Pease Family Papers

The collection consists of family and personal correspondence, family business papers, manuscripts, ephemera, photographs and books. The collection consists of materials from three generations of the Pease family from 1816 to 1974.

The majority of the collection consists of personal correspondence to members of the family. The correspondence is separated into four main divisions: the correspondence of E. M. Pease, Harriet A. (Sturtevant) Pease, Ned (Edmund Morris) Pease, Jr., and other correspondence. The subject matter of the personal correspondence consists of daily family activities, missionary work on the Marshall Islands, descriptions of raising children, traveling, family health and well-being, and theological/spiritual matters. A large portion of the correspondence consists of letters to and from Harriet A. (Sturtevant) Pease. The subject matter includes family matters, family estate concerns, and missionary work. Notable correspondence includes travel and missionary work letters to friends (letters dated 1877-1894) and consolatory letters after the death of her husband (letters dated 1906). A great deal of the personal correspondence is also authored by Ned (Edmund Morris) Pease, Jr. His correspondence is primarily addressed to his mother, Harriet A. (Sturtevant) Pease, and recounts his daily activities as a medical student, church and spiritual matters, business matters concerning the family estate, and his personal thoughts and desires. Notable correspondence includes his feelings for Clara Bradbury and their marriage (Mar. 3, 1907; Nov. 2, 1910), thoughts about his relationship with his mother (Jan. 22, 1911), arrival of daughter Phyllis (July 13, 1912), and the mention of the infantile paralysis epidemic in Boston, Massachusetts (Aug. 10, 1916).

The family business papers consist of various issues regarding the family estate and the sale and care of property. The business papers include business correspondence, deeds, trust papers, and stock and bond papers. Notable papers include the estate papers of E. M. Pease (July 9, 1907) and letters from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (1923-1925). The collection also contains papers that pertain to the Pease family's time on the Marshall/Caroline Islands. These items include correspondence about their work and activities on the islands and with the people as well as manuscripts describing their missionary work on the islands.

The manuscripts of the collection consist of a variety of different materials such as poems, songs, stories, recipes, notes and journal entries. Notable manuscripts include the poems and theological papers by E. M. Pease and the notebooks of Harriet A. (Sturtevant) Pease (1877-1885) along with her account of the farewell meeting in Boston (May 3, 1886).

The photographs and ephemera of the papers include items pertaining to the family. There are several photographs of family members and friends. Most notable are the photographs of the Marshall/Caroline Islands and their people. Within the ephemera are biographical sketches of E.M. Pease as well as various religious booklets that deal with theology and missionary work. The collection also contains several books including a translated copy of the Holy Bible in the Marshall Island language and a Civil War Surgical Kit that belonged to E. M. Pease.