While the birth and death dates of Florence MacIntyre Tyson are unknown to us today, remaining records paint the picture of an intelligently and worldly woman. Florence was born in Hanover, Delaware and married Mr. Frederic C Tyson of Maryland in 1872, and the couple went on to have a son, Malcom Van Vetchen Tyson, the following year. While the career and accomplishments of Mr. Frederic Tyson are unknown, records show that Malcom graduated from the Johns Hopkins University in 1894, and he is shown in the picture below. The family resided, at least part-time, at 251 West Preston Street in Baltimore, Maryland.

While these facts help us gain a more in-depth understanding of Florence MacIntyre Tyson’s lifestyle, pertinent and riveting discussion revolves around her great accomplishments in translation, as well as her apparent ability to juggle many responsibilities, and languages, while practicing her craft. Further, Mrs. Tyson, as portrayed in the Meeting Minutes, was a very globally-conscious and, dare I say, open-minded woman for her time. Undoubtedly, Mrs. Tyson was an asset to the Woman’s Literary Club of Baltimore during her 15+ year membership in the sense that she broadened the club’s definition of “culture.”

Tyson’s most notable work is certainly her translation of “Russia” by Theodore Gautier. The 600-page volume, translated from French, has been made widely accessible on the internet today, and meeting minutes from the early 1900s indicate that the book was warmly received by critics, the public, and the Club itself.

In addition to this looming volume, Tyson is known to have published several translations of short stories, from the French and Italian, notably. Meeting minutes indicate, though, that Tyson spoke French, Italian, German, Russian, and Spanish, in combination with her native English. Certainly, Mrs. Tyson was very well-educated, and worthy of her title of Chairman of the Committee on Translations, which she held until stepping down from the position in 1910 due to her frequent absence from Baltimore. It was also during the timespan from 1902-1909 that Tyson published Russia and the short stories that I have so far encountered in my research.

Mrs. Tyson seemed particularly enamored with the Italian language and culture, and meeting minutes indicate a concentrated fascination with the author Matilde Serao. Mrs. Tyson translated and shared with the Club several works by this author, one of which, “Sister Giovanna of the Cross,” was published in Littell’s Living Age in 1901. Meeting minutes indicate that it was an honor to be published in this esteemed magazine, and the elegant work of Mrs. Tyson speaks for itself. In a rather scandalous excerpt from the story, Clementia, a young woman, bluntly explains to Sister Giovanna, her aunt, that

married women too have lovers. I wish them joy and think they had better keep to their proper place. The lover of our portress for example, who you know is married, is a policeman, who comes to her house every evening and finds a cup of coffee and glass of wine waiting for him. On the second floor, the lawyer named Gasperle receives a woman–married too–who comes two or three times a week after nightfall and does not go away until the next morning.”

The dynamic characters of the story are perhaps what prompted Tyson’s interest in translating the works of Serao, and it is clear that, contrary to the conservative nature of the WLCB, Tyson enjoyed such bold literature.

While I am still learning more about Florence MacIntyre Tyson, I am already thoroughly intrigued by her character, and I looking forward to continued intimacy with her work.