Becoming Louise (1856 - 1881)

Born Jennie Louise Blanchard on July 21, 1856 in Waterloo, New York, her parents, Dalson Wallace Blanchard and Emma Melina (Williams) Blanchard were both educators. Louise’s early life occurred during a period of great innovation and expansion in the United States, especially in New York State where the terminus of the Erie Canal in Western New York fostered industry and entrepreneurial activity. Social movements, including abolitionism and women’s rights, also flourished in the region during this period. 

As a young girl, Louise dreamed of becoming an architect. In 1867, when she was eleven years old, the Blanchard family settled in Buffalo and Louise began attending public school. She graduated from Buffalo Central High School with honors in 1874. By 1875, she had decided to pursue an architectural career and was preparing to enroll in the newly opened architectural school at Cornell University. Her plans changed in 1876 when architect Richard Waite offered her a position as an apprentice in his office, one of Buffalo’s most prominent architecture firms. It is not known how or why this offer was extended; however, Waite must have been impressed by Louise.