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

This volume contains brief diary entries and financial accounts by Nellie J. Cross of Orange, Massachusetts. From December 1912-Februrary 1913, she recorded daily notes about a trip to southern California, where she visited an aunt who lived near Los Angeles.

This volume (71 pages) contains brief diary entries and financial accounts by Nellie J. Cross of Orange, Massachusetts. Pages 1-49 consist of her travel diary, dated December 24, 1912-February 17, 1913. She and her husband Joseph traveled to California by railroad, passing through New York and the Midwest. She noted their daily activities in the Los Angeles area, which included trips to the city and its suburbs, most frequently Pasadena and Santa Ana. On January 1, 1913, the couple went to the Rose Parade. Nellie's "Aunt Vesta" often accompanied them on social outings, which included sightseeing and trips to the "motion pictures." On February 10, 1913, Nellie and Joseph Cross left California for a return trip through Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C. They saw a funeral procession, the arrival of a group of Native Americans at El Paso, and African American houses in Louisiana and North Carolina. They arrived home on February 17, 1913.

The volume's remaining pages have addresses for residents of several states, primarily in the Northeast, and accounts between Nellie J. Cross and her brother, George A. Hill (pp. 70-71). In 1921, Hill borrowed money to purchase a car from the Stanley Motor Car Company, and Nellie recorded occasional notes about his repayments until around 1928.

The Suckley family papers provide documentation of family life, mercantile business, and the Methodist Church in antebellum New York City.

This Suckley collection is only a small residuum of a much larger collection, yet what remains provides important documentation of several aspects of nineteenth century life, particularly relating to commercial life in antebellum New York City and the Methodist Church.

Boxes 1 and 2 consists primarily of in-coming correspondence dated between 1791 and 1839, centering on the personal and professional life of George Suckley, with the earliest material originating in the family of his first wife, Miss Lang, in England. The letters contain some information on English Methodism (1:1-6, 16-18). Of particular interest are the letters of the Methodist missionary, Francis Asbury (1:10-11) and of the wife of Richard Reece, who began his itinerant ministry in 1787 (The Christian Advocate and Journal, May 13, 1846, contains a brief sketch of Reece's life). The letters of Catherine Rutsen Suckley and Joseph Holdich include discussions of the Methodist Church in America, and the missionary Freeborn Garretson, is discussed in several letters (1:21-23,25,26,32).

George Suckley's business correspondence includes dealings with the English firm of Holy, Newbould and Suckley (1:33-42,47) and two sets of letters from agents who Suckley retained to manage his vast land holdings, John Reed in upstate New York and John Rangeley in Maine. Among the personal correspondence are several letters from Philadelphia lawyer(?) Cornelius Comegys and letters from three of George Suckley's sons. John Lang Suckley wrote frequently to request money to pay his servants; Rutsen Suckley assisted in managing his father's properties, and Thomas Holy Suckley was a college student.

Box 3 contains family correspondence written after George's death in 1846. Among the family members represented are George's children Rusten, Mary, and Thomas Holy Suckley, and his grandson Dr. George Suckley (1830-1869). George's letters are the most intrinsically interesting, as they were written during a period in the 1850s when he was practicing in Oregon and Washington Territory and considering land investments in California. During this same period, Dr. Suckley was the recipient of several letters from David and Jack Green (apparently cousins of some sort). One item (3:39) relates to George's Civil War service. The later correspondence heavily concerns New York charities. One interesting letter (3:52) is a stableman's apology for drunkenness on Christmas.

Boxes 5 through 9 are arranged in folders by subject. Of particularly interest are materials that document the various New York City rental properties owned by Rutsen Suckley, recording rents collected and upkeep expenses between the 1840s and 1870s. The cost of living in New York can be calculated from bills and receipts for a wide range of products and services.