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This collection contains 18 letters, a musical score, and a poem related to the Fitch family of Hornchurch, England, and their temporary move to the United States in the early 19th century. Sarah and Eliza Jane Fitch wrote to their English relatives about the misfortunes they encountered while living in North America, and family members provided news from England.

This collection (20 items) contains 18 letters, a musical score, and a poem related to the Fitch family of Hornchurch, England, and their temporary move to the United States in the early 19th century. Sarah and Eliza Jane Fitch wrote to their English relatives about the misfortunes they encountered while living in North America, and family members provided news from England.

Sarah and Eliza Jane Fitch corresponded with Sarah's sister, Jane Bonus of Hornchurch, England, about their difficulties in Maryland and Massachusetts. They discussed family deaths, local epidemics, and news, such as the mutiny on the Globe (January 4, 1825). Other correspondence includes a letter Frederick Charles Fitch received from his mother while he sailed on the Weymouth (May 25, 1826), and a letter he wrote to her from Bonavista (now Boa Vista), Cape Verde Islands, describing local scenery and his sailing experiences (August 5, [1826]). Eliza Jane also received 2 letters from Jane Bonus, who reported news of Eliza's cousins and provided other updates from Hornchurch. Another relative of the Fitch family, Charles Cove, wrote 3 letters to Sarah Fitch in 1828 and 1829, in which he urged her to return to England. The collection also contains a letter that a Fitch family member wrote to a friend about a voyage from North America to England (September 1829).

The collection's additional items are 2 letters that Charles Cove and John Pytches Revett exchanged regarding Cove's desire to marry Revett's daughter (1843), a letter Jane Bonus wrote to Emily Fitch about local news (September 26, 1845), an undated poem commemorating Horatio Nelson's military victories, and an undated manuscript score for a song entitled "The Dove," written by B. Orme and T. Colkin of the 84th Regiment.

Sarah Jane Hayward of Gilsum, New Hampshire, kept this diary between January 1, 1869, and December 31, 1872. In almost-daily entries, she commented on various aspects of her life, including social visits, religious meetings, and her work at a textile mill.

Sarah Jane Hayward of Gilsum, New Hampshire, kept this diary between January 1, 1869, and December 31, 1872. In almost-daily entries, she commented on social visits, religious meetings, and her work at a textile mill.

Hayward worked at two textile mills, having quit her previous job for a position at "Collins' Mill" in June 1870, where she worked at a tricot loom. She commented on female millworkers and noted the days on which she, or other women, found substitutes. In August 1872, she mentioned the effects of a dispute over three workers who had been fired; later, most of the mill's German employees left work. Much of Hayward's diary pertains to her social life, which included frequent visits to, and from, friends and family members. She often interacted with a "Mr. Learoyd" (possibly her future husband) and, in September 1872, discussed her efforts to discourage an unwanted suitor. Though she considered his marriage offer, she believed that his children would make too much noise for her mother to bear (September 20, 1872). When community residents died, Hayward noted their ages and death dates. She and her mother hosted and attended prayer meetings, occasionally all-female, and Hayward frequently recorded the subjects of church sermons she attended, relevant Bible verses, and the names of the pastors. On one occasion, Hayward described an interaction with an itinerant woman: after she and her mother took the woman in, Hayward discovered that a gold pin of hers had gone missing (November 16, 1869). Following the diary are 4 pages of quotations and poetry on various subjects, including religion and marriage.