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

The Jones collection consists of 10 letters written by Martha and John W. Jones, Quakers from Portland, Me., to their parents from a Friends' boarding school in Providence, Rhode Island.

The Jones papers consist of 10 letters written mainly by Martha and John W. Jones to their parents. The letters are too scattered to provide a complete, or even coherent, picture of life at the school or of the curriculum offered, but the letters give an occasional glimpse of Martha's and John's reactions to the boarding school environment.

Two letters are of particular interest. First, on November 14, 1845, a superintendent at the school, Lydia Thompson, wrote regarding the school's regulations on suitable (i.e., plain) clothing for the students, apparently in response to a violation of the regulations by John. Secondly, on December 6, 1846, John describes some of the classes in science that he has attended. He mentions an experiment with a brass cannon that the boys had overloaded with powder, as a result of which one of the girls fainted from excitement. In an experiment in chemistry class, an instructor apparently set a beaker of ether on fire, causing some of the girls in the class to panic momentarily.