Mason Cogswell – A Parent of The Deaf

By Emily Burke, H&V Headquarters

Did you know many of us have something in common with Dr Mason Cogswell, a prominent physician and surgeon in Hartford, Connecticut in the early 1800s? He married Mary Austin Ledyard and they had five children, with the third child experiencing hearing loss in early childhood. I believe we can learn a thing or two from Dr. Cogswell and his wife on how we as parents and allies can support the deaf/hard of hearing community well and to carry on a legacy. 

First, he wanted the best for his child.

He had a daughter named Alice (1805-1830). She became deaf from an illness at age two, likely meningitis. He and Mary sought out treatment for her hearing and a way to communicate with her, developing home signs. Out of love for his daughter, he worked with an attorney, and with his neighbor, Thomas Gallaudet, to identify a challenging barrier. How could he create better access to language and formal education for not only Alice but also about forty known deaf/hard of hearing children statewide? The local community raised enough money to send Gallaudet to Europe to learn how deaf/hard of hearing (D/HH) students were educated there.

Alice was initially educated at a private school along with her sisters while Gallaudet was overseas. Her teacher, Miss Huntley, told Alice a story about a child and his hair. Alice then wrote about it in a letter to Gallaudet, with her father Dr.  Cogswell supplemented the letter. That alone showed us how invested and involved her father was in her upbringing. He appeared present, aware, and encouraging. He knew what was going on in her life and current educational and social circumstances. Dr Cogswell described her daughter in a letter to Braidwood, an educator of deaf in England, explaining that she “possessed talent which may be cultivated to advantage and a desire to learn” he had a positive affirmation and high hopes for his child.  These are characteristics of a very caring parent!

It was documented that Alice had a positive perspective in life mainly due to her family dynamic, being raised by two caring and tender parents, an amazing relationship with her three sisters and a brother using some basic home signs. So, family means a lot in the upbringing of a D/HH child.

Second, he became an ally.

He sought out other allies once he established himself as an ally with a goal to provide accessible educational opportunities and language to other deaf/hard of hearing children in his community. He had to establish himself as an ally. He supported Alice in becoming an ambassador for the school. After her graduation in 1824, she traveled throughout the country to spread the word about education now available to D/HH students.

Third, he found allies in both deaf and hearing community members.

He used a network. He cultivated his relationship with his neighbor Thomas Gallaudet (1787-1851), who took an interest in how to develop communication and language with Alice when he learned that many D/HH children lacked access to language and education. That eventually led to the meeting of a French deaf educator named Laurent Clerc, who was Deaf himself, through his travels in Europe to seek educational approaches for D/HH children. A small group established a school for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut in 1817. Alice was the very first student enrolled in the new school.

Fourth, he was PERSISTENT.

Did you know he partnered up with another local father of deaf/hard of hearing children to secure funds to send Gallaudet overseas to learn about how to educate D/HH students? That father was Connecticut Judge Sylvester Gilbert, who was an attorney and had thirteen children, and five of whom were born deaf.  There first answer was “no” from the Connecticut legislature, but they persisted.

You see, with the example of Cogswell and Gilbert, families are not meant to raise D/HH children alone. They are meant to be parents and allies together–a sense of community. That is one of many reasons the Deaf/HH community is thriving today.

Another example is building on what was already working. The D/HH students had developed their own signed language at the school. When Gallaudet returned to the US with Clerc, they introduced a formal sign language from France to the students, and, thus American Sign Language was formed.

Dr. Cogswell came down with pneumonia and died at age 69.  Alice, grief-stricken, died thirteen days later from a broken heart, but their legacy lives on.

A PARENT.

An ALLY.

An ADVOCATE.

A PROBLEM-SOLVER.

A PROVIDER.

What can we learn from Dr Cogswell? We can be all above and alongside D/HH leaders, pave the way for future generations of D/HH leaders.

Learn more about Dr. Cogswell here:

https:// asdpioneers.com / people / mason-fitch-cogswell/

https:// americacomesalive.com/ alice-cogswell-bright-child-who-inspired-education-for-deaf-in-u-s/

H&V Communicator – Spring 2024