The Howe family letters (95 items) are made up of personal correspondence related to the family of Dr. Estes Howe of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. The bulk of the collection consists of letters by and to Dr. Howe in Cincinnati; Pomeroy, Ohio; and Cambridge, and to members of his family, particularly his wife Lois and their children James Robbins ("Robb") and Lois.
The collection includes letters to Lois Howe from a niece in Pomeroy, Ohio, in 1885, and undated correspondence from James Robbins Howe ("Robb") to his sister, Lois, pertaining to his experiences at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In a bundle of around 35 letters, Chester Wright wrote to "Louis" about his travels in Germany, England, and Scotland from July 7, 1892-May 14, 1893. Other items are personal letters to Mary White from Maria Denny Fay about her life in England in the 1850s. Fay commented on her transatlantic voyage and reported on dances and other social activities around "The Moor." Mary White’s letters are accompanied by typescripts. The collection includes a single newspaper clipping with an illustrated poem entitled "The Sultan."
Estes Howe was born on July 13, 1814, the son of Samuel Howe and Sarah L. Robbins of Northampton, Massachusetts. After earning a bachelor's degree from Harvard in 1832 and a medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1835, he established practices in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Pomeroy, Ohio. Howe returned to Cambridge before 1851 and worked for the Cambridge Gas Company. He and his first wife, Harriet Maria Spelman (1814-1843), married on August 20, 1838, and had two children, Elizabeth Spelman (b. 1839) and Sarah Lydia (b. 1841). Following his wife's death, Howe married Lois Lillie (or Lilley) White (b. 1824) on December 28, 1848. Their four children were Samuel (b. 1849), Clara (b. 1851), James Robbins (b. 1860), and Lois Lillie (or Lilley) (1864-1911). In 1850, Mary and Agnes White lived with the Howe family in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Estes Howe died in January 1887.
