt, etc.," APS EKK papers. The above is the draft of a letter to his brother Tom that appears in this notebook marked "confidential" and dated Dec. 1, 1846. Given its confessional nature it is likely Elisha never sent it-no corresponding letter appears in Tom's surviving papers.
111 This sensation is well documented in Robert Johannsen, To the Halls of the Montezumas (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985), 29.
112 JKK to EKK (Dec. 24, 1846), APS EKK papers.
113 TLK to EKK (Dec. 25, 1846), APS EKK papers. Bennett was the flamboyant editor of the New York Herald, famous for its sensational stories.
114 TLK to EKK (Feb. 12, 1847), APS EKK papers.
115 TLK to EKK (Jan. 24, 1847), APS EKK papers.
116 TLK to EKK (Feb. 12, 1847), APS EKK papers.
117 C.C. VanWyck to EKK (Aug. 27, 1847), APS EKK papers. Kane and VanWyck both applied for the position of medical professor; VanWyck felt certain Kane would get it if the board of trustees decided to appoint a non-Quaker.
118 Corner, 57. Kane also wrote president Polk, requesting a position. See EKK to James Polk (June 19, 1847), APS EKK papers.
119 H.L. Heiskill to Officers of the Medical Department serving in Mexico (Nov. 5, 1847), reprinted in Elder, 111. Kane was to verbally deliver the message and so a copy does not survive. The message is quite certain, however, because the date of Kane's assignment matches with an entry in Polk's diary noting the commissioning of a "special messenger" for this purpose. See Corner, 58.
120 TLK to EKK (undated, c. Nov., 1847), APS EKK papers.
121 EKK to JKK (Nov. 12, 1847), APS EKK papers.
123 TLK to EKK (Dec. 6, 1844), APS EKK papers.
124 Though he was more hesitant than his brother, Tom was adventurous. He went West with the Mormons and in the years following Elisha's death he founded his own community, Kane, in rural western Pennsylvania. He also became a brigadier general during the Civil War and his men described him as "a little coal of hell-fire." See Robert D. Hoffsommer, "The Bucktails," Civil War Times (1966), 16-21.
125 JKK to EKK (Feb. 3, 1847), APS EKK papers.
126 TLK to EKK (Nov. 19, 1847), APS EKK papers.
127 TLK to EKK (Feb. 20, 1848), APS EKK papers.
128 Corner, 59. A copy of this letter is in the Dow papers, Stefansson Arctic Collection, Dartmouth College Library.
129 Ibid., 59-60; Elder, 112-13.
130 Statement made by Dr. George E. Cooper of Philadelphia (Dec. 1, 1848), quoted in Elder, 113-14. See also, A. Brooke Caruso, The Mexican Spy Company: United States Covert Operation in Mexico, 1845-48 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland Co. Inc., 1991), 152-55.
131 The Pennsylvanian (March 24, 1848), 2.
132 W.W.H. Davis, "Three Pennsylvanians, Biographical Sketches of General Robert Patterson, James Madison Porter, and Elisha Kent Kane." An undated, incomplete manuscript housed in the Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Davis was in Puebla at the time and visited both Kane and the Gaona family.
133 Ibid.; The Pennsylvanian (March 24, 1848), 2; EKK to JKK (Jan. 16, 1848), APS EKK papers.
134 EKK to JKK (Jan. 16, 1848), APS EKK papers.
135 TLK to EKK (undated, c. March 1850), APS EKK papers.
136 TLK to EKK (April 7, 1848), in folder, "E.K. Kane letters to Dr. Kane," APS EKK papers. This unsigned letter is marked "post dated April 7, 1848" and was written by TLK.
138 EKK to William O. Butler, reprinted in Elder, 121-22.
139 EKK to Kane family (undated), quoted in Elder, 137.
140 folder, "re: Mexico," APS EKK papers.
141 folder, "R[ichard] McSherry to EKK," APS EKK papers; and, Richard McSherry, El Puchero (Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1850). The documentation suggests that these illustrations were done by Elisha, but his name appears nowhere in the volume. The engravings themselves are in different styles and signed by two different makers-"Gilbert & Gihon," and "Butler Sc." It is likely that those done by Gilbert & Gihon were done for the work because they match the text well. Those by Butler Sc appear to be recycled from another general work on Mexico. The book was copyrighted through "the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania" which was then manned by Tom Kane.
142 Elder, 135. In his application for remuneration, Kane was required to outline what had happened to his horse, thus providing a written record of the events at Nopaluca.
143 Statement dated "Philadelphia, February 8, 1849," reprinted in Elder, 132-33. That Elisha lobbied for this award is evidenced in a letter in which Tom tells him how others have gone about getting such an award, a process that Tom felt would necessitate connection with a "Hose Company or other crony gang." See TLK to EKK (April 7, 1848), folder, "letters to Dr. Kane," APS EKK papers. This sword is now on display at Kane Manor Inn, Kane, Pennsylvania.
145 folder, "Miscellany #3," APS EKK papers.
146 folder, "Miscellany #2," APS EKK papers. Undated, but almost certainly from Feb., 1849.
148 EKK to JDLK (Sept. 6, 1849), APS EKK papers.
149 folder, "R[ichard] McSherry to EKK," and EKK to Mr. Bier (Oct. 15, 1849), APS EKK papers.
150 folder, "EKK to William Weaver," APS EKK papers.
151 JDLK to EKK (Jan. 28, 1849), APS EKK papers.
152 EKK to RPK (Oct. 27, 1849), APS EKK papers.
153 folder, "Kane, R.P. agreement with Mrs. Mary Martin (Nov. 8, 1849)," APS EKK papers.
154 Lynch, W.F. to EKK (Dec. 6, 1849), APS EKK papers.
155 EKK to JDLK (Jan. 16, 1850), APS EKK papers.
156 EKK to RPK (Feb. 15, 1850), APS EKK papers.