This collection is made up of 20 letters that members of the Beach family wrote to Reverend Joseph P. Fessenden and his wife, Phebe, from 1838-1850; several include contributions from multiple authors. The Fessendens' correspondents included Sargent W. Beach, Martha Beach, Israel Bailey Beach, Sarah Barker Beach, and Thomas Parnell Beach. The letters pertain to the writers' lives in Sharon Township, Ohio.
The Fessendens' incoming correspondence pertains to many aspects of life in Ohio in the mid-19th century. Several letters mention agricultural practices, education, and religion, including Thomas Parnell Beach's request that Joseph P. Fessenden come to Ohio to promote the antislavery cause (December 1, 1845). Others include the writers' comments on local religious denominations and their personal beliefs. Several correspondents provided detailed descriptions of their journeys from New England to Ohio, including travel by railroad, steamboat, and stage, often through the state of New York. Many letters contain and respond to news of family members and acquaintances in New England and Ohio; Israel Bailey Beach reflected on family members' deaths in his later letters.
Many members of the Beach family moved from New England to Sharon Township, Ohio, in the late 1830s and early 1840s.
Sargent Ward Beach (1811-1880), the son of Samuel Beach (1773-1813) and Mary Bailey (1772-1862), had three children with his first wife, Sarah Ann Shaw (1816-1847), including Edgar and Arthur (d. ca. 1847). After Sarah's death, he married Mary L. Shaw, with whom he had four children: Arthur, John P., Harry M., and Walter F.
Israel Bailey Beach, a physician, and his wife Emily had at least five children: Emily, Martha, Elizabeth, Samuel, and Mary.
Thomas Parnell Beach (1808-1846), a Congregational minister noted for his opposition to slavery, and his wife Sarah had at least two children, Sarah Jane and George.
Reverend Joseph P. Fessenden and his wife Phebe lived in South Bridgton, Maine, in the mid-1840s.
