Even in the nineteenth century, visitors to Chatsworth came from far and wide. Quite a few came from the United States and especially, though not exclusively, from its eastern seaboard. On 13 July 1848, a famous writer from that country signed his name in our Visitors’ Book. He signed himself R.W. Emerson of Concord, Massachusetts. Believed to be Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), a major writer on philosophical and spiritual matters who influenced many others.

About Emerson

Emerson’s father was a minister in the Unitarian Church. He died of cancer when Ralph was nearly eight. Ralph and his siblings were raised by their mother and other female relations. He went to Harvard at the age of fourteen and graduated aged eighteen. He became a teacher at a school for young ladies. Then he spent two years living in a cabin where he wrote and studied nature. Later he became a pastor. His first wife, Ellen, died young from tuberculosis. This led Emerson to question his faith and eventually to resign from the ministry. He remained a spiritual person but not a Christian.

Emerson toured Europe in 1833 and, while there, met John Stuart Mill, Thomas Carlyle, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Upon returning home he embarked on a series of lectures on natural history. He married for the second time. His wife was called Lydia Jackson. She was to advocate the abolition of slavery, the rights of women and Native Americans, also the welfare of animals. She persuaded Emerson to support these causes.

Emerson wrote many essays and poems, mainly on spiritual issues, nature and philosophy. He came to believe that God and nature are inseparable, that Jesus was a great man but not an incarnation of God. Nature, he thought, makes us whole but society divides us. To fully engage with nature we must be solitary. These beliefs were condemned by some but embraced by others. Emerson studied, and was influenced by, Indian as well as European writers. He is thought to have delivered 1,500 lectures in his lifetime. Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman were among the writers influenced by him. Emerson was a pall bearer at the funeral of Nathaniel Hawthorn.

From 1867 onwards, Emerson’s health deteriorated. He developed serious problems with his memory and so cut back on his work. Nevertheless, in 1871 he travelled to California and met a young John Muir. Miur went on to become a famous naturalist and pioneering conservationist. His meeting with Emerson became a key event in his career.

In 1872 Emerson’s home caught fire. He survived but this disaster marked the end of his lecturing career. His home was rebuilt but his memory continued to deteriorate. Emerson died in 1882. He went to his grave as one of America’s best known writers and thinkers.

Emerson in England

Emerson’s visit to Chatsworth took place when he was in England on a lecture tour, during which he visited many towns, cities and other sites across the country. He later published a book called English Traits (1856), drawing on his experiences in the UK, which included a chapter reflecting on the English aristocracy. Sadly there are no other known references to him in the archives held at Chatsworth.

Visitor book entry from Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1848