This collection is made up of 8 letters that William H. Long wrote to his sister and brother-in-law while teaching school and studying theology in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts in the mid-1840s. He discussed his travels, future plans, studies, religious views, his opinions on the difficulty of finding good teachers for girls (December 9, 1845), and the price of postage (May 4-5, 1845). On one occasion, he mentioned a sermon by Henry Ward Beecher (May 4-5, 1845), and on another he reported a successful attempt to avoid paying a woman's fare during travel (April 30, 1846). In his February 27, 1849, letter he discusses his recent marriage to Lucia and the family's displeasure with him for not announcing it in advance. He also notes having preached twice for Dr. Beecher.
William Harrison Long was born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, on September 9, 1813, the son of Isaac Long and Susanna Kimball. His siblings included Sarah (b. 1805), who married Carlton Heath of Concord, New Hampshire, before 1843. William H. Long attended the Hopkinton Academy and received degrees from Yale College in 1840 and Yale Divinity School in 1846. He taught school in New York and Connecticut while studying religion. Long was never ordained, and he became headmaster of a public school in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1847-1882. He married Lucinda A. D. Rollins (b. 1816) in 1845. William H. Long died on November 5, 1886.
