Wise Words from Amelia Barr
Today happened to be one of those days where things come together.
Back when we got married in Austin, we had our reception at a Victorian manor called the Barr Mansion. So years ago when I was looking for descriptions of Texas circa 1865, and came across the Barr name, I got really excited! Is this the same Barr? Well, no, it wasn’t.
I was disappointed but read more about Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr and became fascinated with her. She and her husband moved from England to Galveston and lived there from 1853-1867. She loved Texas stories and became a part of the Austin social scene. (Sounds like I have to write a novel about her, huh?) (Here’s a link to more information about her, and other Texas originals)
Most of her novels are free in ebook format (Amazon link here) but I bought the paperback version of All the Days of My Life: An Autobiography (1913) because I like to pull it from the shelf sometimes and skim through the pages. When asked why she wrote her memoir, she said it was to help “any sad or doubtful woman to outleap her own shadow, and to stand bravely out in the sunshine to meet her destiny.” She gives a vivid account of what Texas life was like at the time. It’s a great source of information!
Have you heard of her? Probably not many people have. So I was surprised this morning when I was skimming through Facebook and my friend Minerva Koenig wrote a post on her blog, sharing Barr’s nine rules for success. This excerpt of her nine rules comes from an essay Barr contributed to a book, How They Succeeded. It contains interviews with successful people of the time. Her essay is in with such greats as Alexander Graham Bell, Andrew Carnegie, Marshall Field, and John Rockefeller, to name a few. In a time ruled by men, her words meant even more, and yet they still apply to us today.
So here’s Minerva Koenig’s post:
9 Rules for Success by British Novelist Amelia E. Barr, 1901
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged Amelia Barr, Barr Mansion, Galveston, How They Succeeded, KUHF.org, Minerva Koenig, Texas history, Texas Originals by VP with 2 comments.
Share your thoughts!