Letters from Emma Lucy Gates Bowen, 1896-1948
Scope and Contents
Handwritten letters written by Emma Lucy Gates Bowen while she was studying in Europe and performing as a vocalist and opera singer. Includes six bound volumes of letters covering her education and early career. Unbound letters covering her later years, courtship, and career are addressed to the Gates family, her husband, Albert E. Bowen, and her agent, Catherine A. Bowman. Materials dated 1896-1948.
Dates
- Creation: 1896-1948
Creator
- Bowen, Albert E. (Albert Ernest), 1875-1953 (correspondent, Person)
- Bowen, Emma Lucy Gates, 1880-1951 (correspondent, Person)
Language of Materials
Materials in English and German.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for public research.
Conditions Governing Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to use material from this collection must be obtained from Reference Services at specialcollections@byu.edu.
Biographical / Historical
Albert E. Bowen was born on October 31, 1875, in Henderson Creek, Idaho to Annie Shackleton and David Bowen. He began attending Brigham Young College with his brother in 1896. He completed his studies in teaching. Bowen served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Germany. Before leaving, Bowen married Aletha Ellen Reeder on June 4, 1902, in Logan, Utah. Together they had two sons. After three years in Germany, Bowen accepted a faculty position at Brigham Young College where he continued until 1908 when he left for law school. Bowen graduated in 1911 from the University of Chicago Law School with the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence. He worked as a lawyer in Logan, Utah and later as the County Attorney for Cache County. After the death of his wife in 1905, Bowen remarried Emma Lucy Gates on June 30, 1916, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Bowen died on July 15, 1953, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Biographical / Historical
Emma Lucy Gates Bowen was born on November 5, 1880, to Jacob Forsberry Gates and Susa Amelia Young in St. George, Utah. She was a granddaughter of Brigham Young and Lucy Bigelow Young. She was the oldest of ten siblings. Although she did not begin formal music studies until she was 12, Emma Lucy Gates Bowen won a piano competition at an eisteddfod held in Salt Lake City at the age of 14. In addition to piano, she also studied violin and vocal performance. She went to Germany, accompanied by her half-sister, Leah Dunford, and her husband, John A. Widtsoe, to formally study music at age 16. Emma Lucy Gates Bowen began studies at the Berlin Conservatory in 1899 but decided to leave and focus on voice performance with Blanche Corelli later that year. Emma Lucy Gates Bowen returned to Utah in the summer of 1901. She performed widely in Utah before traveling to New York to make her concert debut at Carnegie Hall. She would return to Europe in 1907 and continue to study with Blanche Corelli and had her European debut in Berlin in 1908. In 1909, Emma Lucy Gates Bowen received a contract with the Royal Opera of Berlin and became the prima coloratura soprano with the Kassel Royal Opera in 1911. While on vacation to the United States, World War I broke out and she was forced to stay in the United States. She secured a contract with Columbia Records and auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera in New York. After singing in engagements across the country, she returned to Utah. In 1915, she formed the Lucy Gates Opera Company with her musician brother, B. Cecil Gates. On June 30, 1916, in Salt Lake City, Utah, she married a widowed Albert Ernest Bowen, who was later called as an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who had two children with his deceased wife. Emma Lucy Gates Bowen continued to perform across the country but would stay closer to Utah as she aged. Lucy continued performing until 1948. Emma Lucy Gates Bowen died on April 30, 1951, Salt Lake City.
Extent
1 box
27 folders
1 oversize box
Subject
- Bowen, Albert E. (Albert Ernest), 1875-1953 (Person)
- Bowen, Emma Lucy Gates, 1880-1951 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States