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Richard B. and Agnes Irwin family correspondence, [1796]-1894 (majority within 1861-1863)

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Summary

Creator:
Irwin family
Abstract:
This collection is comprised of 76 letters written and received by members of the Irwin family (direct descendants of Benjamin Franklin). The majority of the collection consists of letters written by educator Agnes Irwin, Richard Biddle Irwin, who served as George McClellan's aide-de-camp, and their mother Sophia Bache Irwin during the first half of the Civil War.
Extent:
76 items
Language:
English
Authors:
Collection processed and finding aid created by Sara Quashnie, February 2019

Background

Scope and Content:

The Richard B. and Agnes Irwin Family Collection is comprised of 76 letters written and received by members of the Irwin family (direct descendants of Benjamin Franklin). The majority of the collection consists of letters written by educator Agnes Irwin; her brother Richard Biddle Irwin, who served as George McClellan's aide-de-camp and as Assistant Adjutant General in the 19th Army Corps; and their mother Sophia Bache Irwin during the first half of the Civil War.

The collection includes the following correspondence:
  • Two letters by Alexander James Dallas to his wife and mother, [May 29, 1796?] and ca. 1801. In the earlier letter, he described the new capital of Washington, D.C., and the city of Georgetown. He also attended a performance of the play Ruse-Contra-Ruse in Baltimore, which featured "French West-Indian" actors including a mixed-race actress in a leading role.
  • One letter from Deborah Bache to Mother discussing social news, ca. 1801.
  • Five letters from A. D. (Alexander Dallas) Bache to Benjamin Silliman, 1833-1863, and an anonymous recipient regarding the Franklin Institute and other scientific matters.
  • 30 letters, 1850-1864 and undated, by Richard Biddle Irwin to his mother, Sophia Irwin, and sister Agnes Irwin. Irwin's letters regard military matters, including camp life while serving under General George McClellan and General Nathaniel Banks. With unusual candor and strong Democratic opinions, he provided detailed insight into Union Army movements, occupied Southern locales, and wartime politics. A later letter refers to a lawsuit against him, pertinent to the Pacific Steamship Mail Company.
  • Nine letters by Sophia Arabella Bache Irwin to her daughter, Agnes Irwin, and cousin Lizzie, May 27-August 8, 1861, and undated; Washington, D.C. Containing discussions of a visit to a military camp, a troop parade, war news (fears and opinions), and the fates of family and friends in military.
  • 27 letters from Agnes Irwin to mother, Sophia Irwin, cousin Lizzie, and sister, Sophy Dallas Irwin, October 7, 1860-July 18, 1877, and undated. Irwin's 1860s letters include descriptions of life in Washington, D.C., with commentary on social events, including Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural ball, political jockeying (especially for governmental employment and appointments), and news of the war (as relayed by her brother, Richard, serving under General McClellan), and news of family and friends. She also described writing letters for wounded soldiers and the anxiety of a life lived so close to the front, including remarks on riots, wartime regulations, and opinions on military matters (such as the prosecution of General Charles Pomeroy Stone [1824-1887]). Her later letters (1877) respect a trip to Europe--a journey she often undertook during summer breaks.
  • One letter from Robert Walker Irwin to mother, Sophia Irwin, September 29, 1894; Tokyo. Description of military actions during the First Sino-Japanese War.

Biographical / Historical:

Agnes Irwin was born December 30, 1841, in Washington, D.C., to Sophia Arabella (Bache) Irwin (1815-1904) and William Wallace Irwin (1803-1856). She spent the early part of her childhood in Denmark, as Irwin's father received an appointment as United States Minister to Denmark in 1841. In 1862, following the family's move from Washington, D.C., to New York City, Irwin began teaching at the school of Mrs. Ogden Hoffman. Subsequently, she was offered the position of principal at the West Penn Square Seminary for Young Ladies (later renamed the Agnes Irwin School). She taught and served as headmistress alongside her sister Sophy Dallas Irwin (1845-1915), before accepting the inaugural role of dean at Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1894. Following her resignation from Harvard, Irwin served as a member of the Head Mistresses' Association of Private Schools (1911-1914). She received honorary degrees from Western University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pennsylvania, and St. Andrew's University (Scotland). She died of pneumonia on December 5, 1914, in Philadelphia, and is buried at St. James the Less Episcopal Churchyard. In 2019, the Agnes Irwin School continues to operate as a private all-girls pre-K-12 school in Rosemont, Pennsylvania.

Richard Biddle Irwin was born December 28, 1839, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the oldest child of William Wallace Irwin and Sophia Arabella (Bache) Irwin. During the Civil War, Irwin served as an aide-de-camp to Major General George B. McClellan before receiving a Lieutenant Colonelcy in the Army of the Potomac and Assistant Adjutant General for the 19th Army Corps in Major General Nathaniel Banks' Department of the Gulf. On December 20, 1865, he married Charlotte Martin (1840-1884), with whom he had two children: Frank Irwin (1868-1948) and Agnes Irwin (1871-1897). Over the course of his career, Irwin worked for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, the government of Japan, The New York Tribune, and a Wyoming cattle ranch. He authored several works including History of the Nineteenth Army Corps and Sherman and His Campaigns. He died of kidney disease on April 26, 1892, in New York, New York, and is buried in St. James the Less Episcopal Churchyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Sophia Arabella (Bache) Irwin, born November 14, 1815, was the daughter of Richard Bache, Jr. (1784-1848) and Sophia Burrell (Dallas) Bache (1785-1860). Irwin married William Wallace Irwin (1803-1856) and they had several children, including: Richard Biddle Irwin (1839-1892), Agnes Irwin (1841-1914), Robert Walker Irwin (1844-1925), Sophy Dallas Irwin (1845-1915), and Mary Bache Irwin (1849-1927). She was the great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin through her Bache family ancestry. Sophia Irwin died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 25, 1904, and is buried in St. James the Less Episcopal Churchyard.

The "Cousin Lizzie" referred to in the collection is possibly Elizabeth (Duane) Gillespie (1821-1901), cousin of Sophia Arabella (Bache) Irwin. Gillespie's mother was Deborah (Bache) Duane (1781-1863), sister of Irwin's father, Richard Bache, Jr. One of Deborah's letters to her mother is included in this collection. Gillespie married Archibald Hamilton Gillespie (1812-1873), with whom she had several children including daughter Ellen Duane Gillespie (1854-1924), who may be the "Nelly" mentioned in several of Agnes Irwin's letters.

Acquisition Information:
2019. M-7100 .
Arrangement:

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Rules or Conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open for research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright status is unknown

PREFERRED CITATION:

Richard B. and Agnes Irwin Family Correspondence, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan