This collection is made up of personal letters between members of the Ely family of Huntington, Connecticut, including many addressed to Elisha Ely, Eloise Ely, and their daughter Louisa. Early items include letters from relatives in New York City, including one from Louisa about her journey from Connecticut to New York and her experiences teaching school (December 25, 1833). In 1836 and 1837, Louisa Ely received letters from her brother David, who lived in New Haven, Connecticut, and from her uncle, Harry Curtis. Harry described a visit to Niagara Falls in his letter of November 13, 1837, and later discussed his life in New Orleans, Louisiana. David Ely wrote about his life in Athens, Georgia, in 1838 and 1839, and John M. Ely wrote from Wilmington, North Carolina, in December 1840 and December 1841. Harriet Ely sent six letters to her sister from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in the late 1840s; her letter of March 9, 1849, includes a description of Mary Lyon's funeral.
Elisha Ely (1782-1846), the son of David and Hepsa Ely of Huntington, Connecticut, married Eloise Curtis in 1815. Their nine children included Elisha, David Henry, Harriet, Louisa M, John M, George M., and Edward. Louisa Ely moved to New York City to teach school in 1833 and then later lived in Monroe, Connecticut, where she married L. M. Gardner in late 1842. Harriet Ely attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary.
