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Collection

Hoit family papers, 1803-1918 (majority within 1803-1873)

2 linear feet

The Hoit Family Papers are made up of correspondence, diaries, documents, financial papers, photographs, and other items related to the family of New Hampshire state legislator Daniel Hoit (1778-1859) and Sally Hoit (1786-1837); their children Julia Maria, Eliza Flanders, portrait painter and artist Albert Gallatin, and Reverend William Henry Harrison Hoit; and their children-in-law Ira A. Bean, Susan Ann Hanson Hoit, and Enoch P. Sherman. The family was based in Sandwich, New Hampshire.

The Hoit Family Papers are made up of 965 letters; 21 diaries, account books, and notebooks; 11 speeches, poems, and other writings; 49 documents and financial papers; six photographs, and other items related to New Hampshire state legislator Daniel Hoit (1778-1859) and Sally Hoit (1786-1837); their children Julia Maria, Eliza Flanders, portrait painter and artist Albert Gallatin, and Reverend William Henry Harrison Hoit; and their children-in-law Ira A. Bean, Susan Ann Hanson Hoit, and Enoch P. Sherman. The family lived primarily in Sandwich, New Hampshire.

The Correspondence Series contains 965 letters, including 39 by Sarah "Sally" Flanders / Sarah "Sally" Flanders Hoit, dating between December 3, 1803, and January 30, 1837. She wrote largely from Loudon and Sandwich, New Hampshire. In her courtship letters to Daniel Hoit, she offered her thoughts on marriage, the state of their relationship, the future, virtue, and remarks on living a good life. After their marriage, the topics of her correspondence turned to the health and welfare of their family. To her daughters Eliza and Julia she gave motherly advice while they attended a female academy in Concord, New Hampshire (beginning in 1822).

Sally Flanders's husband Daniel Hoit authored around 300 letters from June 6, 1808, to June 19, 1859. He sent over half of them to his wife, Sally Hoit (between 1808 and 1835), and his daughters Julia Hoit Sherman (between 1821 and 1859) and Eliza Hoit Bean (between 1822 and 1856). In them, he showed concern for the education and welfare of his children and family, and advised his wife on home and financial matters. Daniel appears to have had a close relationship with his daughter, Julia. In over 70 letters to her, he reflected on the importance of parenthood and morality; discussed politics, his speeches, elections, and other business matters; and praised her for her academic prowess. To Eliza, he sent 37 letters on the health and welfare of family members and friends. Many of these were co-authored by other Hoit family members. Daniel Hoit's letters include content respecting the state legislature and a small number of items during and after the War of 1812 pertain to recruiting. He remarked twice on local extramarital relationships (June 18, 1815, and June 20, 1830) and attended public Shaker worship in Concord, New Hampshire (June 20, 1814).

The Hoit's oldest child, Eliza Flanders Hoit / Eliza Flanders Hoit Bean, sent 22 letters between April 27, 1822, and September 16, 1859. She wrote the first six letters to her mother and sister while attending school in Concord, New Hampshire, from April to September 1822. The remainder of the letters date from 1836 to 1859, mostly from Urbana, Ohio. These letters focus on the health of friends and family, housework, and her spiritual life. She wrote several travel letters to her father from Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania. Her husband Ira A. Bean wrote 30 letters, December 30, 1828-December 30, 1863, regarding his business and political endeavors, largely to his father-in-law, Daniel Hoit.

Julia Maria Hoit / Julia Maria Hoit Sherman sent around 110 letters to her mother, father, siblings, and other family members between February 3, 1827, and March 24, 1876. The majority of them originated from Sandwich, New Hampshire. In her often-lengthy correspondence, she discussed fashion, gossip about friends and family, weddings, marriages, clothing, and current events. She was independent and highly opinionated about the social behaviors of those around her. Particularly notable is her criticism of the fashion and diet of the women in Boston (1829). The Hoit Family Papers also contain around 50 political, financial, and property-related letters of her husband, Enoch P. Sherman, dating between June 9, 1828, and February 6, 1843, and around 10 from their son, Daniel H. Sherman between 1849 and 1873.

The Hoit's oldest son Albert Gallatin Hoit / Albert Gallatin Hoyt wrote approximately 110 letters between November 27, 1820, and October 21, 1853. His earliest correspondence, largely to his parents and sisters, covers his time at Effingham Academy, Wolfeborough & Tuftonborough Academy (1825), and Dartmouth College (1826-1829). In 1829, he established a school at Newport, Connecticut, but quickly found himself in debt. Struggling to remedy his plight, he took a trip to Rochester, New York, in 1830, where he decided to embark on a career as a portrait painter. He then wrote from Portland and Bangor, Maine, until 1839 when he settled in Boston with his wife Susan. His letters regard his everyday life, education, career, and relationship with his father. Susan A. Hanson Hoyt, originally of Conway, New Hampshire, wrote approximately 40 letters between March 28, 1837, and February 11, 1873. They focus on health and her daily routine, anxieties about her husband Albert's career as an artist, the art scene in Boston in the early 1840s, and the activities of her husband. Albert traveled a great deal, and stayed in Europe from 1842 to 1844 to paint. Susan also wrote about her stillborn children (i.e. March 30, 1845), concerns over the presidential election of 1844, sewing, dressmaking, and her efforts to learn how to draw. By 1853, she moved to Roxbury, Massachusetts, with her husband. In a series of letters from there, she wrote about the sickness and death of Albert in 1856. She then returned to Conway. In early 1872, she traveled to Minneapolis where she apparently remained.

William Henry Harrison Hoit / William Henry Hoyt's approximately 70 letters date from May 13, 1826, to November 15, 1882. Beginning at around age 11 with letters from school at Wolfborough & Tuftonborough Academy (where he studied along with his brother Albert), informed his parents about his studies and asked them to send books and educational advice. He then wrote to his parents, sisters, and brother-in-law while studying at Dartmouth College (1827-1831). From 1835 to 1836, he sent letters from the Episcopal Theological Seminary in New York, and, by 1838, he settled in to his parish at St. Alban's, Vermont. His conversion from the Episcopal Church to Catholicism in the later 1840s is the subject of a portion of his correspondence. The collection includes three letters by William Hoyt's wife, Anne Deming Hoyt, dated October 6, 1838; March 30, 1856; and July 11, 1867.

The collection's remaining 190 or letters are from almost as many correspondents. They are addressed to members of the Hoit family, particularly Sally, Daniel, Eliza, and Julia, from various members of their extended family and business associates. Updates on deaths, marriages, health, education, and children predominate in the letters by women. Of interest are letters pertinent to Albert Hoyt's debt in the early 1830s and five letters from Julia's niece, Frances Prescott, a teacher in Ellenburg, New York. She briefly remarked on her school and wages (late 1850s).

The Diaries, Account Books, and Notebooks Series includes 10 daily diaries and account books of Daniel Hoit (1814-1817, 1851-1859), one diary by Sally Flanders Hoit (1823, 1830), two diaries of Ira A. Bean (1829-1859), one volume of notes and accounts of Enoch P. Sherman's estate (1843-1849), three sparse diaries and two notebooks by Daniel H. Sherman (1870, 1873, 1878, 1900, and 1918), and one daily diary of Julia M. Hoit Sherman (1884).

The Speeches, Poems, and Other Writings Series includes a poem by William Burleigh to Mr. and Mrs. Hoit (March 4, 1812) a fragment of a verse by Sarah F. Hoit (undated), three essays by Albert G. Hoit (two from his school days and one entitled "Early Recollections" (undated), and a written renewal of vows to God by Julia M. Hoit on her 24th birthday (November 15, 1831). Also present are a temperance address by Ira A. Bean (October 1823), an incomplete address to the Franklin Society (November 1, 1824), and a 4th of July 1834 temperance speech by Daniel Hoit.

The Hoit Family Papers contain 49 Documents, Accounts, and Receipts, dating from [1809?] to 1863. The various financial papers include good documentation of the Hoit children's educational expenses and Albert G. Hoit's expenditures and debts of the later 1820s and early 1830s. Among the documents are Enoch P. Sherman's June 11, 1840, resignation from a colonelcy in the 19th Regiment New Hampshire Militia.

The Photographs Series is made up of seven carte-de-visite photographs, all bearing Civil War era tax stamps. Identified individuals include "Mrs. E. G. Weaver" and "A. J. Church & wife & daughter."

The collection includes two Maps:

  • Rand Avery Supply Co. Map of Lake Winnipesaukee and Surroundings issued by Passenger Dept. Concord & Montreal R.R. [Boston]: Concord & Montreal R.R., 1891.
  • [Tamworth Township, Carroll County, New Hampshire], 1870s.

The collection also contains 14 Printed Items, among which are The Dairyman’s Daughter (religious tract, 1831), a copy of a bill to extend an 1838 act to grant half-pay and pensions to certain widows (1841), Final Notes on Witchcraft in Massachusetts by George H. Moore (1885), a program for the Semi-Centennial celebration of the New Hampshire Conference Seminary and Female College (1895), The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain, by Mrs. Hannah More, and a children's book Jocko and Minette (1846). See the box and folder listing below for a complete list of the printed materials.

Collection

James H. and Mary E. Miller family collection, 1843-1933 (majority within 1852-1888)

145 items

This collection is made up of correspondence and other materials related to James H. Miller and his wife, Mary E. Waggener, who lived in Missouri and Kansas in the mid- to late 19th century. The Millers received letters from Elizabeth Miller, James's mother, who discussed her life in LaRue County, Kentucky, before, during, and after the Civil War. James H. Miller wrote to his wife and children about his experiences with the 3rd Missouri Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War.

This collection is made up of correspondence and other materials related to James H. Miller and his wife, Mary E. Waggener, who lived in Missouri and Kansas in the mid- to late 19th century.

The Correspondence series (104 items) consists of incoming letters to James H. and Mary E. Miller from family members in various states, as well as letters from James H. to Mary E. Miller. Approximately 40 letters date from the Civil War years.

Elizabeth Miller, the Millers' most frequent correspondent, wrote to her son and daughter-in-law from Hodgenville, Kentucky, and other LaRue County locales throughout the mid- to late 19th century. Most of Miller's letters refer to her health and to news of family members and friends. She sometimes discussed the hardships she faced during and immediately after the Civil War. She mentioned the draft of September 1864, the Union Army's efforts to enlist African Americans, and tensions between Union and Confederate supporters during and after the war; in her letter of March 31, 1867, she commented on the perception that Reconstruction legislation favored African Americans over whites and noted that whites would object to African Americans testifying against them in court or serving on juries.

James H. Miller wrote letters home to his wife and children while serving with the 3rd Missouri Cavalry Regiment in Missouri and Arkansas between 1863 and 1865. Though he missed his family, he felt a sense of duty toward the Union and hoped that his relatives and friends in Kentucky also supported the federal cause; many of his letters are written on stationery with patriotic poems and illustrations. Miller discussed movements between camps and sometimes mentioned encounters with Confederate troops. His letters frequently contain reports on fellow soldiers, including members of the Waggener family, and his responses to news from home (such as his wife's dental problems). Mary E. Miller also received a letter from her brother William during his recuperation from an unknown injury or illness at Washington Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee (July 14, 1864).

The Millers' other correspondents included James's brother Fielding, who lived in Farmerville, Louisiana, in the mid- late 1840s, and one of the executors of Fielding's estate. John G. W. Duffey and his son James, an uncle and cousin, wrote from Hernando, Mississippi, commenting on farming and the progress of their crops. Their letters also contain remarks on the 1852 presidential election and, in one instance, Southern attitudes toward African Americans and the poor (July 8, 1854). Additional postwar items include letters that the Millers received from their children and other relatives in Nebraska, Kentucky, and other locations as late as 1911. The final item is a letter from Bertha Waggener to a cousin regarding the death of her mother (March 29, 1933). The series also contains a religious essay, "The Chariot," that James H. Miller wrote in the mid-1840s.

The Documents and Financial Records series (22 items) includes an employment record of James H. Miller, listing missed days of work in the early 1840s. Many of the remaining items are tax receipts from the Millers' time in Lewis County, Missouri, and Phillips County, Kansas. Other items include a promissory note addressed to Elizabeth Miller (August 28, 1848), copied legal documents, an undated property inventory (partially completed), and a document certifying James H. Miller's election as constable of Highland, Missouri (August 12, 1854).

The Notebook, which belonged to James H. Miller, contains accounts and notes related to Miller's Civil War service, partly related to clothing and supplies. A document about Miller's temporary appointment as head of his class is laid into the volume (May 3, 1844).

The Poetry series (6 items) includes 4 poems that James H. Miller sent to his wife while serving with the 3rd Missouri Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War. His poems concern aspects of soldier's lives, such as their remembrance of loved ones and their duty to the cause. One sheet contains an undated poem about death by David Miller. The final item is an unsigned 1847 poem concerning conflicts between British soldiers in Canada and Yankee troops.

The Recipes series (3 items) contains instructions for making a cure for dropsy, lemon jelly, and soap and blue ink. The final two recipes, written on a single sheet, are attributed to George Wilson (July 26, 1870).

The Genealogy series (7 items) is made up of notes related to the Miller and Bell families, including lists of birthdates, death dates, and marriages. Gilead Ann Miller, the daughter of James H. and Mary E. Miller, married into the Bell family.

The Printed Items series (2 items) consists of a fragment from a reward notice concerning the abduction of a young boy named Charlie Brewster Ross (undated) and a copy of the Christian Banner (2.6, September 1863).

Collection

John W. Croker papers, 1765-1860 (majority within 1765-1857)

21 linear feet

This collection contains materials related to the personal and political life of Irish politician and writer John Wilson Croker, who served as secretary to the Admiralty from 1809 to 1830.

This collection contains materials related to the personal and political life of Irish politician and writer John Wilson Croker, who served as Secretary to the Admiralty from 1809 to 1830. The collection (approximately 25,000 items) includes correspondence and letter books, diaries, financial records, poetry, printed materials, and political, legal, and judicial manuscripts.

The Correspondence series is divided into 4 subseries: a chronological sequence, an alphabetical sequence, bundled groups of letters, and letter books. The Chronological, Alphabetical, and Bundled subseries contain personal and political letters that Croker exchanged with colleagues, including many items pertaining to his career as secretary to the Admiralty. These include material on the Napoleonic Wars, such as dispatches from the Duke of Wellington (1810-1852) and information on the locations of British troops and ships. Additional material concerns the War of 1812 and military news about the Iberian Peninsula; the series also contains Croker's correspondence with Lord Ashburton regarding peace negotiations with the United States. A letter from March 22, 1813, pertains to the battle between the USS Constitution and HMS Java off of the Brazilian coast.

The series also includes a list of transports awaiting convoy (April 24, 1813), information on Russian ships (May 10, 1813), and 2 printed bulletins in French regarding Napoleon Bonaparte (October 9, 1813, and June 14, 1814). Later material reflects Croker's literary career, particularly his contributions to The Quarterly Review. Croker's personal correspondence includes letters to and from family members and friends. Items post-dating Croker's death largely originated from Edward Gifford, who discussed the treatment of Croker's papers. Further letters in the collection are addressed to Croker's wife, Rosamund Carrington Pennell, and reflect Croker's family life as well as aspects of his political life in London.

The collection's 45 Letter Books include Croker's private letter books and their indexes, as well as bound groups of letters organized by correspondent. Croker kept his set of 28 "private" letter books between 1811 and 1857; they contain copies of letters he authored on personal and political matters. The bulk of the political correspondence relates to Croker's duties as secretary to the Admiralty and to his relationship with the Duke of Wellington. The series contains 3 indexes to these volumes.

The remaining 14 letter books contain letters that Croker received from individual correspondents:
  • "Canning, Holograph Letters to Rt. Hon. J. W. Croker" (1 volume, 1812-1827) is comprised of letters from George Canning. Canning's letters relate to personal and political matters, including affairs of the Houses of Parliament and the Admiralty; he frequently inquired about the French Marine and about ships stationed in foreign waters. Some of the letters were composed during Canning's tenure as Ambassador to Portugal (1814-1816).
  • "Admiral Cockburn, His Holograph correspondence to the Rt. Hon. J. W. Croker" (1 volume, 1809-1830). These letters by Sir George Cockburn pertain to domestic politics within Great Britain, as well as to issues related to the Admiralty and to other members of government, including George Canning. Some private correspondence concerns affairs with the United States. This volume also contains "A Map intended to illustrate the threatened Invasion of England by Bonaparte," as well as a chart entitled "The No. and Description of guns carried by H.M.S. Victory at different periods." The volume also contains photocopies of letters that Croker wrote to Cockburn.
  • "Lockhart, His Holograph Correspondence to the Rt. Hon. J. W. Croker" (6 volumes, 1819-1854) is comprised of letters by John Gibson Lockhart pertaining to the British Admiralty.
  • "Huskisson, His Original Holograph Correspondence with the Rt. Hon. J. W. Croker" (1 volume, 1815-1828). This volume contains letters by William Huskisson about the British Admiralty.
  • "Spencer Perceval, His Holograph Correspondence to the Rt. Hon. J. W. Croker" (1 volume, 1808-1812) includes personal letters from Spencer Perceval. Perceval's letters focus on a political matters related Parliament and the British government.
  • Copies of letters from King George III to Lord Halifax, Duke of Cumberland, Lord Rockingham, and General Conway (1 volume, 1765-1770)
  • Copies of letters by King George III to Lord Weymouth (1 volume, 1768-1779)
  • Copies of letters by King George III to Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh (1 volume, 1804-1807), comprised of copied correspondence between King George III and Robert Stewart about British diplomacy and domestic politics.
  • Copies of letters from William IV, Duke of Clarence, to John W. Croker (1 volume, 1810-1828)

The Diaries series contains 24 diaries that Croker kept between 1797 and 1829, the bulk of which are dated between 1817 and 1829. Several of Croker's diaries are travel accounts. Additional diaries are 19th-century manuscript copies, including "Extract from the Journal of a Tour through England in the year 1735 written by Mr. Whaley Fellow of Kings Coll. Cambridge," and extracts from diaries by Lord Hertford (1822) and Sir Henry Hulford (1831).

A series of Political, Legal, and Judicial Manuscripts relates to contemporary British politics and to foreign relations, particularly with France. The series contains an essay draft written by Croker and annotated by Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, entitled "Observations on Choumara's Book," May 16, 1838 (referring to Choumara's The Battle of Toulouse), as well as Croker's notes on conversations with the Duke. The series also contains an undated, 254-page speech by Croker.

Five bound volumes pertain to the contested will of Francis Charles Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquis of Hertford, including a copy of his will and codicils (1842) and records from Croker's legal case against Richard Seymour Conway regarding the will's validity (1844).

The Financial Records series contains miscellaneous receipts and accounts that document Croker's finances between 1842 and 1855. The series includes material such as a receipt for wine shipped to Haiding Gifford in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and 5 account books.

The Poetry series includes loose manuscript copies of poems and 2 bound volumes: Croker's translations of Greek poems (1799) and a poem by Hugh Warrender entitled "The Night."

A group of Lists and Indexes relate to Parliamentary elections, birth records, and other topics.

Three Subject Volumes include the following:
  • A volume containing journal articles and reviews of the works of Thomas Babington Macaulay, including an answer to his criticisms of Croker's edition of Boswell's Life of Johnson.
  • A volume of records, letters, and drawings related to the Croker family's property at West Molesey, Surrey, England. The volume contains 20 pen and ink drawings of architectural plans for the renovated house, as well as maps of the surrounding area. The volume also includes bills and contracts for the architectural work.
  • A volume pertaining to the Croker family, which contains letters, histories, family trees, and illustrations of the family's crests. A Latin document reflects the family's time in Dublin, and a gravestone rubbing depicts a knight laid to rest. Family tree sketches include around 12 versions of the family crest and trace its development over time.

The Printed Materials series consists of pamphlets, newspapers, and clippings about a variety of topics, particularly the French Revolution and issues in contemporary Irish politics.

Collection

Quail family papers, 1722, 1791-1906 (majority within 1814-1861)

0.5 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence, financial records, and documents related to members of the Quail family of Washington County, Pennsylvania.

This collection is made up of correspondence, financial records, and documents related to various members of the Quail family of Washington County, Pennsylvania.

The Correspondence series (135 items) consists of personal letters written and received by members of the Quail family, particularly David Quail, Robert Quail, and two men named William Quail. Several of the earliest items, written in the late-18th and early 19th centuries, are addressed to John Hoge of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Quail family correspondence regards family news and health, travel, finances, business affairs, and other subjects.

Robert and John H. Quail often wrote to Willliam Quail about life in Hillsborough and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of William's letters concerns his meeting with United States Secretary of War William Learned Marcy about his offer to serve in Mexico (April 19, 1848). Mary Quail wrote to family members about her life in "Missouri City" in the late 1850s and early 1860s, occasionally mentioning the war. The bulk of the correspondence ends in 1891; later items include 5 letters from "Blaine" to "Anna" about Blaine's life in Philadelphia in 1890 and 1891, and a letter from a man to his uncle about life in Rangoon (March 18, 1899). Death notices for Catherine G. Quail (June 23, 1833), James Quail (August 7, 1834), and William Quail (June 5, 1837) are located at the end of the series.

The Writings series is comprised of 3 items: a poem by Robert Quail, a poem entitled "Ode to a Woman," and a partial essay about the ecliptic and astronomy.

Most items in the Receipts and Accounts series (156 items) pertain to the personal finances of Robert Quail. They regard his accounts with individuals and firms in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Items concerning William Quail and David Quail are also present. Three receipts for tuition payments for the education of Ann Moreland (paid by David Quail, 1826-1828), and 2 promissory notes (1722, 1819) are located at the end of the series. The series includes a daybook containing an unknown author's finances from January 29, 1849, to June 1856. The author lived in Washington, Pennsylvania, during this period.

The Documents series (62 items) contains legal records and agreements pertaining to land ownership, rent, and similar subjects. Also included are a will, a printed copy of the Pension Act of 1832, and Anna Grizella Quail's application to become a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. A group of 34 court summonses and subpoenas signed by David Quail, 1822-1846, is located at the end of the series. A second subseries of 10 items, including letters patent, legal documents, and diagrams, concerns John Ferrel's patent for vehicle brakes, 1900-1906.

The 4 Miscellaneous items are fragments with brief calculations.

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

Women, Gender, and Family collection, 1678-1996 (majority within 1800-1906)

0.5 linear feet

The Women, Gender, and Family collection contains miscellaneous individual items relating to women, gender, and family primarily in America, between 1678 and 1996.

The Women, Gender, and Family collection contains miscellaneous items relating to women, gender, and family between 1678 and 1996. The bulk of the collection ranges in from 1800 to the early 20th century and is geographically focused on the United States of America. Topics include marriage and divorce, childrearing and motherhood, household management, and consensual and coerced sex. Other areas of interest cover women’s various forms of labor, legal restitution for paternity suits and financial support, and education for women and children. While not as heavily represented, multiple items detail women's engagement in politics, slavery and abolition, and women's rights.