Loved His Student

Falling in Love with his Student

In today’s society, this would be disturbing & criminal that is, a teacher falling in love with his student. That wasn’t the case for teachers and students 1830s in Philadelphia. Augustine J.B. Mailly fell in love with one of his students, Mary Anne Thomas and they later married in 1831. Now Mr. Augustine J. B. Mailly was born in France around 1803 and attended a military school, similar to West Point. A photograph of the watercolor painting below depicts Augustine Mailly in Geneva, Switzerland before coming to the United States. 

Watercolor of Augustine Mailly

 

He left France and arrived in Philadelphia sometime around 1930. Employed as a French teacher at a Philadelphia boarding school. After his marriage to Mary Anne Thomas, his career path changed, from farming to newspaper editor. They were married for 14 years before her death on the 18th of March in 1845. They had a number of children.  Augustine J.B. Mailly passed away in 1862. All photographs were taken at the Corbit-Calloway Memorial Library in Odessa, Delaware. All of these pieces are in a collection available for the public to view. Stop by their Delmarva Room to view these items and more.