William Handy letters, 1851
4 items
William Handy received 4 letters (9 pages) from his aunt Louise (January 30, 1851) and his father, Lewis Handy (September 27, 1851; October 30, 1851; and April 14, year unknown). A sibling contributed to Lewis Handy's letter of October 30, 1851. Handy's aunt reported on her lodgings in "Rochester," where she was sitting in an ailing man's room while writing the letter, and requested news of the Handy family. She cautioned William about falling in love and wrote that she "should rather fall into a hogshead of molasses" (January 30, 1851). Lewis Handy wrote an extended account about the illness and death of his son Jason, William's brother, in his letter of September 27, 1851, and later discussed the possibility of finding work on a whaling voyage to pay some of his debts (October 30, 1851). He also wrote about his daughter Almira's fragile health and expected death (April 14, year unknown).