Manuscripts
Postlethwaite family papers
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Postlethwaite family papers
Manuscripts
Correspondence and papers of the Postlethwaite family, chiefly letters to William Dunbar Postlethwaite from his friends and family in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky, including 27 letters from his father. The correspondence deals primarily with family affairs and the family's social life. Included are papers of Samuel Postlethwaite, including a book used to register enslaved persons' duties, from 1806 to 1807, the journals of his travels to Louisiana in 1810, 1811, and 1813, and two political articles on the Mississippi and Louisiana boundaries from 1817. Also included are genealogical notes on the Dunbar and Postlethwaite families, by Ellen Shields, 1938, and an 18th century copy of the poem entitled "L'ame de Voltaire," addressed to "Monsieur De Voltaire dans son chateau a Geneve." Monsieur Mortet, a justice of the city Blérencourt, France, gave the poem to Helen Holcombe Greene as a token of appreciation, in 1924, for her work as a director of Anne Morgan's center of the American Committee for Devastated France.
mssHM 28842-28863
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Bartholomew and Michel Family Papers
Manuscripts
The collection includes correspondence between three generations of the Michel and Bartholomew families, ranging from 1847-1913. Both families were highly educated, literate, and interested in politics, which is apparent in many of their writings. The earliest letters were written by Mary Eletra Loveridge to Robert B. Michel during their courtship in 1847. Mary specifically writes of her interest in Emanuel Swedenborg, her religious disagreements with her mother, her loneliness and lack of female friends, of her love of books, and of multiple local deaths from cholera. Other courtship letters include those between Mary M. Michel and James Bartholomew in the early 1880s. James writes of Ben Butler (1884 Presidential nominee for the Greenback-Labor Party), his political disagreements with his father, his anxiousness to get married, and the need for him to travel to California as soon as possible. Later letters written to Mary after their marriage recount his 1893 travels through London, Paris, Vienna, and parts of Germany, as well as his return to the United States aboard the ship Alaska. Mary writes of her love of books, her thoughts on the 1884 election, and notes on a variety of friends and family members. In letters written from California to her sisters Annie and Elizabeth from 1884, Mary writes of her first impressions of California, reminiscences of their childhood, her first experience with an earthquake on April 19, 1885, the hardships of being a doctor's wife, and candid descriptions of neighbors and acquaintances. Later letters to her daughter Eleanor Bartholomew focus on family and community activities and the experiences of her son Robert. The collection also includes a long series of letters written from Eleanor Bartholomew to her brother Robert, both while she was at school in Brooklyn and when she was attending Bryn Mawr. In addition to notes on family and school acquaintances, Eleanor's letters cover a wide variety of topics, including descriptions of Brooklyn and her busy college schedule. Other notable items in the collection include a letter from William A. Michel to his brother Robert written in 1853 when William was traveling through Council Bluffs and Jefferson City aboard the Polar Star steamship on his way to California; a few photographs of Mary Michel Bartholomew, Mary Eleanor Bartholomew, and an unidentified Michel man; a cookbook kept by Robert Michel's sister Elizabeth Michel Blair probably in the 1830s and 1840s; and some Confederate printed money collected by Robert Michel in Mississippi.
mssHM 75393-75636
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Thoreau and Sewall Families Papers
Manuscripts
The collection contains correspondence and manuscripts chiefly of the Sewall family of Massachusetts in the 19th century. However, there is also correspondence from the the Ward family and members of the family of author Henry David Thoreau, as well as a scrapbook of the Thoreau family. The correspondence covers the years of 1790-1876, with the majority between 1831 and 1876. The majority of the correspondence is to or from Ellen Sewall Osgood, who wrote mostly to her mother Caroline Ward Sewall and received most of her correspondence (within this collection) from Sophia Thoreau. However, there is also correspondence from the Sewall family, the Ward family, and the Thoreau family. Several letters, within this collection, make references to Henry David Thoreau, John Thoreau, Jr., Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Amos Bronson Alcott. The collection also contains a scrapbook kept by several members of the Thoreau family. It was first kept by John Thoreau, Jr. and contains poems written by John, poems by other authors copied by John into the journal, photographs, hair fob, and a poem by Henry David Thoreau to his brother. The scrapbook was then turned over and started in the opposite direction as a dedication to Henry David Thoreau, after his death. Sophia Thoreau continued to add to the scrapbook until just before her death, at which point she sent it to Ellen Sewall Osgood. Ellen added to the contents as did her daughter, Elizabeth Osgood Davenport. This side contains letters and newspaper clippings about Henry, after his death, and the Thoreau family. There is a rock labeled opal that was sent to Ellen Sewall Osgood by John Thoreau. This opal is mentioned in the letter from John Thoreau to Ellen's brother, George, on Dec. 31, 1839 (HM 64928). The last item is a three-ring binder. It contains photocopies of typed transcriptions of the letters and manuscripts in the collection. There is a brief introduction written by George Lyman Davenport, Jr., Ellen's grandson by her daughter, Elizabeth. It has a table of contents for the Thoreau scrapbook. It also has a brief family tree for both the Sewall and Ward family showing only the direct ancestors of Ellen Sewall Osgood. However, the family trees end with Ellen's generation. The transcriptions are not in chronological order, but remain in the order arranged by Mr. Davenport. Some of the items mentioned in Mr. Davenport's introduction (the mineral specimen box and the seven-volume set of Thoreau's works) are not a part of this collection.
mssHM 64835-64969
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Shaw and Gregory families papers
Manuscripts
This collection contains papers and materials related to the Shaw and Gregory families and their relatives, the Van den Heuvel family, Ralph Isaacs Ingersoll, and John Church Hamilton. These materials date chiefly from 1820 to 1870. Among John Shaw's materials is his 1810 diary detailing his journey down the Mississippi River on his way to annex the Republic of West Florida. Other items include a letter from Shaw to his father-in-law, Ebenezer Breed, and a letter addressed to Shaw regarding his daughter's education.
mssShawg
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Aguilar Family Papers
Manuscripts
This small group of material contains personal and business papers of Blas Aguilar and members of his family. It consists of correspondence, an untitled poem, a play "Coloquio de los Pastores," an account book, a promissory note, receipts, mortgages, and deeds. There are also baptismal records from the San Juan Capistrano and San Luis Rey missions. All of the items are in Spanish. It deals with San Juan Capistrano, San Diego, and Los Angeles, California. There are a few letters written from Arizona and Nevada.
mssAguilar papers
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Aguilar Family Papers
Manuscripts
This small group of material contains personal and business papers of Blas Aguilar and members of his family. It consists of correspondence, an untitled poem, a play "Coloquio de los Pastores," an account book, a promissory note, receipts, mortgages, and deeds. There are also baptismal records from the San Juan Capistrano and San Luis Rey missions. All of the items are in Spanish. It deals with San Juan Capistrano, San Diego, and Los Angeles, California. There are a few letters written from Arizona and Nevada.
mssAguilar papers