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Collection

Wolcott P. Marsh family papers, 1844-1876 (majority within 1855-1863)

15 items

The Wolcott P. Marsh family papers contain the correspondence of several members of the Marsh family, between 1844 and 1876, with approximately half of the letters written by Wolcott P. Marsh. They document Marsh family news, business, Civil War service, and religious thought.

The Wolcott P. Marsh family papers are comprised of 13 letters and two miscellaneous envelopes, dating from 1844-1876. Wolcott P. Marsh, a merchant and Civil War captain, wrote seven of the letters, beginning with a letter concerning travel between several mid-Atlantic cities, written on September 21, 1855. On August 10, 1863, Marsh wrote to a cousin from camp at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and described the geography and residents of Fredericksburg. The remainder of his letters shed light on such topics as his support of Lincoln and his business ventures.

Marsh’s relatives wrote an additional six letters, some of which relate the growth of Battle Creek, Michigan (August 17, 1844), and Brooklyn, New York (December 26, 1847: “This village grows larger than it did when you visited. You will be surprised to see many buildings.”), as well as family news and religious advice.

Collection

Virgil Cornish correspondence, 1846-1857 (majority within 1846-1853)

37 items

This collection contains 37 letters that Virgil Cornish received during his time as a steward at the Hartford Retreat for the Insane in the mid-1800s. Many of the letters concern payments for the care of, requests for news of, or favors for the institution's patients.

This collection contains 37 business and personal letters that Virgil Cornish received during his time as a steward at the Hartford Retreat for the Insane in the mid-1800s. Family members and other concerned parties contacted the institution from towns in Connecticut and from cities such as Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. The majority of the letters concern payments for the treatment and housing of individuals. Many writers noted dollar amounts (for payments originally enclosed with the letters), reflecting the cost of mental health care at the Retreat between 1846 and 1857.

Correspondents often requested news of and favors for patients, and sometimes requested that Cornish forward clothing and other gifts. On one occasion, Hugh Robinson informed Cornish of the death of Gertrude Hudson, the sister of a Hartford Retreat patient (September 2, 1851). A few letters reflect the institution's daily work, including an W. W. Anderson's apology for declining a job at the retreat's dining hall (October 16, 1852). The collection also includes a small number of personal letters (or business letters with personal content), including one by Cornish's friend Henry R. Angus, who offered to deliver letters to Cornish's son in California during a journey to San Francisco (October 29, 1852).

Collection

Phyllis Johnson diary, 1925-1929 (majority within 1925)

1 volume

Phyllis Johnson kept this pocket diary while attending grammar school and high school in Hartford, Connecticut, from January 1, 1925-February 4, 1929. She composed entries almost daily between January and September 1925, and commented on her experiences at school, her activities and travels during summer vacation, and her friends.

Phyllis Johnson kept this pocket diary while attending grammar school and high school in Hartford, Connecticut. She composed most of her brief entries from January 1, 1925-September 22, 1925, and wrote further entries sporadically between June 15, 1926, and February 4, 1929. She commented on her experiences at school, her activities and travels during summer vacation, and her friends.

Johnson had just turned 12 when she received her pocket diary, and wrote regularly about her experiences at school, church, and home throughout much of 1925. Though she succeeded academically and at one point achieved the highest marks in her grade, Johnson's teachers frequently reprimanded her for excessive talking. She often mentioned her male friends and acquaintances, and occasionally commented on her romantic feelings for them. Her social activities included attending baseball games, traveling to the beach, and dressing up with female friends. During the summer of 1925, she discussed her family's trips to the Mohawk Trail and the state of New York. She mentioned the Scopes trial in her entry of July 15, 1925 (pp. 196-197), suggesting a brief satirical prayer for atheists. After February 1926, Johnson wrote less frequently, but continued to list the names of her friends and significant changes in her life. The final pages of Johnson's diary contain notes, addresses, and sketches.

List of Pencil Sketches:
  • Arm patch (May 22, 1925, p. 271)
  • Pair of eyes (July 6, 1925, p. 187)
  • Phyllis Johnson dressed in fancy clothing and accompanying hat (July 9, 1925, p. 190)
  • Two girls dressed in circus uniforms (July 29, 1925, p. 210)
  • Floor plan of the Johnson family's new house (June 15, 1926, p. 271)
  • Three women's heads, shown in profile, and a woman's leg (undated, end of volume)
Johnson enclosed four items in her diary's back pocket:
  • A paper with her initials written in blood (see entry of January 12, 1925)
  • Diagrams of two classrooms, showing students' seats
  • A torn portion of an advertisement for Merriam cash boxes
  • Several blank sheets of paper from a small notepad
Collection

John Cronin letters, 1930

24 items

This collection contains 21 letters that John J. Cronin, Jr. ("Jack") wrote to his father and brother in Hartford, Connecticut, while he traveled to North Carolina and Georgia during the spring of 1930 in an attempt to join an organized baseball team. The collection also has three letters that Cronin received from his brother, Harold.

This collection contains 21 letters that John J. Cronin, Jr. ("Jack") wrote to his father and brother in Hartford, Connecticut, while he traveled to North Carolina and Georgia during the spring of 1930 in an attempt to join an organized baseball team. On February 26, he reported that he and his traveling companion, John J. Carlin, Jr., had safely arrived in Washington, D. C., and his next few letters recount their experiences hitchhiking through Virginia to Durham, North Carolina, where they sought a place with a local team in the Piedmont League. His letters describe his experiences over the next several weeks, as he and Carlin made their way to Henderson, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia. In Atlanta, they discovered and briefly attended a baseball school run by Norman "Kid" Elberfeld, though they wished to stay only if the school guaranteed them a roster spot (March 9, 1930). Cronin declined his brother's offer to pay for the training. He and Carlin lingered again in Durham, where Albany Lawmakers manager "Wild" Bill McCorry allowed them to train with his team (March 22, 1930). Cronin described his training with the club, which he enjoyed, and began to appreciate the difficulty of gaining a place in an organized league. By April 8, he was on his way back to Hartford. Harold Cronin wrote 3 letters to Jack, his brother, providing news of Hartford and mentioning his support for Jack's baseball career. Some letters enclose newspaper clippings discussing the beginning of Cronin's southern trip (February 28, 1930), showing a cartoon bird heading for spring training (March 12, 1930), and reporting that John J. Cronin, Jr., and John J. Carlin, Jr. had been granted tryouts with the Atlanta Crackers (March 12, 1930).