Josephine Diebitsch Peary Military Spouse |
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wife of Rear Admiral Robert Edwin Peary, she
accompanied her explorer husband on three voyages to the Polar regions
and made another two trips to Greenland to meet him on his return from
trips.
One trip in 1900 held several threats of disaster. The vessel on which she was sailing, the Windward, collided with an iceberg, was damaged and she went aground on the reef and then was frozen in. The vessel was so delayed for over two weeks. These experiences were drawn on by her in later years for several books. The next year she again accompanied her husband
on a voyage to the North. A two-room house of sorts was built for her on
Bowdoin Bay. There in September 1901, within 13-degrees of the Pole itself,
she gave birth to their daughter, Marie Ahnighito, later to become Mrs.
Edward Stafford. Marie's middle name was that of the Eskimo woman who made
the child's first fur suit. For years afterward, Marie was called "The
Snow Baby."
MRS.PEARY IS BURIED Rites Are Held in Arlington for Widowof Arctic Explorer WASHINGTON, December 27, 1955- Mrs.Robert E. Peary, widow of the discoverer of the North Pole, was buried today in Arlington National Cemetery near the grave of her husband. Rear Admiral Edward B. Harp, Jr., Navy Chief of Chaplains, officiated at the gravesite ceremonies, which were attended by representatatives of the Navy and geographical organizations. He said it was fitting that Mrs. Peary should rest in Arlington because "her courage and devotion have achieved an honored place in our nation." Mrs. Peary who accompanied her husband on several
of his trips into the Arctic, died in her home at Portland, Maine, on December
19, after a long illness. She was 92 years old.
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