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

This collection contains correspondence that Julia Dougrey of Lansingburgh, New York, received during and after her time at St. Mary's Hall in Burlington, New Jersey. The bulk of the collection consists of letters from Julia's friends at the school, who described their experiences there and aired complaints about its regimen and teachers. Dougrey also received social letters from her sisters Mary and Clarissa Ann, as well as letters from friends in New Haven, Connecticut.

This collection contains correspondence that Julia Dougrey of Lansingburgh, New York, received during and after her time at St. Mary's Hall in Burlington, New Jersey. Her sister Mary wrote the first 5 letters between May 1837 and February 1838, while Julia lived and studied at St. Mary's Hall. Mary expressed her pleasure at hearing that Julia enjoyed the school, shared social news from Lansingburgh, and reported on their sister Clarissa, then living in Marshall, Michigan.

Julia Dougrey received most of the remaining dated letters from friends at St. Mary's Hall after returning home around 1839. Her correspondents included Augusta Whipple, one of the school's two female teachers, and 3 women who referred to themselves using male pseudonyms; one of these, "John," referred to herself as Julia's "husband." Correspondents from St. Mary's reported details of their lives of the school, provided updates on other students, and shared their opinions of its strict rules and "cross" teachers. The women were only allowed to write letters once weekly, and often reported feeling homesick. One letter contains a poem dedicated to Julia (July 21, 1838).

Other correspondence includes 2 letters to Julia Dougrey from her sister Clarissa, who wrote of her social life in Marshall, Michigan (July 28, 1840), and Chicago, Illinois (September 1844), and undated letters from acquaintances in New Haven, Connecticut. The collection also contains an anonymous love letter and poem written in Troy, New York, under the pseudonym "Rowland Abbot" (March 12, 1841). Julia Dougrey wrote one letter to a sister-in-law Frances on September 12, 1842.

This collection consists of incoming letters sent to Mary Averell Knap of Brownsville and Ogdensburg, New York, between 1850 and 1862, and letters sent to her granddaughter, Lydia Averell Hasbrouck, of Ogdensburg, New York, in 1885 and 1886 by her cousin, Thomas Whitney Brown. The correspondence concerns daily life, occasional references to the Civil War, literature, and Brown's attempts to gain admission to the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University).

The Knap-Whitney family letters consist of approximately 88 letters. The correspondence addressed to Mary Averell Knap includes 4 outgoing and approximately 75 incoming personal letters dated between 1848 and 1864. Her parents, friends, cousins, and other family members commented on their daily lives, with occasional references to the Civil War. Mary Knap's father, Thomas Knap, informed his daughter about his life in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 1850, and occasionally discussed the sermons he heard. After 1850, Mary's correspondents primarily included her cousins and friends. In the mid-1850s, Maria M. Campbell (later Smith), a cousin, wrote about her education and social life at St. Mary's Hall, Burlington, New Jersey, and in October 1858 discussed her relocation to Fort Mason, Texas (resultant from her husband's affiliation with the United States Army's Second Cavalry). Susie P. Willene wrote of her life in "Frankford," and in one letter she shared her distaste for recent political developments in South Carolina, despite her southern heritage (June 22, 1855). Other friends reported social news, such as marriages and, in one instance, the author's secret engagement. Knap also received letters from several men, including one written in German.

Though Mary Knap continued to receive letters throughout the Civil War, her correspondents primarily focused on personal matters, such as her cousin Will's efforts to establish a forge at Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania. Others described a visit to an army encampment in Washington, D.C., and mentioned a soldier's aid society.

Mary A. Knap also wrote 4 letters to George Whitney in 1857, about her life in Brownsville and his unreciprocated romantic advances.

The correspondence sent from Thomas Brown Whitney of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to his cousin, Lydia Averell Hasbrouck of Ogdensburg, New York, includes 8 letters dated from 1885 and 1886 and 1 letter dated in 1940. He shared family news and stories, and commented on his daily life. An avid reader, he frequently discussed literature and literary figures, such as Lords Tennyson and Byron, and occasionally copied poetry into his letters. Whitney enjoyed fencing, and drew several figures fighting in his letter of December 26, 1885. After September 1885, the letters concentrate on his desire to attend College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), and he wrote of his studies, college entrance exams, and classes in Latin. On April 6, 1886, he voiced his concerns about "hazing and general fighting" at Princeton. His letter dated March 23, 1940, reflects on a bout of "grippe" and attitudes towards the Second World War, including German anti-war sentiment.