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Collection

Katharine Prest scrapbook, 1930-1954 (majority within 1941-1945)

1 volume

This scrapbook contains correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to the soldiers' canteen that Katharine G. Prest hosted at her home in Lancaster, Massachusetts, between June 1941 and August 1945.

This scrapbook contains around 120 pages of correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to the soldiers' canteen that Katharine G. Prest hosted at her home in Lancaster, Massachusetts, between June 1941 and August 1945.

Soldiers stationed throughout the United States and in both major theaters of war frequently wrote to Prest, expressing their gratitude for her hospitality and sometimes reporting on their experiences after leaving Massachusetts; soldiers' wives and mothers occasionally thanked Prest as well. Emily J. Nichols, who worked for the American Red Cross at Fort Devens, corresponded with Prest about upcoming events for wounded men. The servicemen sent manuscript letters, V-mail letters, postcards, and Christmas cards. Many of the postcards include cartoons and other illustrations, most frequently regarding military life. Snapshots and formal portraits show groups of young men and women relaxing at the Prests' home, often near the pool, and soldiers in uniform at various locations.

Prest collected newspaper clippings about her wartime activities and about the war, particularly related to soldiers' experiences in the European Theater. Some clippings include photographs of Prest. The scrapbook contains a small number of printed programs, song lyrics, insignia patches, and a pin from the 101st Cavalry Regiment. One page consists of several soldiers' drawings, including a caricature of Adolf Hitler with target values printed on various parts of his body. A colored illustration commemorating the 101st Cavalry Regiment and several portraits of unidentified individuals are drawn directly into the volume. Later items include awards and certificates of thanks that Prest received from various organizations (undated, WWII era), an award celebrating her commitment to fighting cancer (1951), and a birth announcement (written on a photograph) (January 25, 1954).

Two items pre-date United States involvement in the war: a 1930 group photograph of the "Lawyer's Club" (including William M. Preston), and a 1940 book entitled Yuletide in Many Lands.

Collection

Leopold Mayer family collection, 1864-1970 (majority within 1885-1909)

0.25 linear feet

This collection is made up of letters, documents, genealogical research, and other items pertaining to Leopold Mayer of Chicago, Illinois, and his descendants. The materials concern family news, courtship, and the history of Chicago's Jewish community.

This collection is made up of over 25 items pertaining to Leopold Mayer of Chicago, Illinois, and his descendants. Items in the Correspondence series (17 items) concern Leopold Mayer and his family members, particularly his daughter Amelia and her husband, Jacob Henry Mahler. In a letter dated November 10, 1864, Leopold expressed condolences to Mrs. M. M. Spiegel after learning of the death of her husband, a colonel, during the Civil War. The series also has 2 manuscript letters, 1 manuscript postcard, and 2 typescripts of letters that he wrote to his daughters, son-in-law, and grandchildren from 1885-1902. Most of these contain Mayer's moral advice on topics such as marriage (July 10, 1885) and his later reflections on his life and his wife (February 27, 1902; December 24, 1902).

Most of the remaining items in the series pertain to Amelia Mayer and Jacob Mahler. These include 2 personal letters from Mahler to Mayer (July 14, 1885, and August 26, 1896); 2 German-language letters by members of Mahler's family (January 13, 1892, and August 29, 1896); and 2 personal letters to Amelia from "Jennie," a friend in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (March 15, 1885), and from Ida, her sister, then traveling in Europe (August 27, 1906). Jacob Mahler received a letter about hotel rates in Wisconsin (May 24, 1896) and a birthday greeting from his son Felix in 1898, and wrote 2 friendly notes to Felix (September 22, 1903, and undated). The final item in the series is a typed letter that Arthur M. Oppenheimer wrote to Leopold Mayer's descendants in 1962, with an excerpt about Mayer from Deborah Pessin's History of the Jews in America.

Leopold Mayer's Journal, "From Land to Land, From Port to Port," concerns his visit to Germany and Switzerland in the summer of 1895. Included are a typed journal transcript (35 pages, June 1, 1895-August 3, 1895) and manuscript journal (29 pages, [August 1, 1895]-August 24, 1895, and 1 page, undated). Mayer and his daughter Flora traveled to various cities and towns, saw several Alpine mountains, and met with acquaintances.

The Speech transcript (5 pages) records Leopold Mayer's address to the Council of Jewish Women in November 1899, marking the 25th anniversary of Chicago's Sinai Congregation. Mayer recounted some of his personal history in Chicago, and remarked on the development of the city's Jewish community and institutions.

Financial and Legal Documents relate to Leopold Mayer's estate and to his son-in-law, Jacob Henry Mahler. Mahler received a bill from a laborer dated July 23, 1901, and completed a partially-printed income tax form for himself and his wife on February 19, 1917. Three printed legal documents (December 28, 1903; June 1, 1909; and [1927]) pertain to the settlement of Leopold Mayer's estate and to legal disputes among his heirs. The latter item includes copies of 2 versions of Mayer's will.

The Poetry, Printed Items, and Genealogy series concerns several generations of the Mayer family. The programs document confirmation services held by the North Chicago Hebrew Congregation on May 26, 1901, and a production of the 3-act play The Mayer Saga, presented in Glencoe, Illinois, on December 31, 1925. The extended Mayer family published a newsletter, Unter Uns, on December 25, 1902, with poetry, news articles, and advice columns by Leopold Mayer's children and their spouses. A small packet of typed poems dedicated to Amelia Mayer Mahler accompanies a printed invitation to Mahler's 90th birthday celebration, hosted by her grandchildren on April 18, 1953. The final 2 items are genealogies and a memorial dedicated to Leopold Mayer and his descendants. The memorial was initially issued on March 3, 1927, with genealogical revisions made in 1941. One copy has manuscript genealogical notes dated as late as 1970.

Collection

Russell A. Alger family papers, 1842-1975 (majority within 1863-1865, 1888-1945)

12.5 linear feet

The Russell A. Alger family papers contain personal and professional correspondence of Alger, who served as governor of Michigan (1885-1887), United States Secretary of War (1897-1899), and United States Senator (1902-1907). The collection also includes military correspondence related to the Spanish-American War, materials from a distant branch of the Alger family in Ohio and Missouri, and letters related to United States Representative Bruce Alger's experiences in the Army Air Corps during the Second World War.

The Russell A. Alger papers contain personal and professional correspondence of Russell Alger, who served as governor of Michigan (1885-1887), United States secretary of war (1897-1899), and United States senator (1902-1907). The collection also includes military correspondence related to the Spanish-American War, materials from a distant branch of the Alger family, and letters related to United States Representative Bruce Alger's experiences in the Army Air Corps during the Second World War.

The Russell A. Alger materials series contains three subseries: Correspondence, Documents, and Scrapbooks. The Russell A. Alger Correspondence subseries is made up of 5 sub-subseries.

The Russell A. Alger incoming correspondence sub-subseries (1842-1919; bulk 1863-1865 and 1885-1907) contains 1.5 linear feet of letters, documents, and other items received by Russell Alger during his lifetime, with a particular focus on his military service in the Civil War, his political activities as a leading Republican Party member in Michigan, and his service and legacy as secretary of war under William McKinley during the Spanish-American War. The earliest letters in the collection are official correspondence from military leaders about the 5th Michigan Cavalry's service from 1862-1865. Several post-war letters concern Russell Alger's reputation, which opponents called into question during his rise to political prominence.

Items from the 1880s and early 1890s include many written by the era's leading Republicans, such as Mark Hanna, James G. Blaine, and Benjamin Harrison, who wrote a series of approximately 20 letters about Russell Alger's presidential campaigns in 1888 and 1892. Much of the later correspondence relates to Alger's service as secretary of war during the Spanish-American War, with letters from military personnel and political figures including J. Pierpont Morgan, Nelson A. Miles, William R. Shafter, Leonard Wood, Theodore Roosevelt, and William McKinley. Roosevelt wrote several letters to Alger during his own military service and during his presidency, regarding various political appointments. Two letters illustrate Roosevelt's hopes that Alger will support the reinstatement of the annual army-navy football match (August 17, 1897) and canal-building efforts in Panama (June 18, 1906). Much of William McKinley's correspondence (61 items) respects Alger's service as secretary of war, and includes the president's official acceptance of Alger's resignation from the cabinet (July 20, 1899). Much of Alger's incoming post-war correspondence pertains to efforts to secure his reputation following the Spanish-American War and to his published book on the conflict.

The Russell A. Alger outgoing correspondence sub-subseries contains items written by Russell A. Alger, including a small amount of Civil War-era correspondence and a larger number of letters written during his later political career. The bulk of the series, written from 1884-1907, represents Alger's tenure as governor of Michigan (1884-1887) and as secretary of war (1897-1899). Of interest is a letter of April 13, 1898, regarding the sinking of the Maine in Havana Harbor and the declaration of war against Spain. Other topics in Alger's letters include a shipment of reindeer from Norway (March 21, 1899), affairs in Alaska, the Panama Canal, and political endorsements for both local and national positions.

The items regarding the tour of officers & soldiers in the election of 1896, & the endorsement of Russell A. Alger as a member of President McKinley's Cabinet sub-subseries contains correspondence about Russell A. Alger and William McKinley's tour throughout Michigan during the presidential campaign of 1896, and about Alger's other efforts in the campaign. Of note is a letter from Senator Jacob H. Gallinger, who wrote to William McKinley, "I express the hope that you may invite General Alger into your official family. He will make a model Secretary of War, and will be a strong and reliable man in the Cabinet" (January 23, 1896).

The Letters and Telegrams from General Miles sub-subseries contains 564 once-bound pages of chronologically ordered copies of official military correspondence exchanged during the Spanish-American War. Army generals Nelson A. Miles and William R. Shafter are the most prominent correspondents in the subseries. They provided updates on the Cuban theater of the war. The series spans the entire calendar year of 1898.

The Russell A. Alger semi-official letters, semi-official orders, and telegrams sub-subseries contains 28 bound volumes of carbon copies dating from Alger's service as secretary of war. The series contains 20 volumes of semi-official letters (March 9, 1897-July 24, 1899), 2 volumes of semi-official orders (June 4, 1898-August 1, 1899), 5 volumes of telegrams (July 9, 1897-August 1, 1899), and one volume of letters relating to the GAR (October 1, 1889-November 28, 1894).

The collection also includes 9 volumes of typed transcripts, including incoming and outgoing correspondence as well as documents and materials related to Alger's military service.

The Russell A. Alger documents subseries contains four sub-subseries.

The Russell A. Alger Civil War service documents sub-subseries includes original and manuscript copies of documents related to Alger's Civil War service record and actions during the conflict. The subseries also contains two postwar documents. One of two postwar documents is a list of Civil War battles in which Alger participated.

The Testimony of General Alger Before the War Investigation Committee is a typed copy of Russell A. Alger's testimony regarding the hygiene of American soldiers and camps during the summer of 1898, given before the Dodge Commission later that year. The testimony includes manuscript annotations.

The Gervasio Unson proclamation and affidavits sub-subseries contains the original Spanish text and a translated English copy of Provisional Secretary Gervasio Unson's proclamation and accusations regarding the treatment of guerillas in the Philippines and the general conduct of American officials in the islands. Several documents appended to the proclamation lend factual support to the various allegations.

The Correspondence and documents regarding Florida, Puerto Rico, and Cuba sub-subseries is made up of the following items: correspondence describing rail systems in Florida in the early 20th century; a report on the island of Puerto Rico made on March 14, 1898; letters related to military supplies during the Spanish-American War; several letters regarding the publication of Washington the Soldier by General Henry B. Carrington, including a printed copy of the book's preface; the typescript of an interview given by Russell A. Alger to Henry Campbell of the Milwaukee Journal, March 24, 1900; a booklet on regulations for import/export officers; and a printed copy of the Cuban census of 1900.

The Russell A. Alger scrapbooks subseries contains six volumes of newspaper clippings:
  • Alger's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, April-June 1888
  • Alger's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, February-April 1892
  • "Presented to General Russell A. Alger by the Citizens of Detroit upon his return to his home. August Second, 1899," July-August 1899
  • "Politics: Detroit Newspapers," regarding Alger's campaign for Michigan's vacant Senate seat, August 1902-May 1903
  • "Politics: State Papers," pertaining to Alger's campaign for Michigan's vacant Senate seat, August 1902-May 1903
  • "In Memoriam Hon. Russell A. Alger," January 1907

The Alger family materials series contains eight subseries.

The Alger family correspondence subseries is divided into the seven sub-subseries: David Bruce Alger correspondence, Bruce Alger correspondence, Clare Fleeman Alger correspondence, Oberlin college correspondence and documents, Richard Edwin ("Eddy") Alger correspondence, Albert W. Alger correspondence, and Miscellaneous Alger family correspondence.

The David Bruce Alger correspondence contains numerous letters from Alger to his parents, Richard Edward Alger and Esther D. Reynolds, about David's time at Oberlin College in the early 20th century; the birth and early childhood of his son, Bruce Reynolds Alger; and about St. Louis, Missouri, in the 1920s, including descriptions of "plucky boy" and celebrated pilot Charles Lindbergh. Incoming correspondence consists of Civil War-era receipts; documents and letters of David Baker Alger; a letter from Russell A. Alger, Jr., to a sibling; a letter from an American soldier serving in France in 1917; several letters from David Bruce Alger's father written in 1943; and a 1975 letter regarding recent physical problems.

David Bruce Alger's Oberlin College correspondence and documents consist of items associated with Oberlin College in the 1910s, including ephemera. Of interest are a program from an Oberlin Glee Club concert (1912), three copies of a pamphlet for the "Eezy Cheezers," and an 1882 promotional thermometer.

The Bruce Alger correspondence consists primarily of Bruce Reynolds Alger's letters to his parents, written during his time in the Army Air Corps in the Second World War. Bruce wrote about his training at Kerry Field, Texas, and in California. In a number of letters from 1945, he described the end of the war as he experienced it in the Pacific theater. The sub-subseries also includes the annotated text of a 1937 chemistry examination from Princeton University, reports of Alger's academic progress at Princeton, and a newspaper article about his football career.

The Clare Fleeman Alger correspondence is made up of correspondence and documents related to David Bruce Alger's wife, Clare Fleeman Alger. In letters to her parents and to other friends and family, Clare described her life as a newlywed and, later, as a new mother. Miscellaneous items in this series include several religious tracts, drafts of poetry and essays, and documents regarding Bruce Reynolds Alger's academic progress at Princeton.

The Richard Edwin ("Eddy") Alger correspondence contains incoming letters, 1885-1921, written by family members to "Eddy" or "Cousin Ed." The group also includes a typed collection of several of his short poems.

In the Albert W. Alger correspondence are a number of letters written to various family members by Albert W. Alger.

The Additional Alger family correspondence, documents, and printed items consists of seven Civil War-era documents by various Alger family members, items related to the St. Louis Writers' Guild, invitations to various weddings and graduation ceremonies, a marriage certificate for Melvin C. Bowman and Mary H. Parcell, and a commemorative stamp from Lundy Island. Of note are two pages of a Civil War-era letter by John H. Houghes, who described a military engagement and the burial of a fallen soldier in the surrounding mountains. The group also contains books, pamphlets, and newspapers. Books include the Student's Reference Work Question Manual and Russell A. Alger's copy of Roswell Smith'sEnglish Grammar on the Productive System . The pamphlets are promotional material for a 1904 World's Fair exhibit, issues of various periodicals belonging to Clare Fleeman Alger (many of which contain her writing), and a copy ofAn Outline History of Richfield Township, 1809-1959 . Other items are newsletters from 1916 and 1921, with contributions by Clare Fleeman Alger; a printed map of the Alger Park neighborhood in Dallas, Texas; a newspaper clipping from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch; a program from a piano recital; and scripts for two radio-based language-learning programs (French and German).

The collection includes 40 volumes of Alger family diaries. Six volumes include a book kept by David Bruce Alger and five volumes belonging to Esther Reynolds Alger, written between 1878 and 1881. Among other materials are an early item likely composed by Richard Edwin Alger (1891), a "Note Book for Sunday School Teachers and Workers" probably kept by Esther Reynolds Alger in the late 19th century, and an Esther Reynolds Alger diary from 1900.

The remainder of the series contains material, spanning 1905-1973, that belonged to David Bruce Alger. His early diaries include a "Foxy Grandpa" notebook (1905) and a series of annual daily journals written from 1910 to 1919. Two five-year diaries chronicle 1920-1924 and 1926-1930, followed by single and two-year volumes kept between 1931 and 1937. An uninterrupted series of five-year volumes covers 1938-1975, although his entries taper off around 1973. David Bruce Alger kept his diaries regularly, composing a few lines about the weather and his activities on a near-daily basis.

The Clare Fleeman Alger manuscript submission records are a series of index cards. They are filed alphabetically by poem or essay title. Each record contains the name of a work, the publication to which the manuscript was submitted, and the date. The records pertain to works written in 1917 and from 1931 to 1943. Occasional rejection letters and drafts are interfiled within the subseries.

The Receipts subseries consists of 9 items dating to the 19th century.

In the Documents subseries are manuscript copies of correspondence regarding Alger's Civil War service, made and authorized by the War Department at a later date. The subseries also includes two typed copies of Lieutenant Philip H. Sheridan's "Account of the Battle of Booneville," and two copies of a "Statement of the Military History of Russell A. Alger."

The Photographs subseries contains four photographs. One is a portrait of Russell A. Alger's wife, Annette Henry Alger, labeled "Aunt Nettie."

The Newspapers and clippings subseries contains a small number of short articles, dating primarily in the 1930s. The clippings relate to various members of the Alger family; for example, one item pertains to the death of Russell A. Alger's son, Frederick Moulton Alger, in 1934. The subseries also includes three full size Kansas City, Missouri, newspapers from 1883, 1897, and [1898].

Collection

Science and Medicine collection, 1702-1936

Approximately 0.75 linear feet

The Science and Medicine collection consists of miscellaneous items that document various aspects of science and medicine in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Science and Medicine collection contains miscellaneous items that document various aspects of science and medicine in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. Fields covered include anatomy, astrology, astronomy, botany, dentistry, geography, medicine, paleontology, physics, and physiology.

Discussed are:
  • Agriculture, plants, and seeds
  • Communication and travel
  • Collecting specimens for natural history museums
  • Epidemics (influenza, cholera, yellow fever)
  • Higher education and honorary degrees
  • Inoculations
  • Land surveying
  • Mathematics and navigation
  • Medical techniques and treatments for diseases, wounds, and afflictions
  • Medicinal recipes
  • Mental health
  • Quackery
  • Scientific and medical texts and lectures
  • Technological developments and experiments in machinery, and architectural projects
  • Venereal diseases
Below are some highlights from the collection:
  • April 19, 1788: Description of riot set off by alleged body snatching by medical students in New York
  • August 31, 1792: Order for an inoculation
  • June 30, 1796: Request to Charles Wilson Peale from members of a Paris museum to exchange specimens, including mastodon and opossums
  • January 15, 1826: Thomas Nuttall to a bookseller named Mr. Brown concerning 10 boxes of natural history specimens he is sending from Oahu, Hawaii
  • August 7, 1832: Account of the course and spread of Cholera in Albany, and fears that southern slaves will suffer the most from Cholera
  • September 13, 1833: Description of bright flashing lights appearing in the sky
  • August 24, 1835: Recommendation of a physician of the 'new school' of medicine who does not utilize bleeding, blistering, or calomelization (mercury cure)
  • December 15, 1840: Description of eye surgery performed on a patient at the Medical College of Geneva, New York
  • January 12, 1842: Discussion of constructing a microscope to view bacillaria
  • May 8, 1844: Astrological reading that predicts the recipient will marry a man from the north with light brown hair
  • September 19, 1848: Rules and customs of telegraphing
  • [1895]: Request for a list of names of locals with eye problems on letterhead for Narcissa Waterman, Eye Doctress
Collection

Stewart Frederick Laurent papers, 1907-1947 (majority within 1918-1919)

0.5 linear feet

This collection is mainly comprised of letters that Sergeant Stewart F. Laurent wrote to his wife and other family members while serving in France during World War I. The collection also includes documents, postcards, photographs, and ephemera.

This collection (0.5 linear feet) is mainly comprised of letters that Sergeant Stewart F. Laurent wrote to his wife and other family members while serving in France during World War I. The collection also includes documents, postcards, photographs, and ephemera.

The Correspondence series (67 items) contains 65 letters that Laurent wrote about his service in France from March 10, 1918-May 18, 1919; 1 letter that he wrote on January 10, 1918; and 1 letter by other military personnel confirming Laurent's good record as an automobile driver (April 30, 1918). Laurent most frequently wrote to his wife Alice, discussing their separation and anticipating their life together after the war. In other letters to Alice and to his mother, aunt, uncle, and siblings, he described his travels around the French countryside and reported military rumors, particularly those related to the end of the war. He vacationed at Aix-les-Bains in September 1918 and was stationed in Abainville and Haussimont after the Armistice; he also visited Nice and Paris. On Thanksgiving Day, 1918, after the relaxation of censorship requirements, he recounted his passage to France on the USS President Lincoln and enclosed a dinner menu from the journey. Other enclosures include a photographic postcard; snapshots of Laurent, other soldiers, tanks, and places in France; a booklet celebrating Mother's Day; and a political cartoon of an American soldier awaiting his return home. In 2 letters from March 1919, Laurent drew pictures of artillery shells that had been turned into vases.

The Postcards series (11 items) is divided into 3 groups. Stewart F. Laurent sent 3 postcards to his wife Alice between January 8, 1919, and February 17, 1919, of which 2 show the interior and exterior of the Château de Valençay; the third informs Alice of her husband's reassignment to Haussimont, France. The second group of postcards depicts soldiers and scenes from Paris, France, during World War I. The final group of 4 postcards pertains to the Laurents' candy store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the 1940s.

Items in the Documents series (9 items) mostly relate to Stewart Laurent's military service, including 4 items about his discharge (May 1919), a Treasury Department document about the War Risk Insurance Act and related financial allotments (undated), and instructions for troops sailing from the United States to France onboard the USS President Lincoln [February 1918]. Three items, 2 of which are dated November 18, 1914, concern the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

Printed Items and Ephemera (15 items) pertain to Stewart F. Laurent's military service and personal life. A 1908 program for an event at Glenolden Grammar School and an unidentified photograph from 1907 are enclosed with an invitation to Laurent's wedding. The remaining items are from the World War I era, including 2 newsletters about the French Riviera in the spring of 1919, a group of ticket stubs with a parody song ("Silver Threads Among the Black"), Laurent's pay book, a program for a variety performance in Aix-les-Bains, and 3 booklets: a guide to the French Riviera, a history of and guide to Paris, and a soldier's French phrasebook. This collection also includes 2 realia items: a string of beads and a private's chevron.

Collection

Thompson family papers, 1821-1973 (majority within 1821-1934)

8.75 linear feet

This collection is made up of the papers of Arba U. Thompson and his wife Frances Warner Thompson of Farmington and Avon, Hartford County, Connecticut, as well as the correspondence of their children Herbert, William, Lewis, Leila, Charles, and Frances May Thompson. The collection also includes the correspondence of Lucelia "Leila" U. Thompson, an educator who traveled with her husband William P. Baker to India in 1853 to serve for a decade as a missionary and teacher.

This collection is made up of the papers of Arba U. Thompson and his wife Frances Warner Thompson of Farmington and Avon, Hartford, Connecticut, as well as the correspondence of their children Herbert, William, Lewis, Leila, Charles, and Frances May Thompson. The papers include 2,713 letters, plus one linear foot of diaries, legal and financial documents, school papers, a commonplace book, a notebook, poems and writings, photographs, ephemeral materials, and printed items.

The Thompson Family Papers correspondence includes a wide range of writers and recipients. A temporary, rudimentary selection of them is as follows:

  • The earliest portion of the collection is largely comprised of the incoming correspondence of Frances "Frankie" Warner / Frances Warner Thompson, 1850-1851, and the often lengthy, journal-like letters of Lucelia "Leila" U. Thompson who traveled with her husband William P. Baker to India in 1853, where she served as a missionary and teacher until her death in 1864. Lucelia's letters begin with correspondence from Dwight Place Seminary, New Haven, in 1850. By 1852, she served as a teacher at Germantown in a school of Mary Fales, then in 1853 determined to travel as a missionary abroad. From 1853 to 1864, she wrote lengthy, at times journal-like letters from different locations in India, including "Ahmednuggur," "Khokar," Bhingar, "Shingvay" (illustrated letter from Bombay, January 1, 1855). Her recipients included Emmie Gallup (in Essex, Conn.), Lottie R. Andrew, and Emily Hubbard.
  • After Lucelia's death, her husband William P. Barker wrote letters to their parents, daughter Mary, and niece Leila Anna. Barker wrote from Minneapolis and Cottage Grove in the 1860s and 1870s, and from Carbon, Wyoming Territory, in the early 1880s.
  • Early 1850s courtship correspondence of Arba Thompson and Frances Warner.
  • Early 1850s letters from Mary E. Hubbell of Ipswich, Massachusetts; Avon, Connecticut; Baltimore, Maryland; and North Stonington, Connecticut, to Abigail "Nabby" Thompson.
  • Correspondence of Frances Thompson's brother "Baxter" at Yale College, beginning in 1854.
  • Letters by Flora Thompson in Avon, Connecticut, to her siblings beginning in the 1850s, then from Carthage, Ohio, by the 1870s.
  • Letters of Abel M. Thompson of Rockville mid-1850s
  • Correspondence of Pliny F. Warner of Aledo, Illinois, a job printer and publisher of the weekly Aledo Banner, editor of the Mason County Republican out of Havana, Illinois, and then the Havana Republican.
  • Letters by Frances Warner's father Milo Warner of Strykersville, New York, 1850s-1860s.
  • Letters by Frances Warner's sister Cordelia Morrill of Brooklyn, Strykersville, "Shadow Nook," and Java Village, New York, 1860s-1890s.
  • Post-Civil War correspondence to Frances, Abigail "Nabby", and Herbert Wilson Thompson.
  • Letters to Frances and Arba from cousin Dr. C. D. Woodruff of Lima, New York.
  • Letters of E. G. Warner in Amherst, Massachusetts, to cousin Leila Thompson, 1880s.
  • Letters from Charles and Anna Thompson to Frances Thompson from Bridgeport, Connecticut, late 1880s. Charles K. Thompson worked for the American Gramophone Company at Bridgeport.
  • Letters of H. W. Thompson, working at C. H. Smith & Co., loan brokers and western real estate out of Hartford, Connecticut, late 1880s.
  • Correspondence of Edith A. Warner of Brooklyn, New York, while teaching at Granville Female College, Granville, Ohio, in the 1880s.
  • By 1890, the volume of letters to Frances May Thompson, known as May, from siblings and cousins increased dramatically. In the early 1890s, May took a job as a teacher at a schoolhouse in Washington, Connecticut. While there, she received letters from Helen M. Webster (1860-1905), a supervisor at the American Asylum at Hartford, Connecticut; later, Helen married to a man named George Reed and wrote from Hill City, South Dakota, in 1896 and 1897. By the late 1890s, May received letters from her husband, who worked at Harvey & Lewis, opticians and photographic supplies. He also used New York Life Insurance Company stationery.
  • Correspondence between siblings Lewis and Leila Thompson, 1900s.
  • Incoming letters to Leila Thompson from Alice P. Warner of Beloit, Wisconsin, early 1900s.
  • Letters between Leila and Alice H. "Claire" Alderman in Clarkston, Georgia; St. Petersburg, Florida; and elsewhere, 1900s-1910s.
  • Later letters between Beatrice A. Hoskins and her mother Frances Hoskins.

The collection includes two small, unsigned diaries, dated 1848 and 1923. Legal and financial documents include 57 accounts, tax receipts, land indentures, loan receipts, four account books (1824-1927), and other papers, largely from Avon and Farmington, Connecticut. One account book, kept by Guy Thomson in 1824, includes accounts for sawing, mending a halter, plowing, mowing, planting, picking apples, making cider, shoeing horses, mending fences, and other labor, plus monies taken in from a boarder.

School papers include 10 rewards of merit, report cards, school programs, a student's notebook, and a teacher's notebook, all dating from 1851-1925. A commonplace book by Leila U. Thompson dates from the 1840s and includes poetry and excerpts, including a multi-page poem, "The Missionary's Call." A notebook, marked "O.V. Brainerd" contains page after page of scribbles.

Poems and other writings include 42 loose leaf copies of poems on subjects such as temperance, resignation, death and bereavement, friendship, sentimental and religious topics, Christmas, and other subjects. Seventeen photographs include a CDV of Fannie Warner as a young girl, and a selection of snapshots, apparently of members of the Hoskins family.

The Thompson Family Papers include a variety of ephemera and printed items, including 12 visiting cards; 33 invitations and announcements; 46 birthday, valentine, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and other holiday cards; genealogical notes; newspaper clippings, pamphlets, programs, and other items.

Collection

Thorington family papers, 1809-1930 (majority within 1873-1908)

0.75 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to multiple generations of the Parker, Thorington, and Nash families, particularly James Thorington (1816-1887), his daughter Ella, and Ella's daughter Louise. The materials pertain to life in Davenport, Iowa; Colón, Panama; Staten Island, New York; and other locations in the 1870s to 1900s.

This collection (0.75 linear feet) is made up of correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to multiple generations of the Parker, Thorington, and Nash families, particularly James Thorington (1816-1887), his daughter Ella, and Ella's daughter Louise.

The bulk of the collection consists of letters and newspaper clippings once housed in a 147-page scrapbook (now disassembled). Louise Nash Sanger compiled the volume and occasionally made notes on the materials, sometimes including brief biographical or contextual information. She contributed additional genealogical information, such as family death registers. The earliest materials include prayers written by Asa Rogers in the early 1800s and correspondence regarding the Parker family. One letter from Jonathan Parker to his sister Mary warns her about an unknown man, possibly her future husband, James Thorington (February 1, 1842).

Many scrapbook items relate to James and Mary Parker Thorington and their children, particularly Ella, Jessie, and Monroe. Ella received letters from members of her immediate family and from aunts, cousins, and friends, who provided family and local news from Davenport, Iowa, and other locales. Monroe Thorington discussed his experiences while attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in the early to mid-1870s. Some of his acquaintances wrote to the Thorington family after his death at Fort Keogh, Montana Territory, in 1878. Members of the Thorington family also wrote to Ella about their lives at Aspinwall (Colón), Panama, where the elder James Thorington served as United States consul.

Other materials from the late 19th century relate to the family of Francis B. and Ella Thorington Nash, including many letters to their daughter Louise. Louise's correspondents included "Flora" and "Brette." Flora lived in Staten Island, New York; several items, including telegrams, pertain to her death. Brette wrote about life in Florence, Nebraska, and later discussed his life in New York City, where he became an adherent of the Bahá'i faith. Louise received additional letters from aunts, uncles, and other family members and acquaintances, often concerning personal news such as family news and deaths. Louise Nash Sanger and other family members collected newspaper clippings relating news of births, marriages, and deaths in the Parker, Thorington, and Nash families, including those of James Thorington's children and grandchildren. Some articles pertain to palmistry and to Ella Thorington Nash's instructional lectures in cooking, which she gave in Chicago in the late 19th century. One group contains printed letters from members of the Thorington family living in Panama. Additional scrapbook materials include fine pencil drawings of unidentified homes and incomplete family death registers.

Loose (non-scrapbook) items include letters and telegrams related to members of the Thorington and Nash families, and genealogical registers tracing Sanger family ancestors into the early 18th century. A small number of military commissions pertain to the career of Henry Sanger in the mid-19th century. The collection includes poems, an engraved portrait of James Thorington, invitations, programs, and a manuscript map of a quartz mine. Other items of note are a clipping from a Davenport paper regarding the capture and death of John Wilkes Booth (April 28, [1865]) and a letter from "Burdett" to an unidentified recipient about a journey from Galena, Illinois, to Mackinac Island (August 5, 1844).

Collection

Wood family papers, 1846-1951 (majority within 1846-1925)

4 linear feet

The Wood family papers contain correspondence and other items related to the family of James A. Wood of Lebanon, Connecticut, and his descendants from the mid-19th to the early 20th century. Much of the content pertains to education, family news, and politics.

The Wood family papers (4 linear feet) contain correspondence and other items related to the family of James A. Wood of Lebanon, Connecticut, and his descendants from the mid-19th to the early 20th century.

The Correspondence series comprises almost all of the collection. Early items are incoming letters to James A. Wood, Rebecca D. Pillsbury (later Wood), and their daughter, Helen Elizabeth Wood, from family members and acquaintances. James A. Wood's siblings wrote with updates on their lives, such as Caroline E. Wood's teaching career in numerous towns throughout New York. Rebecca D. Pillsbury also received letters from her brothers and sisters, and both Wood's and Pillsbury's correspondents discussed family matters, religion, and local news. Margaret Ann's letter of December 3, 1860, concerns her affection for a deceased baby sister, and an unidentified author's letter of September 4, 1861, describes the recent death of a grandmother. James A. Wood received an increasing amount of business-related correspondence, including letters from Charles W. Pierce, in the 1870s.

After the 1870s, most letters are addressed to Rebecca D. Wood and her daughter, Helen Elizabeth Wood. Rebecca's children often wrote letters to their mother, and Helen received letters from cousins and friends from around the East Coast. George P. Wood, Helen's brother, often shared stories of his young son James and of his life in Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, D. C.; and Peekskill, New York. In one letter, George included a map showing the location of his home in Washington, D. C. (November 13, 1899).

In addition to family and social news, letters occasionally referred to current events. "Dana," one of Helen E. Wood's cousins, wrote from his United States Army post during World War I (December 28, 1917), and other friends discussed the impact of the war. Among Helen's correspondents were Ida McCollister of New Hampshire and Harry Sawyer, an old friend who shared news of his life in Kearney, Nebraska. In one later letter, George P. Wood expressed some of his political views about the 1924 presidential election (October 27, 1924). Correspondence was less frequent after Helen E. Wood's death in 1933, with most incoming letters addressed to Winchester R. Wood of Lynn, Massachusetts, a member of the family's Connecticut branch. Undated items include similar family correspondence, as well as one letter written on a printed program for the Public Meeting of the Philadelphian Society at Kimball Union Academy at Meridian, New Hampshire, on June 12, 1878.

The Essays series includes an "Autobiography of a Sofa," written by R[ebecca] D. Pillsbury, as well as a manuscript draft of the "Common School Repository...Published semi-monthly by L. J. Boynton & R[ebecca] D. Pillsbury," containing 8 pages of short pieces attributed, often only by first name, to various contributors.

Among the six Receipts, addressed to A. Wood (1 item) and Helen E. Wood (5 items) are two receipts for Helen E. Wood's educational expenses and two slips crediting her account at Citizens National Bank, Boston.

Maps and Blueprints comprise 7 items. These are several drawings of house layouts, one map showing the locations of two buildings, and two blueprints.

The Newspaper Clippings series has 6 items, one of which is an article entitled "What They Say: How Girls of Various Cities Behave When They are Kissed."

The Ephemera series contains 52 Christmas cards, greeting cards, postcards, calling cards, programs, and other printed items. Specific items include 2 Red Cross membership cards, a pamphlet advertising The Art of Living Long by Louis Cornaro, and a blank order sheet for Sears, Roebuck and Co. from the 1920s.