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

This collection is made up of personal correspondence between members of the Eckert family, Black family, and Shippen family. The letters pertain to family news, marriage, religion, and everyday life in Pennsylvania and Virginia in the early to mid-19th century.

This collection (227 items) consists of personal correspondence between members of several Pennsylvania families in the early to mid-19th century. The letters pertain to family news, marriage, religion, and everyday life in Pennsylvania and Virginia in the early to mid-19th century.

Members of the Baker, Biddle, Black, Eckert, and Shippen families wrote one another from various Pennsylvania towns, including Shippenville, Shamokin, Washington, and Philadelphia. A group of early letters pertains to Harriet Wood Eckert, who wrote to her parents and sister about life in Washington County, Virginia, and received letters from family members in Pennsylvania. Richard Shippen wrote to his father, Robert Shippen of Drumore Township, Pennsylvania, about life in Shippenville in the early 1800s.

After the 1830s, much of the correspondence concerns Mary G. Eckert, the daughter of Harriet Wood and Solomon Eckert. Her first letters, written to her parents, describe her life and educational experiences in Philadelphia and Washington, Pennsylvania. In the mid-1840s, she began corresponding with Adam Black of Shippenville, whom she married around 1844. During the early years of their marriage, they wrote one another with news from Shippenville and from Shamokin, where Mary lived with or visited her parents. Their letters relate to courtship and marriage, family news and health, religion, and additional subjects. Letters by other family members concern topics such as health, family news, and daily life in 19th-century Pennsylvania.

This collection is made up of 39 letters that Mary Tilghman Earle ("Dorothy") wrote to her friend and fiancé, Howard S. Kneedler of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, between 1880 and 1884. Earle commented on her life in Washington, D. C., and shared her thoughts about their friendship, courtship, and marriage. The collection also includes 3 letters addressed to members of the Cope family between 1870 and 1872, and 1 letter from a parent to a child.

This collection (43 items) contains 39 letters that Mary Tilghman Earle ("Dorothy") wrote to her friend and fiancé, Howard S. Kneedler of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, between 1880 and 1884. She commented on her life in Washington, D. C., and shared her thoughts about their friendship, courtship, and marriage. The collection also includes 3 letters addressed to members of the Cope family between 1870 and 1872, and 1 letter from a parent to a child.

Thomas P. Cope, Jr., wrote 2 letters to his mother, Anna Cope, from Haverford College in 1870, and F. Hazen Cope received 1 letter from his brother Alfred in 1872. Mary T. Earle, who signed herself "Dorothy," wrote 39 of the remaining letters to Howard S. Kneedler. Earle, who lived in the District of Columbia's Georgetown neighborhood, discussed her daily life and social activities, and occasionally mentioned her work as a schoolteacher. She also commented on her religious beliefs. In letters that she wrote after the couple's engagement in early 1882, Earle shared her feelings about love and relationships, including her opinions on her engagement and the possible impact of her marriage on her life and friendships. Many of her letters are dated from "The Cedars," the home in which her school was based. The final item is a brief letter from a parent to a child.