This collection contains letters that Harriet E. Walker ("Hattie") received from family members and friends, as well as letters addressed to her mother, who lived in Palmyra, New York. Several of Walker's female correspondents wrote about their daily lives in New York, and her brother James commented on gender relations. Walker also wrote to her mother about her studies at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary.
Walker's mother wrote frequently, inquiring after her daughter's health and providing updates on events around the family's home in Palmyra, New York; she also shared news regarding Walker's brother James. Other letters concern Harriet's return to Mount Holyoke Female Seminary following an illness in 1845. Walker's friend, A. Hall, admired her desire to become "useful and valuable to your friends and society" (November 3, 1845).
The collection also contains correspondence addressed to Walker's mother, also named Harriet, including a letter from James Walker about gender relations (July 19, 1841). Walker also wrote to her mother about her life at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in the early 1840s, including a list of activities that prevented her from writing more frequently (November 8, 1842).
