John W. and Maria Eliza Cutler Francis family collection, 1823-1854
16 items
This collection (16 items) contains correspondence received by New York City physician John W. Francis (4 letters); his wife, Maria Eliza Cutler (6 letters); and his mother-in-law, Sarah Cutler (4 letters), as well as 2 financial records. As well as sharing family and social news, the Francis and Cutler families discussed medical issues such as the treatment of cholera and public health in Savannah, Georgia.
Two of John W. Francis's incoming letters relate to his medical career, and include a report about a recently opened asylum in Columbia, South Carolina (July 22, 1823), and a letter from the botanist Henry Ravenel of Pineville, South Carolina, who anticipated a cholera outbreak and requested Francis's advice on the disease and its treatment (September 3, 1832). He also received a letter about a New York state lottery (January 1, 1823) and a letter from Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, mentioning the Seneca orator Red Jacket, whom Schoolcraft called "our best Indian thinker" (December 27, 1854).
Ten letters concern Francis's wife, Maria Eliza Cutler Francis, and her family, including letters from her mother and sister about their social lives in Savannah, Georgia. Her sister Louisa wrote 3 letters to their mother about the city's public health and climate. Her brother, Reverend Benjamin Clarke Cutler, also wrote 1 letter to his mother, concerning a friend's financial difficulties (January 17, 1826).
The collection contains 2 financial records: a partially printed financial note between Alfred Terry and Gideon Wells (February 11, 1830), and a hospital bill forwarded to the selectmen of Abington, Massachusetts, from Foxborough, Massachusetts (December 10, 1844).