About Ebenezer and Agnes
Ebenezer and Agnes: A Love Story of 19th-Century Intellects is a serialized archive of letters tracing the romantic and literary correspondence between my great-great-grandparents, Ebenezer Charlton Black of Edinburgh and Agnes Knox Black (née Knox) of Toronto. Their letters have miraculously survived for 136 years (often kept haphazardly!) yet passed from one generation to the next. Some satchels, bound long ago with string or shoelaces, remained unopened until I began this project.
Ebenezer emigrated to North America in his early 20’s to attend Harvard University, and he began sharing his life through letters with Agnes in 1891 while he was in Canada’s rugged frontier West. He would go on to become a professor in Boston and a published literary author. Agnes, a young academic and well-known rhetorician and elocutionist, traveled to outposts along the developing Canadian Pacific Railway, giving literary recitations that captivated the workers who gathered to hear her. She, too, would rise in her field, eventually holding the distinction of being Boston University’s first female professor. Their letters trace a rich, unfolding love story built on literature, philosophy, ambition, humor, and a deep sensitivity to the world around them. When reading their letters, it is not uncommon to swoon over the style and substance of their writing.
Spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these letters chart not only a romantic connection but also a deeply intellectual one—full of literary allusion, philosophical musing, and emotional candor. With time, distance, and handwritten ink between them, Ebenezer and Agnes reflect on everything from the mundane to the metaphysical, all while navigating the social, academic, and spiritual questions of their age.
This Substack shares their correspondence in serialized form, accompanied by transcriptions, contextual notes, and occasional commentary. It is a space for readers to encounter the beauty of slow communication and the humanity of two people trying to understand each other—and themselves—across distance and time.
Whether you are reading the letters as digital facsimiles or through our transcriptions, you are invited to slow your pace. Reading the original handwriting encourages a kind of temporal immersion—it brings you closer to the rhythm of a different century. If you are reading the transcript, we recommend doing so slowly, letting the voices of Ebenezer and Agnes unfold with the gravity and grace they deserve.
Thank you for joining this journey into the past.
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Copyright © 2025 Kathryn Toppan. All Rights Reserved.
This publication contains original transcriptions, annotations, and editorial content by Kathryn Toppan. While the historical letters reproduced herein are in the public domain, this edition and its accompanying materials—including footnotes and commentary—are protected under U.S. and international copyright law. Select research assistance was provided through AI searches, but all final content is original work of the author. No part of this publication may be reproduced or redistributed without permission.
Agnes and Ebenezer, years after their long correspondence began. Exact date unknown—likely 1910’s or early 1920’s.
