Upson family correspondence

You might also be interested in

• Image not available

  Watson family correspondence

  Manuscripts

  Three of the letters discuss the shipwreck of the steamer Independence, February 16, 1853, off the coast of Baja California Sur. One of these letters is an 18-page letter by Mary R. Watson, a survivor of the wreck, in which she tells the story of the shipwreck, her son's drowning, and how the survivors made their way to a small island three miles from the ship. The survivors were on the island for three days before another ship saved them. One of the letters, written by Ella Watson Mizner, gives details regarding the San Francisco earthquake of 1906

  mssHM 63711-63716

• Image not available

  Steele Family Correspondence

  Manuscripts

  The collection contains thirty letters chiefly from the Steele family of Ann Arbor, Michigan, between 1856 and the 1870s, to Ellen Steele Sturges (1837-1930). All but one of which are addressed to Ellen (or Ellen and David) Sturges from her immediate family (and one friend, identified only as "Rebecca"). The aberrant letter was written in 1856 to David B. Sturges from Ellen (it is unclear if they were already married at this point). The correspondence contains detailed descriptions of the failing health and treatment of Julia and Valentine Steele in the months leading up to their deaths. There are occasional references to cultural and religious life in Ann Arbor in the letters of the 1866-1876 period, especially regarding the growth of the Methodist Church and the public speeches of Erastus Otis Haven (1863-1869), the second president of the University of Michigan and pastor of the First United Methodist Church. Though politics and national affairs are rarely discussed, HM 73855 includes Phebe Steele's thoughts on President Ulysses S. Grant's unsuccessful bid for a third term. Ebenezer and Phebe Steele express deep anxiety throughout the 1866 correspondence as to their daughter's safety from Indians in Montana, though no specific events are referenced. In addition to the correspondence, there is a family record, believed to be in the hand of Phebe Steele, detailing the birth and death dates of the siblings and parents of Ebenezer Steele, as well as a folder containing seven empty envelopes.

  mssHM 73830-73862

• Image not available

  Clark family correspondence

  Manuscripts

  This collection contains 21 letters from Sarah Clark to her husband and children. The remaining correspondence is between Clark family members. There are a few additional pieces written by friends, relatives, and one business associate. The correspondence covers a wide range of subjects including: the citrus industry in California and Nevada; economic conditions in California, Indiana, and Nevada; agriculture in Northern California; hunting; sickness; courtship; children; and business. There are also two letters containing love poetry, and the collection contains an express receipt from Wells Fargo and Company. Sarah Clark (fl. 1852-1895) is the most prolific figure in this collection, as she wrote twenty-one letters and was the addressee of eight. There are, however, eighteen other authors of these letters, including her sons, Charles 3 Scope and content note (continued) Francis Clark (7 letters), Joshua Clark (6 letters), William G. Clark (3 letters), and Robert V. Clark, Jr. (3 letters). There are 5 letters from her husband, Robert V. Clark, a combined six from Sarah's three sisters, and an assortment of letters from friends, acquaintances, and one business associate. The letters describe day-to-day activities of the family members as well as their hopes, dreams, and longings. Sarah Clark, left to care for six children while her husband tried to establish a new life in California, attempted to survive with little money and with the hope that she would once again be reunited with her husband. Her early letters relate a longing for his companionship and her need to support and take care of him. Her later letters focus primarily on her ill health and occasional discomfort.The letters in the collection also make reference to diseases such as smallpox, home remedies such as a bread and milk poultice for aches and pains, and the death of a child in town where no one attended her funeral. There are upbeat moments as family members participate in various functions such as picnics, parties, and one outdoor event where Joshua Clark recalls that women participated in a football game. Joshua Clark also received two letters containing love poetry from a woman named Reta. There is ample discussion of the citrus industry with at least two family members, C. F. (Charles Francis) Clark and William G. Clark, involved in the distribution and sale of an assortment of fruit. There are passing references to the opera coming to town, singer Jenny Lind (spelled "Lynn" in the letter), and winter sports such as sledding. There is occasional talk of road surveying and road taxes and one family member runs into several "Chinamen" while surveying his property. Some of the correspondence discusses courtship and marriage. In one letter, a woman named Emma requests a photograph of a prospective suitor with very little requirements as to appearance, height, or weight. Her only stipulation is that he be able to support her and be an Israelite.

  mssHM 61076-61139

• Image not available

  Pierson family correspondence

  Manuscripts

  This collection contains twenty-three letters written primarily from Schuyler, Buffalo County, Nebraska, but include also three letters from Morrison, Colorado, one from Deadwood, South Dakota, and one from Pendleton, Oregon. Most of the correspondence was written by newlyweds Elmer or Lou (short for Louisa?) Pierson to their relatives in Illinois. The letters are filled with numerous details reflecting daily lives and struggles while making ends meet on the western plains. In January 1894 Lou writes, "...well it seems to me I never can get Elmer's debts paid I come out here & he owes [Geo] Little $150.00 and Mr. VanHoosen over $200.00 and I have got my 2 hands to pay..." Elmer appears to be a very colorful character, who, as he mentions in one letter, "I served ten years in the penitentiary in Nebraska for stealing horses..." (April 4, 1882). His writing reflects at times humor, a quick wit, and a restless ambition to take full advantages of the opportunities promised by the open west.

  mssHM 81100-81122

• Image not available

  Rix Family Correspondence

  Manuscripts

  The collection consists almost entirely of letters sent to Sarah Rix by her family members, primarily her brother Charles and sisters Nancy, Phebe, and Eunice, as well as various nieces and nephews. Included are 61 letters sent by Charles Rix in Dunlap, Iowa, from 1870-1894. Charles describes his life in Iowa extensively, including notes on the landscape, his crops and success at farming, and his general happiness with living in the West. He describes in detail the prices of agriculture, livestock, and other living expenses over the course of the twenty years his letters cover, and notes that in general the "cost...for provision and clothing is low." Charles also writes of family members, business affairs in Connecticut (he writes to Sarah about selling their "old home" for a low price, for which he blames their in-laws the Burdicks, noting "I have not much reason to Respect [them]"), of an 1883 cyclone, of an influx of immigrants from Illinois seeking to buy land, and of his worry over his wife Sarah's many illnesses. A series of letters written by Charles' nephew George Tracy Burdick to his sister Mary Adelaide Burdick from 1901-1903 also describe life in Iowa, where George worked in La Moille at the Kimball and Burdick General Store. George writes of a great increase in land speculation in Iowa in 1901, but also notes that "the great rush has been on the Dakotas and Minnesota." An earlier letter describes his trip to Chicago in 1885. The remaining letters mainly consist of those written to Sarah Rix from her sisters and nieces in Connecticut. The majority of these cover news on family members and acquaintances, including weddings, births, deaths, marriages, and illnesses, particularly scarlet fever, pneumonia, and "deranged spells." An unsigned letter chronicles the Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia (1876). Another detailed letter by an unknown friend of Ella Burdick Burton written in 1887 relates details of religious fervor in Manchester, New Hampshire, which the friend writes is "unlike any ordinary place because there are so many Christians who have had deep religious experiences." Also included in the collection are several cartes-de-visite and other ephemera.

  mssHM 76000-76184

• Image not available

  Family Correspondence

  Manuscripts

  The Diaries series contains 22 diary transcripts of daily diary entries by Charlotte Close Knapp Dole, George H. Dole and Clara Rowell Dole (covering 1850-1884). Charlotte Dole's diary talks about her husband's work as a missionary, other missionaries, church meetings, the Punahou School, and Hawaiian royalty. George H. Dole's diaries include a trip to the United States in 18640-1865, as well as details about his work on several sugar and rice plantations including crop numbers, Chinese workers, effects of weather, etc., and events taking place in Hawaii. The Family Correspondence series contains 128 pieces of correspondence, the majority of which are written by Clara Rowell Dole to her husband, George, her sons, Walter and Herbert, and brother-in-law, Sanford B. Dole. Most of these letters were written from her home in Kapaa, Kauai, while her husband was away and her children were attending Oahu College (Punahou School). She talks about her daily activities, the school, her children, an outbreak of measles, the Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese workers, and some about Hawaiian royalty and government. There are five letters written by Sanford B. Dole, three to his brother George and two to his nephew Walter, and he is the addressee of nine letters. The rest of the correspondence includes letters by Clara and George's children and family and friends. The majority of these letters written by their eldest son, Walter, are from his time at Cornell University. Details about ship arrivals and departures are included in both the diaries and correspondence series.

  mssHM 76328-76510