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

The William Young papers center on the lives of William Young and his son-in-law John McAllister, Jr. The strengths of the collection are its documentation of William Young's careers as printer, publisher, bookseller and paper maker; the Associate Presbyterian Church; John McAllister's antiquarian interests; and the personal lives of the Young and McAllister families.

The William Young papers center on the lives of William Young and his son-in-law John McAllister, Jr., and through these lives document a wide scope of business, cultural, family and religious history both in America and Scotland. The strengths of the collection are its documentation of William Young's careers as printer, publisher, bookseller and paper maker; the Associate Presbyterian Church; John McAllister's antiquarian interests; and the personal lives of the Young and McAllister families.

The earliest papers in the collection date from William Young's days as a Scottish seminarian, and include valuable information on the Associate Presbytery of Scotland. A group of letters written after the Youngs' removal to America, 1784, documents European interest in the new nation: the immigrants received many letters from Scottish friends (and potential emigrants) inquiring into the details of America life. Young kept certain business concerns in Scotland; his brother Stephen and Agnes Young's brothers, William and John McLaws, were all active in the book trade, and their correspondence provides some insight into the burgeoning international book business.

The backbone of the collection is the correspondence relating to William Young's diverse business enterprises from the 1780s through 1820s. Among the later material, the correspondence between William Young McAllister and his thirty-year-old son, William Mitchell McAllister (7:54 and 56), stands out as illustration of a father's displeasure over his son's mismanagement of affairs during the disastrous panic of 1873. Also interesting is a plaintive letter written by the 52 year-old Thomas H. Young (7:59) in 1876, asking his aging father to bail out his business with a handout of $5,000.00. Box 8 contains a large quantity of receipts, accounts, and other business papers of Young's, along with information on the tangled settlement of Young's estate (8:30) and information on the settlement of other estates. Additional information on Young's estate is located with the oversized material (see Separation Record).

The Young Papers also contains rich resources for study of the history of the Associate Presbyterian Church in America. One of the smallest Presbyterian denominations, the Associate Presbyterians preserved few primary resources and little survives from their presence on the American scene; the Young Papers contain some of the earliest records known for that church (folder 8-37). Among other Associate Presbyterian ministers represented in the collection is Rev. Thomas Hamilton (1776-1818), William Young's son-in-law. Much of the work compiled by John McAllister Jr. in compiling the Associate Presbyterian volume of Sprague's Annals of the American Pulpit, is preserved in folder 8:10.

Yellow fever in Philadelphia (1793) and the nation's first major cholera epidemic (1832) are both well documented through letters containing medical information, largely confined to home remedies and professional advice on medicines. There is some discussion of Frances Stevenson's illness which cost her the use of a leg, resulting in her use of a prosthesis (6:88). In addition, there is a detailed report on the body of Dr. William R. Grant in 1852 (folder 7:6).

The photographs associated with the collection include valuable insights into family relations within both the Young and McAllister families (1:1 to 1:8), particularly when seen in conjunction with the large number of personal letters between family members. William Young's instructions to his housekeeper (3:54), John McAllister's consultations with his wife on business matters, race relations in Philadelphia (5:9, 6:11), relations with a mother-in-law (4:58), and the execution of Robert Morris's seldom-mentioned and ne'er-do-well son Charles (4:21) are among the topics discussed. Perhaps the wittiest correspondent is Mary Ann Hunter, a friend of Eliza Young McAllister, whose observations on Philadelphia society in the first decades of the 19th century are trenchant and insightful and read almost like a novel.

The William Jenks collection consists of letters, financial documents, prayer notes, and miscellaneous items related to the prominent New England Congregational clergyman, biblical and oriental scholar, and social reformer William Jenks.

The William Jenks collection (975 items) consists of letters, financial documents, prayer notes, and miscellaneous items, related to the prominent New England Congregational clergyman, biblical and oriental scholar, and social reformer William Jenks. The collection includes 887 letters (123 undated), 37 official and financial documents, 37 prayer notes and miscellaneous items, and 14 printed documents.

The Correspondence series (887 items) largely consists of personal letters addressed to Jenks and his wife from friends, colleagues, parishioners, and family members. Religious themes are apparent throughout. Many of the earliest items are from Jenks' brothers John, Samuel, and Francis Jenks; other pre-1805 items from colleagues and concerned parents of students concern his teaching career in Cambridge. For example, Sarah Dunlap of Salem, Massachusetts, described a treatment for her son's "bad quincey" (swelling of the throat), so that Jenks could administer it while her son was under his care (June 4, 1800). Other ministry-related items include an invitation to "dance at the house of Mr. Lyman" from the Committee of the Congregational Society in Bath, Maine, received just before Jenks' move to Maine (December 17, 1805). While in Maine, Jenks received letters from his parishioners and other members of Bath society, as well as from his old friends and business colleagues in Boston and Cambridge. One letter from Jonathan Greenleaf states that he wished to send Jenks some of his books so they can be scattered into the hands of individuals, for the sake of religion and literature, and "where they will be read and preserved", rather than sent to a library (December 24, 1813). Jenks wrote a few of the letters in the collection, including a warm and affectionate letter to his wife (September 7, 1811). In another letter, dated April 15, 1812, Jenks implored someone to care for an African-American friend in need of assistance. Jenks also received a letter recommending John Gloucester (the first African-American ordained Presbyterian priest) as a possible leader of missionary work in Africa (January 31, 1815).

The bulk of the letters related to Betsey Jenks are from her sister, Sally Belknap Russell (later married to a man named Pope). Sally discussed the sickness and death of their father Ezekiel Russell, life in Boston, and other personal matters. Particularly after 1808, various brothers, sisters, cousins, and the Jenks children wrote many of the family letters. Though these are warm and affectionate, they also contain news of the deaths of parents, siblings and spouses. For example, the June 24, 1810, item is from Jenks’ sister Abigail Dana describing her husband's suicide. Also of note are three letters regarding a servant who was trying to hide from her abusive husband (October 26, 1807; November 12, 1807; and November 1807).

Letters from the 1820s through the 1840s contain materials related to various speaking engagements in Massachusetts and invitations to the meetings of area historical societies. Also present are business letters and circulars from the many societies and churches in which Jenks held memberships; these concern diverse topics, such as staffing issues and library collections. During this time, Jenks also maintained correspondence with his children and siblings. His son wrote several letters in 1831 about travels in Spain, Marseilles, Malta, and Sicily. Also of note is a letter in which Jenks discussed a sinking ship near the North Pole (December 3, 1829), and another that contains notes on the "correct" version of the English language Bible (July 17, 1835). Jenks discussed Cotton Mather's Wonders of the Invisible World, referring to it as being "published immediately after the Witchcraft Excitement in 1693" (June 26, 1841).

Many of the items from the late 1840s through the 1860s, and almost all of the letters written after Jenks' death in 1866, are related to Jenks’ son Lemuel. In one, Lemuel described in detail a religious festival in Manzanas, Cuba (April 5, 1848). In another, Craigie Jenks described his service in the 7th Regiment of the Kansas Militia during the Civil War (October 25, 1864). Five items dated after Jenks' death are addressed to William Jenk's daughter, Sarah Judith Jenks, who married Jerome Merritt. One letter dated April 29, 1856, was written by William Buel Sprague (1795-1876) soliciting input about how to write about Rev. Samuel Williams in his forthcoming book, Annals of the American Pulpit.

The Receipts, Documents, Reports, and Notes series (37 items) contains Jenks’ business documents, speeches, and financial papers.

• Society for promoting historian knowledge (1816)
• Boston Society for the Religions and Moral Instruction of the Poor (1821)
• Massachusetts Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (1825)

The series contains addresses delivered to the Delta Young Mens Athenaeum by E. Maxwell Seal (1839) and the Bath Society for the Suppression of Public Vice (undated). This series also holds a copy of the law enacted by the Massachusetts state congress to bring William Jenks and others into the Society for the Religious and Moral Instruction of the Poor (1820) as well as 8 receipts, largely of payments to William Jenks for services rendered. Another item of interest is an 1852 list of Massachusetts church congregations (various denominations) noting increasing numbers of attendance from March 8 and April 12 because of added converts.

The Prayer Notes series (20 items) consists of small slips of paper with prayer requests for sick or recently departed family members of the church community. The minister usually read these during the church service. Though most of the notes are undated, one item is from 1815, when Jenks was at the Bath Congregational Church, and several others are from 1821, when he was at the chapel on Central Wharf.

The Miscellaneous Notes series (17 items) contains a variety of written and visual material. One item is a drawing of the Manana ("Mananas") Island Petroglyph (writing carved in stone by early Native Americans) with a description of the location and the inscription. Another is a two-page description of "Monhegan Island and of the inscription found there" (1851). Other notes include items in Hebrew, Arabic, Latin, and one other language that may be Phoenician or Aramaic. The genealogical item traces the line of Nathan Webb of Charlestown, starting with John Webb of Shrewsbury, England, 1531. Images include a plan of houses to be built on Atkinson St. [Boston] (1825), a sketch of a thatched roof cottage drawn by A.M. Jenks (1882), and a drawing of the Manana Island Petroglyph on a rock. A four-page account of travel to Russia, particularly St. Petersburg, is also noteworthy for its description of Russian landmarks and tourist attractions (undated).

The Printed Material series contains 14 items related to the religious, genealogical, and antiquarian societies with which Jenks was involved. Included are the rules and bylaws of the Eastern Society in Bath, Maine (1811); two religious pamphlets encouraging prostitutes to turn to Christianity (1824); a report of the "Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries to its British and American Members" (1836); a poem entitled The Worker, written by Jenks (1857); and The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 5, Number 4 (October 1851), pages 375-486. Images of William Jenkins and Alpheus Hardy, both undated, are also part of the series .

The Allinson journal documents Allinson's thoughts on his spirituality and marriage as well as events within the New Jersey Quaker Church, including meetings with Native Americans.

William Allinson's journal spans more than a decade of his adult life, and includes mature reflections on both personal and spiritual matters. Closely written and very dense at over 270 pages long, the journal is an emotional and spiritual barometer of a man driven by as many disappointments as joys in his family circle, and even greater disappointments in his own soul. Allinson apparently intended to keep the journal to provide a marker of his spiritual development and as a means of contemplating his growth. Over the course of twelve years he struggled with whether his life could be worthy of recording, and whether a record of his spiritual progress could ever prove useful. Ultimately, he concluded that one day his diary would most likely to be consigned to the fire.

Seldom discussing worldly matters such as politics or the economy, Allinson examines instead a range of subjects of personal and religious interest from witnessing the crescentic shadows cast by plants during a total solar eclipse to witnessing a group of rowdy boys at meeting. Devout and deeply involved in the Society of Friends, he regularly recorded news of the Burlington Meeting and other meetings he attended as minister, elder, and visitor, as well as news of his family and local community, including disciplinary actions, laodiceanism, weddings, and committee meetings. Throughout, he displays a quintessentially Quaker understanding of the World, of conflict and its resolution, reflecting a deeply held and emotionally powerful attachment to the Society, his family, and community. Allinson was a contemporary and friend of important Quaker figures such as Jesse Kersey, George Dillwyn, Martha Routh, Ann Mifflin, Isaac Bonsall, and Elias Hicks, who appear throughout the journal.

The central point of interest in Allinson's journal, however, is a complex and finely detailed struggle with both sexual and spiritual self-discipline. At times, he indulges in the painful ruminations of a middle aged man on his seemingly eternal bachelorhood, posing a series of Quaker queries to himself: "What am I waiting for?" he asked: "Answer. For an Evidence in my own Mind that it will be right to make an Effort to change my condition, & for some satisfactory degree of Light that such procedure is approbated by Him" (1807 April 4). During the twelve years covered in the journal, Allinson found little peace within himself on spiritual issues. He never married, and did his best to deflect the pains of seeing his brothers seemingly stray from the Quaker path.

Allinson's involvement in Indian affairs stands out for note among other important issues appearing in the journal. As a member of the Committee of Indian Affairs of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (and despite doubting his own preparedness for such a role), Allinson was involved in the procurement of over 500 acres of land in August, 1808, on behalf of the Cattaraugus Indians, and he visited them in September and October, 1809. Of greater interest was his visit with the famed Stockbridge Indian "intercultural broker," Hendrick Aupaumut, while he was imprisoned for debt. Allinson discovered Aupaumut to be "pleasant & conversable" (1805 March 10), even while in prison. After paying Aupaumut's debts and having him released, Allinson bought him a new suit of clothes (in which, he noted approvingly, Aupaumut "prefer[ed] utility to shew"; 1805 March 11). Allinson discusses two stories told to him by Aupaumut, one concerning an "Embassy" that Aupaumut and other Indians had made to western Indians -- probably Stockbridge -- "with design to renew the League of Friendship & promote their acceptance of the Christian Religion -- Improvemt in Civilization &c." The Indians accepted Aupaumut's ministry, and gave him three ears of corn to return with, to have them planted and tended "by their choisest & best young women." Aupaumut also discussed the visions and conversion experiences of two Indians, one Shawnee, the other Seneca.

The Tracy family papers consist of letters written by members of a large family from Norwich, Connecticut while living away from home, including two letters from a missionary in India.

This collection is somewhat of a hodgepodge; a few curious lives come to light, but there are not enough letters to entirely flesh out the various writers, or connect the lives of what must have been a large, tight-knit family group. There are 4 letters written by Charles, shortly before his death, 6 letters from William, while he was in Philadelphia, 2 excellent letters from his wife Emily, written from India, 5 written by George, who went down to Mobile, 5 other family letters, 4 letters written by friends, including a female schoolteacher, and 8 letters written much later to Louise and Antoinette Tracy, who were trying to gather genealogical material.

The two most fascinating letters are from Emily, who described the Indians and their ways, as well as the missionary work that brought the Tracys to Southern India. Predictably, she was rather negative about the people she was there to convert. The combination of what she viewed as laziness and lying left her with little respect for the Indians. "I know of nothing in America, which is so universal, as falsehood is among this people, they have a proverb, 'that where the mouth opens a lie comes out,' and this seems to be litterally the case," she fulminated (1838 November 16).

After overpaying a couple times, she pronounced that "their great aim is to get all the money they can, and do as little as possible in return." To Emily, itinerant beggars were the embodiment of this aim, so distasteful to her Protestant work ethic: "You would be surprised to know what a quantity of persons there are in this country, whose business it is to go from village to village begging . . . some time ago one of these beggars came to me, and I said I cannot give you anything, you are a strong stout man, if you will do this work, I will pay you for it but I cannot encourage any body in idleness, who is able to work as you are, said he, 'it is not my custom to work, I am a beggar,' well then, said I, you can go, it is not my custom to support people who can work, but who are too lazy to do so."

Rats and mosquitoes disrupted their sleep, but an even greater trial of missionary life was the difficulty of remaining connected to the loved ones back in America. Writing to the Tracys, Emily asked if they knew why she had not heard from her own parents. After writing thirty letters and receiving no response, she had stopped writing, but not worrying (1839 February 13).

Emily's main preoccupation, however, remained the Tamil people, and she lamented, "Oh how easily are this people led captive by Satan at his will." Witnessing people unselfconsciously bathing in public, and married women performing a fertility ceremony "in the presence of multitudes of people without the least thought that their was any indelicacy in it" seemed to intensify her desire to "guide them to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world."

While she was talking to some "deluded pagans" after they had completed their ceremonies, Emily was asked, "Where did you, a woman, get so much wisdom'"? She was struck that "this people seem not to get the idea, that a woman could know how to do anything else beside cook rice, carry burdens, and gather cow dung for fuel." Emily thought some of the women she spoke to were bright, and "looked as though they might have made smart intelligent women had they been properly educated, whereas now they seem scarcely to have a thought above their food and dress. O when will the time come when the blindness be taken from their eyes"?

Norwich was the home base of the Tracy family, and several of the daughters seem to have never left it, or each other. They probably all worked to earn their keep. William wrote to his sister Mary Ann, "I am glad to hear you have steady work some where or other as father will not have to work so hard as he did before you knew the trade" (1821 June 24). The sons, on the other hand, moved to other places to make a living, either because they wanted to see the world, or there was no future for them in Norwich. This collection of letters written to the women back home documents the men's struggles to get accustomed to being apart from those they were supposed to support, and be supported by. A New Year's greeting filled with religious exhortations is the only "out going" letter from Norwich, written by Susan to her brother Charles (1815 December 31). This intimates that the sisters provided their wandering brothers with religious and moral guidance, as well as keeping them apprised of local news.

Maintaining long-distance familial support was a challenge. Writing after Charles' death, David eloquently reassured his mother, "I feel the only legacy he has left writ deeply on my heart, to comfort and be all to you which we both might have been" (1818 May 1). He was relieved that his mother had visited Charles just before he died, and noted that he had "some of the dear boys hair which I mean to have set in something for my sisters." William told his sister Elizabeth why it was better that they did not live together: "I should like to see you, and be with you, but if we were always together, we should lose much of that pleasure which we feel at meeting after a long seperation, and when duty calls us apart we should yield to her voice with contentment" (1825 June 13). At the same time, he asked her to write to him more frequently, even if he had not responded, for "there are many of you, while I am alone," indicating his need for frequent contact with his family.

George had less time to spend thinking about the folks back home: "I have not been able to think of much except cotton -- it has been cotton from before day break, untill late in the evening. Some times it is eleven o'clock before I can leave the office. I have some times thought that there was more cotton in my head than there was in all the cotton factories in New England" (1831 May 29). Although he was unsure if he wanted to stay in Mobile and keep working in the cotton trade, he was still there a few years later -- but still talking of moving on: "My future exertions in business may be differently directed, but as I am not yet determined that it will, or if it is, in what way, I do not speak of it" (1834 March 10).

Lucinda, a properly educated female native of Norwich, did leave her home in order to make her living. Unlike the men, who stressed the flexibility of their business plans -- George in particular -- Lucinda felt trapped in her position. She wrote to Sarah, "I thought if I should leave my school it would be uncertain when or where I could collect one again. This is the way in which I expect to gain my support & it is best for me to keep with my business. Don't you think so?" (1832 April 14). She rhapsodized about the haunts of her childhood home in a rather morose fashion, and blamed her melancholy on being spurned by a friend, whose desertion had left her quite alone with her pupils.

The papers of the Talcott family of Vernon, Connecticut, and Rockville, Connecticut, are comprised largely of correspondence among various extended family members and friends. Two Talcott women, Martha and Sarah, attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary.

The collection consists of 312 items:

217 letters, largely to and from the Talcott family;

69 school essays, mostly written by Martha and Sarah Talcott at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary;

2 engravings, of John B. Talcott.

24 miscellaneous items, including the Last Will and Testament of Amelia Talcott, items relating to the family business, and a detailed biographical sketch of John Talcott and his descendants.

Although much of the correspondence concerns the domestic life of the extended Talcott family, twenty-seven of the letters relate to the Talcott women’s education, and the lives and careers of fellow students. Martha Goodrich Robbins (later Talcott) received some level of schooling in the 1820s. In a letter of September 18, 1823, her brother Chauncey gives his view of the subject: "When you are down on your hands and knees, dressed in old tow cloth, weeding onions, it will be of but little service to you to know what are the fashions in New York, or how many parts of speech there are, or whether the earth is round or flat as a toad. It will not make the weeds come up any faster." In spite of this, two of Martha’s daughters attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary.

One undated letter fragment, from a Mt. Holyoke instructor, Grace Stanton, to Sarah Talcott, describes in detail the reaction of a new student (Sarah Talcott) upon arrival at Mt. Holyoke -- how homesickness and the strangeness of her surroundings were soon transformed into affection and then love for the beautiful landscape, dedicated teachers and schoolmates. A letter (unsigned, dated May 1862) updates the class on current happenings in the lives of several of the women who graduated from Mt. Holyoke, some of whom were actively teaching, others who had married and were raising families, and several who were ill or taking care of ailing family members.

Another letter provides a description of a school mistress as imagined by Mt. Holyoke graduate Mary Perry, and reveals something of the bond that unites these women: "We, who are set apart from the rest of Eve's daughters as the 'Eddicators' of Papa's hopefuls and Mama's darlings. Who are neither married, nor given in marriage, whose black alpaca dresses always bear about a sprinkle of chalk dust -- whose second finger on the right bears the indelible ink stain, whose voices are always pitched on the sharps and minor keys, as being more euphonious to the sensitive ear -- weep for us...every step, motion and breath bespeaks her profession, stern, stiff, staid, prim & precise schoolmistress. This is a picture of our sisterhood, myself included, if the Fates so decree. I whisper amen, and Echo brings back the same word." (June 7, 1870, Lizzie L. to Mattie)

Religion was a strong influence at Mt. Holyoke and often appeared in the letters of its graduates. Mary Mclean wrote to Sarah Talcott, that "there are many who have learned 'the better way' within those hallowed walls, and have gone out from there with hearts devoted to the service of Christ, and vast, vast is the influence they are now exerting in this world of ours." (November 26, 1852) Another Mt. Holyoke classmate, deterred by ill health from pursuing a teaching career, resigned herself to passive endurance: "I doubt not, however, that I have a lesson to learn that could be learned in no other way; may God grant to be my instructor in this matter." (Mary Fitch to Sarah Talcott, December 21, 1858) Two undated letters refer to a prayer association, of which Martha Talcott is a member, formed of mothers and children in search of divine protection in the face of the ever-present threat of serious illness and early death.

The school essays reveal the thoughts of intelligent mid-nineteenth century young women on subjects of historic, religious, moral, and scientific interest, as well as descriptions of contemporary events. Many are mature reflections, written by Martha and Sarah Talcott in their late teens and twenties.

Only scattered references mention the family business, the Civil War, or other political or economic issues of the period. Domestic matters carry the day: family visits, illness and death, poultry reports, and the making of molasses candy (Martha Talcott school essay, March 3, 1866), to mention a few.

The Suckley family papers provide documentation of family life, mercantile business, and the Methodist Church in antebellum New York City.

This Suckley collection is only a small residuum of a much larger collection, yet what remains provides important documentation of several aspects of nineteenth century life, particularly relating to commercial life in antebellum New York City and the Methodist Church.

Boxes 1 and 2 consists primarily of in-coming correspondence dated between 1791 and 1839, centering on the personal and professional life of George Suckley, with the earliest material originating in the family of his first wife, Miss Lang, in England. The letters contain some information on English Methodism (1:1-6, 16-18). Of particular interest are the letters of the Methodist missionary, Francis Asbury (1:10-11) and of the wife of Richard Reece, who began his itinerant ministry in 1787 (The Christian Advocate and Journal, May 13, 1846, contains a brief sketch of Reece's life). The letters of Catherine Rutsen Suckley and Joseph Holdich include discussions of the Methodist Church in America, and the missionary Freeborn Garretson, is discussed in several letters (1:21-23,25,26,32).

George Suckley's business correspondence includes dealings with the English firm of Holy, Newbould and Suckley (1:33-42,47) and two sets of letters from agents who Suckley retained to manage his vast land holdings, John Reed in upstate New York and John Rangeley in Maine. Among the personal correspondence are several letters from Philadelphia lawyer(?) Cornelius Comegys and letters from three of George Suckley's sons. John Lang Suckley wrote frequently to request money to pay his servants; Rutsen Suckley assisted in managing his father's properties, and Thomas Holy Suckley was a college student.

Box 3 contains family correspondence written after George's death in 1846. Among the family members represented are George's children Rusten, Mary, and Thomas Holy Suckley, and his grandson Dr. George Suckley (1830-1869). George's letters are the most intrinsically interesting, as they were written during a period in the 1850s when he was practicing in Oregon and Washington Territory and considering land investments in California. During this same period, Dr. Suckley was the recipient of several letters from David and Jack Green (apparently cousins of some sort). One item (3:39) relates to George's Civil War service. The later correspondence heavily concerns New York charities. One interesting letter (3:52) is a stableman's apology for drunkenness on Christmas.

Boxes 5 through 9 are arranged in folders by subject. Of particularly interest are materials that document the various New York City rental properties owned by Rutsen Suckley, recording rents collected and upkeep expenses between the 1840s and 1870s. The cost of living in New York can be calculated from bills and receipts for a wide range of products and services.

This account book, possibly kept by Simon Emery (1727-1790) of Kittery, Province of Massachusetts Bay, contains five pages of debts, credits, and memos related to court fees, hay, and agricultural labor. One receipt is laid into the volume. On the back cover is crass manuscript poem, "An Epitaph," respecting the death and burial of a teenage woman who refused to have sex with men or masturbate while alive.

This account book, possibly kept by Simon Emery (1727-1790) of Kittery, Province of Massachusetts Bay, contains five pages of debts, credits, and memos related to court fees, hay, and agricultural labor.

• Page 1: "Memorandm. to procure the Boston Post Bay for Monday July 27, 1752" and weighing of Emery's hay at Col. Sparhawks Barn 1763.
• Slip laid between blank pages 2-3: "MR Danel Emery I Desir you will bill these rites to Day to bee tried Monday com senet Jenery 2 1768."
• Pages 4-5: December 15, 1762-June 21, 1763, containing entries for debts owed in a court case: Simon Emery vs. Peter William, Jr., December 15, 1762. The entries were for "Blanks & fetching," "Currying to ye. Officer," "Proveing Account," judgement and taxing, travel and attendance, filing, and drawing writs. Below is a list of cases "vs Moses Wadlin," "vs Joseph Gatchel, Jr.," "vs David Boyce," "Wm. Parker, Esqr. vs Thomas Gubtail," "Simon Emery vs Abijah Stevens."
• Pages 6-9: Blank.
• Pages 10-11: Debts owed by Simon Emery, July 29, 1761-March 18, 1763. Twenty-eight entries for cash, with mostly unnamed recipients. One is with Noah Ricker. The accounts were for posting accounts, writing, "Quamphegon wth. corn," cash at Portsmouth, English hay to M. H., a days' work, and hay (Robts. & Smith).
• Pages 12-15: Blank.

On the back cover is a crass manuscript poem, "An Epitaph," respecting the death and burial of a teenage woman who refused to have sex with men or masturbate while alive:

"An Epitaph / Here lies the body of a Beauteous Maid / Whose Secret parts, No man Did Ev'r Invade / Scarce her own hand she would Admit to touch / That Virgin Spring Altho. it Itch'd so much / She Dyed at Eighteen years of Age, & then / She gave to worms what she Deny'd to men / It was her last request with Dying groans / To have no Tomb at all, if built with stones / Such Vigorous things she always us'd to wave / For fear they would Disturb her in the grave"

This account book, possibly kept by Simon Emery (1727-1790) of Kittery, Province of Massachusetts Bay, contains five pages of debts, credits, and memos related to court fees, hay, and agricultural labor. One receipt is laid into the volume. On the back cover is crass manuscript poem, "An Epitaph," respecting the death and burial of a teenage woman who refused to have sex with men or masturbate while alive.

This account book, possibly kept by Simon Emery (1727-1790) of Kittery, Province of Massachusetts Bay, contains five pages of debts, credits, and memos related to court fees, hay, and agricultural labor.

• Page 1: "Memorandm. to procure the Boston Post Bay for Monday July 27, 1752" and weighing of Emery's hay at Col. Sparhawks Barn 1763.
• Slip laid between blank pages 2-3: "MR Danel Emery I Desir you will bill these rites to Day to bee tried Monday com senet Jenery 2 1768."
• Pages 4-5: December 15, 1762-June 21, 1763, containing entries for debts owed in a court case: Simon Emery vs. Peter William, Jr., December 15, 1762. The entries were for "Blanks & fetching," "Currying to ye. Officer," "Proveing Account," judgement and taxing, travel and attendance, filing, and drawing writs. Below is a list of cases "vs Moses Wadlin," "vs Joseph Gatchel, Jr.," "vs David Boyce," "Wm. Parker, Esqr. vs Thomas Gubtail," "Simon Emery vs Abijah Stevens."
• Pages 6-9: Blank.
• Pages 10-11: Debts owed by Simon Emery, July 29, 1761-March 18, 1763. Twenty-eight entries for cash, with mostly unnamed recipients. One is with Noah Ricker. The accounts were for posting accounts, writing, "Quamphegon wth. corn," cash at Portsmouth, English hay to M. H., a days' work, and hay (Robts. & Smith).
• Pages 12-15: Blank.

On the back cover is a crass manuscript poem, "An Epitaph," respecting the death and burial of a teenage woman who refused to have sex with men or masturbate while alive:

"An Epitaph / Here lies the body of a Beauteous Maid / Whose Secret parts, No man Did Ev'r Invade / Scarce her own hand she would Admit to touch / That Virgin Spring Altho. it Itch'd so much / She Dyed at Eighteen years of Age, & then / She gave to worms what she Deny'd to men / It was her last request with Dying groans / To have no Tomb at all, if built with stones / Such Vigorous things she always us'd to wave / For fear they would Disturb her in the grave"

A currently unidentified writer copied six Protestant Christian hymns and songs into this volume sometime around the 1850s. The 16 pages of text include "Montgomery", "The Romish Lady", "The Orphan's Song", "Gloom of Autumn", "Remember the poor; or, the Widow's Prayers" (by Rev. H. G. Barrus), "Dying Hymn" (by Alice Cary). The copyist wrote the hymns and songs in a slim blank book with blue-green covers. The front cover bears a printed decorative border at the center of which is an armored prince with sword and shield, standing before a seated Clio with two books and holding out a quill pen to him. Surrounding text explains the relationship between history and "men's great actions." The back cover bears a printed multiplication table and advertising information for Benjamin B. Mussey & Co., Publishers, Booksellers, and Stationers, 29 Cornhill, Boston (including a list of popular books and music books published by Mussey, and types of stationery supplies).

A currently unidentified writer copied six Protestant Christian hymns and songs into this volume sometime around the 1850s.

• "Montgomery"
• "The Romish Lady"
• "The Orphan's Song"
• "Gloom of Autumn"
• "Remember the poor; or, the Widow's Prayers" (by Rev. H. G. Barrus)
• "Dying Hymn" (by Alice Cary)

The copyist wrote the hymns and songs in a slim blank book with blue-green covers. The front cover bears a printed decorative border (with quills) at the center of which is an armored prince with sword and shield, standing before a seated Clio with two books and holding out a quill pen to him. Surrounding text explains the relationship between history and "men's great actions." The back cover bears a printed multiplication table and advertising information for Benjamin B. Mussey & Co., Publishers, Booksellers, and Stationers, 29 Cornhill, Boston (including a list of popular books and music books published by Mussey, and types of stationery supplies).

The Kendall collection consists of 95 letters written to Philena Kendall, a Quaker from New Castle County in Delaware, from female family members and friends, particularly her aunt Mabell, her sister Emma, and her sister-in-law Emily. The papers also include two handmade volumes of Phildena Kendall's poetry and clippings from newspapers.

Most of these 95 letters were written to Philena Kendall from female family members and friends, particularly her aunt Mabell, sister Emma, and sister-in-law Emily. There are three early letters written by Philena to her parents, while she was visiting relatives in West Chester and Washington D.C. This is a typical collection of family correspondence, and most of the letters are full of news about family members and local events.

People teased Philena about her beaux throughout her life, and it is difficult to tell why she did not marry. "I do wonder if ever I will be married," she mused, in a letter to her parents (1853 February 27). Writing home while she was in Washington D. C., Philena gushed about her "Delaware friend," even as she bragged about how the Governor of Alabama (John Anthony Winston) had asked her to accompany him to church. "I would not give my little Delaware friend (if I had him) for all the rich and great men of the south or any other part of the world," she declared (1854 April 9). Her visit to Washington was nonetheless a social triumph. In addition to attending a Catholic church and spending the afternoon with the Governor, Philena received invitations to visit "Ohio New Orleans &c" before returning to her home.

A letter from Mabell indicates that Philena's "true and honnerable little Farmer" died later that year: "it is a great sattisfaction to me that thee has been so wonderfully supported so far to bear up through thy many trials, and also that thee has received so much sympathy and kindness from his family and friends and also from thine" (1854 November 18). When Mabell continued, "I firmly trust that such warmth of feeling may never wax cold. I well know that it is often as thee says but I hope it will not be so in thy case," she might have been responding to a statement by Philena to the effect that she would now become a spinster rather than marry another.

The kinswomen were often separated, for they lived far enough away that visits had to be arranged. The most important aspect of the arrangements was locating a man willing to drive a woman from one town to another. Time and again, visits were put off indefinitely because the available escorts did not have the time or inclination to drive the women, and were "bitterly opposed" to letting them drive themselves. Having a beau at one's beck and call enhanced the chances of getting a ride, but beaux were not always in abundance (1851 Dec. 14). Phebe, a friend of Philena's who lived in West Chester, wrote, "thee was very kind to tell me the road to Delaware but the very thing I want I have not got and that is somebody to bring me" (1852 May 9). Another friend agreed that "men will not stop their work to let women abroad, at least ours won't" (1858 August 29).

Often the women had to rely on letters to maintain and sustain their friendships. Phebe consoled herself by telling Philena, "when i am writeing to thee it seems all most as though I was talking to thee i am very glad thare is sutch things as pens ink and paper for without them i don't know what would become of thee and me for if we cannot get to see one another we can at least write letters" (1852 July 17). "Writeing" was a struggle for many, including Phebe, and these correspondences often languished. Even if writing was not a struggle, finding the time in which to write could be a serious obstacle.

The liveliest letters were written by Philena's merry aunt Mabell, who often did get beyond listing who had died and what the weather was like. In the middle of a letter she interposed, "after writing this far I laid my pen & paper by to get supper for I am the maid of all work as the saying is. Some of the people in this place think it quite unlady like to go in to the kitchen so I think I must be extremely vulgar in their eyes for that is generly where I am to be found, but I don't care for all they can say about me I just feel as independent as a wood sawyer amongst them" (1851 August 10). She regularly made light of the tremendous amount of work she had to do. During a period when she was fixing breakfast for thirteen or more people before six o'clock every morning, she focused on her happiness that Emmor had more people helping with the harvest (1853 September 11). Another time she wrote, "We have been verry buissy all fall and winter sewing & quilting Butchering and various other things which we find to occupy our time. I have hardly been inside of a neighbours house except when some one was sick for the last six months" (1867 January 20).

The Kendalls and Entrikins were Quakers, but they did not write to each other about religious topics. The sole exception is an early letter from Richard Pryor to John Kendall, which is extremely religious in tone (1832 June 26). There are frequent -- but brief -- mentions of attending meeting. The only longer description is of "the largest meeting ever" held at the Kennett Square meeting house, but Philena's sister Emma does little more than comment on the vast quantity of carriages (1878 January 20).

The collection also includes two of Philena Kendall's handmade volumes of poetry, one composed of original poems and one a scrapbook of published pieces, both featuring painted paper wrappers. The collection of original poetry dates from December 1851 through February 1852, and consists of ten poems, eight of which are acrostics. Philena Kendall's 50-page scrapbook is dated 1853 and has over 150 clippings of printed poetry and articles pasted over the pages of the Foreign Missionary Chronicle, volume 7 (February 1839). While both volumes focus primarily on friendship, love, family relationships, and religion, the scrapbook also includes poems on death, nature, Native Americans, firemen, Whigs, slavery, and other topics. A news article on a "young mulatto" attempting to murder her employers' daughter also appears in the scrapbook, as well as an excerpt of a "Chinese Song."