Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection contains letters that Elizabeth Stanley received from her future husband, Andrew Nichols, and from other friends and family members in Massachusetts, as well as letters that Stanley wrote to Nichols during their courtship.

This collection contains 38 letters related to Elizabeth P. Stanley ("Lizzie") of Salem, Massachusetts. Throughout the 1850s, especially after 1856, Stanley received personal letters from family and friends. In one group of early letters (February 1852-[April 1853]), Stanley's aunt, Elizabeth Hunt, discussed her life in Whampoa, China (now part of Guangzhou), including the birth and death of a young son. Other friends discussed their social lives, Christianity, and education. Stanley's future husband, Andrew Nichols, wrote 16 letters about their relationship, religion, and his farm in Danvers, Massachusetts. The collection includes drafts of at least 3 of Nichols's letters; he signed many items with pseudonyms such as "Warden Cholins." Lizzie Stanley's 8 letters to Nichols pertain to her social life, religion, and news of Salem. The final item is a list of actions such as "tell a joke" and "give a conundrum."

This collection is comprised of 31 letters that Georgiana Hemingway of Fair Haven, Connecticut, received from female friends, her parents, and her siblings between 1858 and 1867. Her acquaintances discussed their social lives, courtship, and the Civil War, and her family members provided news from Fair Haven while Georgiana traveled. The correspondence includes one letter from Hemingway's brother Charles to their mother, Theresa.

This collection is comprised of 31 letters that Georgiana Hemingway of Fair Haven, Connecticut, received from female friends, her parents, and her siblings between 1858 and 1867. Her acquaintances discussed their social lives, courtship, and the Civil War, and her family members provided news from Fair Haven while Georgiana traveled. The correspondence includes one letter from Hemingway's brother Charles to their mother, Theresa.

Between 1858 and 1865, Georgiana Hemingway primarily resided with her family at Fair Haven, Connecticut (in modern New Haven), though she spent time in Suffield, Connecticut; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and New York City. Georgiana's friend Lizzie Cutts sent 4 letters from New Hampshire and Massachusetts between 1858 and 1861, commenting candidly on courtship and describing two incidents of unwanted advances made by male acquaintances. Hemingway also received 3 letters from a friend at the Sayre Female Institute in Lexington, Kentucky, who reported on her social life at the school and on mutual acquaintances (1863-1864). In one particularly descriptive letter, she told Georgiana about her travel from Lexington to Madison, Wisconsin, for Christmastime (January 8, 1863). Hemingway also received letters from her brothers Charles, Willis, and Frederick, who provided updates on marriages, deaths, and other local news from Fair Haven while Georgiana was away.

Though the letters focus primarily on the activities of friends and family members, some writers mentioned news and effects of the Civil War, such as optimism following the Union victory at Vicksburg (July 11, 1863) and the upcoming hanging of the Lincoln conspirators (July 6, 1865).