Polly Latta

Polly was the middle daughter. She was born December 29,1799, and was named Mary but was soon called Polly.

Polly was evidently popular and was courted by more than one young man. From the writings of Dr.Chalmers Davidson, we learn this story, which may or may not have happened but is still interesting reading:

Mr. Latta disliked Speight McLean above all others, and Speight particularly enjoyed worrying the old man. On one occasion, Mr. Latta came in from the fields, and as he entered the house, he was astonished to see Polly dressed up entertaining Mr. McLean. He became very angry and, with the command of a tyrant, ordered Polly to take off her shoes and stockings, get a hoe, and dig potatoes for dinner. She was very much confused but had to obey. Speight, with his customary gallantry, suggested in the best of humor and style, "I will go with you and do the digging and you can gather them into the basket."

Polly attended Salem Female Academy from 1813 to 1815. By reviewing Polly's charges in the Itemized Student Accounts Ledger, it can be seen that she took music, fine needlework, drawing, painting, arithmetic, geography, and German. She would have also taken plain needlework, reading, grammar, and history since they were part of the basic course of study. Books that she bought included: Goldsmith's Geography, an atlas, two music books, Pike's Arithmetic, History of England, a German grammar, a drawing book, and Night Thoughts.

The illustration above is from the1824 edition (Silas Andrus, Hartford) title page of Night Thoughts, a long poem written by Edward D. Young and dealing with "Life, Death, and Immortality."

The editor states that, "Editions have been multiplied from every press in the country. It is to be seen on the shelf of the cottager, with the Family Bible and the Pilgrim's Progress; and it ranks among the first and favourite materials of the poetical library." He goes on to say that it appeals to the very young and the very old, and that the reason the very young like it is because of the "gothic gloom" of the poetry

Some of the most memorable lines from Night Thoughts are:

Beware what the earth calls happiness: beware
All joys, but joys that never can expire.
Who builds on less than an immortal base,
Fond as he seems, condemns his joys to death.

and, later in the poem,

Why all this toil for triumphs of an hour?
What though we wade in wealth, or soar in fame?
Earth's highest stations ends in, "Here he lies:"
And "Dust to dust" concludes her noblest song.

While this would be an unusual choice of reading material for current-day teenagers, it was apparently not all that unusual in the early 19th century, especially with the illness and premature death that they witnessed so often. While Polly must have had some trouble with her health while at Salem ( her account shows she had two teeth extracted and that she purchased cough drops and medicine), she must not have been a particularly melancholy young lady. She apparently had a social life, and school records show expenses for a "pleasure ride."

Polly married James G. Torrance of "Cedar Grove." However, the current day Cedar Grove pictured on this website is not where Polly lived. It was not built until after her death. She lived in another brick house, possibly of similar style, which was also known as Cedar Grove. Prior to that, during the early years of her marriage, it is believed that she lived in the Torrance store.

There are no living descendants in this branch of the Latta family.