Silent Strength: Navigating Deafness in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century
- Chris Church
- Mar 2
- 6 min read
"I am extremely sorry that you are getting deafer, (for your sake) but my darling sweet lamb, never let it enter your head that it will lessen my love and affection I have for you. It will (never)!!! make me care a particle less for you, even though you became totally deaf. I don't care what should happen to you, I would still continue to love you and would marry you just the same."
John Vincent Goldsborough Hall wrote these words to his fiancée, Grace Caldwell, in a letter dated July 1912 while working on an apple orchard in Farris, Washington. The couple would marry the following year on February 8, 1913.
Many of Hall’s letters to Grace in 1912 overflowed with affection alongside details of his daily experiences on the orchard. However, his impassioned reassurances in the July 1912 letter raise an important question—why was Grace so concerned about her hearing loss and his devotion to her? The answer lies in the rigid societal expectations for women and the prejudices toward the deaf community during the Gilded Age.
Born in 1889, Grace Caldwell was the only daughter of William and Elaine Caldwell. A few years before her birth, her father moved the family from Chicago to Louisville, where he played a key role in mechanizing the Old Crow and Hermitage Bourbon Distilleries. His expertise in mechanical engineering led him to establish the Caldwell Tank Co., a business that brought significant wealth and elevated the family into Louisville’s upper social circles. With this newfound status came strict societal expectations—expectations tested by a personal tragedy that profoundly shaped Grace’s life.
At the age of eight, Grace contracted scarlet fever, which led to rheumatic fever; both were common and serious illnesses of the time, the aftermath of which gradually affected her hearing, ultimately leaving her completely deaf by the age of 22.
During this period, illnesses such as scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, measles, and spinal meningitis frequently resulted in severe complications, including deafness and blindness, due to the lack of effective medical treatments. Many notable figures, including author Helen Keller and educator Agatha Tiegel Hanson, experienced sensory impairments from childhood illnesses. Without modern antibiotics, individuals who survived these diseases often faced a lifetime of challenges and social marginalization.
Rapid societal transformation marked the late 19th and early 20th centuries, yet for those who were deaf or hard of hearing, the era remained fraught with discrimination. Stigma against the deaf community was widespread, shaped by misconceptions, eugenic ideologies, and rigid societal norms. Grace Caldwell’s experiences exemplify the resilience required to navigate these prejudices.
In 1908, she attended The Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York and became proficient in lip reading. Her proficiency stemmed from the school’s curriculum, which valued lip reading and excluded early forms of American Sign Language and the use of hearing devices. According to family accounts, she was so adept that many acquaintances were unaware of her deafness.
Due to the exclusionary curriculums like those at the Wright-Humason school, societal biases remained deeply entrenched. The dominant belief was that deaf individuals should conform to the hearing world, often at the expense of their cultural identity. Oralism—teaching deaf individuals to speak and lip-read instead of using sign language—was heavily promoted during this period. Influential figures like Alexander Graham Bell championed oralism and assimilation into the speaking world, leading to the widespread banning of sign language in deaf schools by the 1880s. Yet, despite institutional efforts to suppress it, sign language has become an essential form of communication within the deaf community. As Susan Burch notes in Signs of Resistance, both deaf students and hearing teachers relied on sign language, emphasizing its resilience even in the face of opposition.
Grace’s fears about her hearing loss likely stemmed not only from these prejudices but also from the strict gender roles of the Gilded Age. Contemporary literature, such as Florence B. Jack’s The Woman’s Book (1911), emphasized that a "well-bred" woman should excel in conversation and be a good listener—skills that posed significant challenges for deaf individuals. Additionally, eugenic ideas regarding hereditary deafness further contributed to discrimination. Alexander Graham Bell, for instance, controversially advocated against marriages between deaf individuals to prevent the spread of deafness—an argument rooted in eugenics. As Sue H. Mitchell discusses in The Haunting Influence of Alexander Graham Bell, Bell’s attitudes had lasting negative effects on the social and economic conditions of deaf individuals, reinforcing their marginalization.
Despite the prejudices of the time, technological advancements emerged to assist the deaf and hard of hearing. One such device was the Acousticon, an early electronic hearing aid invented by Miller Reese Hutchison. By 1902, Hutchison developed a more portable, battery-operated version of the Acousticon, marketed as a tool for deaf individuals to integrate more seamlessly into the hearing world. Advertisements promoted discreet models concealed within purses, briefcases, or even hats.
Although marketed as empowerment tools, their discreet design highlighted the persistent stigma surrounding deafness. Rather than fostering genuine accessibility, such inventions reinforced the notion that individuals with hearing impairments should strive to appear "normal." Like many of her contemporaries, Grace likely struggled with embracing her identity and conforming to societal expectations.
Despite these challenges, Grace and Vincent’s love endured. They married in 1913 and built a life together until Vincent’s untimely death in 1924. Grace lived until 1985, reaching the age of 95. Throughout her life, she remained active in charitable endeavors, preserved numerous family heirlooms, and recorded her family's history and legacy.
While the stigma surrounding deafness and hearing impairment still exists in some forms today, society has made tremendous strides in fostering inclusion and understanding. Whereas early 20th-century attitudes sought to erase deaf culture, today, there is growing recognition of the importance of sign language, accessibility, and the value of Deaf identity.
Grace Caldwell’s story serves as a powerful testament to the resilience of individuals who, despite societal bias, lived full and meaningful lives. Her legacy reminds us of the importance of embracing diversity and advocating for continued inclusion—ensuring that future generations never fear that their differences make them unworthy of love and belonging.
Bibliography
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Acousticon Hearing Aid Pamphlet, c. 1905. Conrad Caldwell House Museum Collection, Louisville, KY.
Letters of Grace Caldwell and John Vincent Goldsborough Hall, 1912. Private Collection, Caldwell Family Archives.
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