Dodge Family Correspondence
The Dodge Family subseries contains correspondence to and from the members of the Dodge family and ranges from 1838-1989 with the bulk of materials from the early 20th century. The earliest letters were written among the children of Thomas Dodge, a farmer in Massena, New York. Many were penned by Thomas Dodge, Jr., who moved to Indiana and described some difficulties of living on the frontier, such as finding a teacher for the schoolhouse and making ends meet. Later letters shed light on the courtship of Isabella Donaghue, who married Orange Dodge, and on the inter-faith marriage between Fletcher Dodge and his wife, Ray Cohen. Fletcher Dodge’s letters in particular are frank and very interesting, describing ideas about work, monogamy, his family, fraternities, and many other topics.