Manuscripts
A. B. Frost letter to Carolyn Wells
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Collection of Robert Frost letters and poems, (bulk 1894-1916)
Manuscripts
This collection contains 59 pieces of correspondence and poems of American poet Robert Frost, chiefly consisting of handwritten poems and letters sent by Frost to Susan Hayes Ward (1835-1916), poetry editor for The Independent, from the mid 1890s to the 1910s. Items consist of: thirty letters from Robert Frost to Susan Hayes Ward (HM 7656, HM 25338-25366); eighteen loose poems signed by Robert Frost (HM 7638-7646, HM 7648-7655, HM 7657); two poems whose authorship was repudiated by Frost; apparently in the hand of Elinor M. Frost (HM 1201, HM 7647); a collection of 17 handwritten poems presented by Frost to Ward for Christmas 1911 (HM 7237); a letter from Robert Frost to William Hayes Ward, the editor of The Independent (HM 25337); two letters from Elinor Frost to Susan Hayes Ward (HM 25367-25368); three letters from Frost to Huntington Library staff authorizing access to his papers (HM 10799, HM 47622, HM 48305); and two letters from Frost related to autographs (HM 13810, HM 59545).
mssHM 1201; mssHM 7237; mssHM 7638-7657; mssHM 10799; mssHM 13810; mssHM 25337-25368; mssHM 47622; mssHM 48305; mssHM 59545
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Samuel B. (Samuel Beach) Axtell letter to Theodore F. Dwight
Manuscripts
Axtell speaks highly of Dwight's family, saying "The name of Dwight is also one which always challenges respect." He writes that he encloses a speech, but the speech is not included with the letter.
mssHM 29220
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Francis Clark letter to Abigail Wells
Manuscripts
In this letter to his aunt, Abigail Wells, Francis Clark is about to embark on a ship as part of a group bound from Boston to San Francisco, in hopes of finding gold in California. He plans to be gone three years. Of his motivations, he writes, "I am in the prime of life, have no family, & here is a chance for enterprise and it seems to me right to embrace it." He apologizes at leaving at such short notice, to leave his parents and friends "to go so far & at some hazard too."
mssHM 16542
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Daniel B. Robinson letter to Mary Ann Robinson
Manuscripts
These manuscripts are a series of letters from Daniel Robinson to his sister Mary and brother James. In HM 19765 (1847, November 14), a letter to his sister, Daniel Robinson writes of his travels and contacts in the middle United States. HM 19766, dated 1849, March 12, also to Mary, Daniel writes he has delayed responding to her last letter due to a lack of interesting things to say. His main wish is to gain his fortune, and plans to accompany a group bound for the gold mines of California, and plans to leave Illinois in a week's time. He promises he will travel safely, and will write from time to time. The last letter to Mary in this sequence is dated 1850, October 31 (HM 19767), and Daniel has reached California, and has purchased "a lot of cattle" with several friends from Illinois. He would describe his journey if he had time, but plans to return to Illinois in the following spring. The final four letters are from Daniel to James, his brother. HM 19768 is dated 1849, April 12, and was written in St. Joseph, Missouri, where Daniel plans to stay for a month. The letter describes Daniel's trek to California, across overflowing rivers and many rough roads. The next letter (HM 19769) is dated May 3, and Daniel has left St. Joseph. His party had to wait two days for their chance to cross a river, as there were four hundred teams waiting for their turn. He saw several familiar Illinois faces in St. Joseph. On May 28, Daniel writes again to James (HM 19770). Their cattle broke free from their corral and scattered; they managed to recover some, but several were lost. Daniel learns that over four thousand teams have passed this way, bound for California. The final letter in this series is HM 19771, and is written from Sacramento City, California, dated 1849, October 3. Daniel reports the final leg of their journey was rather unpleasant, due to poor weather coupled with exhaustion. He says "there seems to be no extent to the amount of gold in California, and common laborers can get from two to three hundred dollars per month." His team has sold their wagons and cattle for mules and and mining equipment. He has heard many tales of gold, and expects to make his fortune soon. Of his journey to California, Daniel writes "I can safely say it is one of the most disagreeable trips a man can make." Included are three newspaper clippings from Illinois newspapers reprinting letters of Illinois travelers bound for California, two undated photos of Daniel Robinson, and a handwritten note addressed to "Mr. Tighe" and signed "Ruth Van Tuyl" regarding the photos and letters of Daniel Robinson.
mssHM 19765-19771
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Israel N. Prince letters to Elizabeth E. Hodsdon
Manuscripts
Series of letters written by Israel N. Prince to his sister Elizabeth E. Hodsdon in Falmouth, Maine. Prince's first letter traces his journey by boat from Boston to Charleston in 1850. The next several letters provide a detailed look at the hardships of frontier life in the Nebraska Territory, where Prince lives humbly ("our dogs have a more comfortable house," he writes), holds low a low opinion of many of his neighbors ("the character [of frontier people] is not what I could wish it might be," he laments), works briefly on the Burlington Railroad (which ended with "considerable loss"), and is disinterested in in the California and Kansas "excitement," although he later thought about moving to California or Oregon. Prince also urges Elizabeth and her family to come west, answers her questions about when he will return home by saying "when I came into the western country it was my determination not to go back till I had done something," writes of his many uncertainties ("I seem to myself to be peculiar in some respects," he noted, "At times I hardly know what to make of myself"), and shamefully admits his failures ("I hated to tell you that I was too poor to own a farm of any description"). Beginning in 1861 the letters describe "the great war feeling around" and Prince's enlistment in Company "C" of the 1st Nebraska Volunteers in June 1861. He was initially stationed at Pilot Knob, Missouri, and guarded bridges on the Iron Mountain Railroad, and writes of a difficult march to Springfield and an enemy raid at Georgetown, Missouri. Most of his time was spent near the Tennessee/Mississippi border between Savannah and Danville. Prince writes of his participation in the Battle of Shiloh and of the Army of Southeastern Missouri, which in early 1863 had just finished "one of the hardest campaigns of the war" (probably part of Grant's Central Mississippi Campaign). He alludes to "daily skirmishes," although also notes that his sister probably knows better than he what is happening since he has little access to newspapers or outside information. In addition to chronicling the movements of his regiment, Prince outlines the difficulties of army life, including long "forced marches," the shortness of supplies, his many illnesses, the possibility of his death, and the unpopularity of the men in command. In his last letter Prince writes that there is little hope for a promotion since "I don't believe I am a great favorite with some of the officers." Specific references are made to General John Davidson, Secretary of War Simon Cameron, General John C. Frémont, and General Justus McKinstry.
mssHM 75851-75872
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Susan B. Anthony letter to an unnamed editor
Manuscripts
Letter by Susan B. Anthony addressed to "Mr. Editor, Dear Sir," written on letterhead of Fowler & Wells, Phrenologists and Publishers. Fowler & Wells published the first two volumes of Susan B. Anthony's History of woman suffrage (1881). The letter reads: "By my request our publishers mail to you tonight, the advances sheets of "The History of Woman Suffrage," that you may be able to bring out your notice of it as early as our New York papers -- the book will not be handed them until Friday. Hoping that your reviewer will give these pages a careful reading and a just if not generous report thereof. I am Sir - Respectfully yours Susan B. Anthony."
mssHM 83495