Over the winter, AAS reader Jeanne McDougall spent some time with our Isaiah Thomas manuscript collection. While searching through the correspondence, she stumbled upon a letter from Hannah Weld to her daughter Mary Weld, who married Isaiah Thomas Jr. Below, Jeanne describes her encounter with Hannah and Mary. Jeanne's experience certainly demonstrates the serendipitous nature ...
One way we add to our manuscript collection is through what staff and readers find within other collections at AAS. Often we will find letters, notes, or other ephemera interfiled in books, periodicals and newspapers, and often it is deemed best to move this material into the manuscript collection. These items are fun because, while ...
Recently we acquired an interesting new addition to our ever growing scrapbook collection. In 1869, Mary H. Hill of Nelson County, VA, somehow got her hands on a salesman's sample book and proceeded to use it as a scrapbook for her favorite recipes over the next decade or so. What makes her book stand out ...
Last week I shared a letter from Lucy Chase to a Henry Sargent, and promised more about it this week. Here’s the letter again, as a refresher! Any thoughts? Well, according to those who have studied this letter, many agree that it is, in fact, a joke! Knowing Lucy’s personality (her wit, her humor, and her ...
I have always found Lucy Chase to be one of the most interesting women represented in our manuscript collection. Lucy was born in 1822 to a successful Worcester family. She spent time teaching in contraband camps and freedman schools in the South, and travelled across Europe with her sister for 5 years. She was intelligent, ...
Bradford, Lewis. Letters, 1817 – 1829 Lewis Bradford, a descendant of Governor William Bradford, and son of Levi Bradford and Elizabeth Lewis Bradford, was born in Plympton, Massachusetts in 1768. Lewis lived his entire life in the town of Plympton, working as the town clerk for forty years. In addition to his work, Bradford was a ...
In 1849, the Cayuga Joint Stock Company of Auburn, NY set sail for California. The company of men had their sights set on California’s gold, and established their joint stock company “to engage in mining, trading and such other business in the territory of California” according to the company by-laws. For a nominal fee of ...
While sorting through a recent donation, I came upon an interesting item. "Memorandum of a Dream" as it's titled, recounts a dream of a woman from Maryland in 1799. What is so interesting about this piece is not only the dream itself, but the mystery behind it. Manuscripts can prove to be difficult, but at the ...
Stevens, Cassandra Swasey. Diary, 1856-1858. Cassandra Swasey (1818-1901) was the daughter of John B. and Alice Ladd Swasey of Meredith, NH. After her first husband died, Cassandra married Col. Ebenezer Stevens, a merchant in Meredith in 1846. This diary, which covers the period between 1856 and 1858, covers her daily activities. A recurring theme is her ...
In honor of Independence Day, I thought I'd take a look into AAS's manuscript collection to see how folks observed the holiday in the past. Sure, it's all about barbeques and fireworks now, but closer to our independence the holiday probably meant something different to those who lived through the Revolution. Elnathan Scofield (1773 - 1841) ...
Ever wonder what people were reading in the 19th century? A great way to see what the most popular books were at a particular time is to look at account books from publishing firms and booksellers. Now, even more interestingly, ever wonder what people were reading on ships in the 19th century? How about looking ...
With wedding season upon us, and love and relationships at the forefront of many minds this time of the year, it's fun to wonder what courting, love, and relationships were like, and how they've evolved over the past couple hundred years. We all have ideas in our minds, probably placed there through novels and films. ...
In February of 1859, a scandalous event shook Washington D.C., involving two prominent politicians, betrayal and murder most foul. How intriguing! Hon. Daniel E. Sickles, Congressman from New York, shot and killed Philip Barton Key, U.S. District Attorney (and also, interestingly enough, son of famed composer Francis Scott Key), after discovering an affair between Key and ...
Morgan, Sophia. Poetry Journal, 1824-1827. This small volume belonged to Sophia Morgan of Somers, CT. It is a collection of poems, both original and copied, entered into the volume by Morgan’s friends and relatives. Among the titles are “Withered Violets,” “Friendship,” “Time is Short,” and “Contentment.” Purchased from Shelf Life Antiques. John Thomas Lee Fund.
Young Ladies Library and Literary Association of Oakland Female Institute. Donation Book, 1853-1855. The Oakland Female Institute was opened in Norristown, PA in 1845. By 1853 the Institute had 186 students and a library of “over 500 volumes of standard value—all trashy literature being contraband,” as an 1853 circular states. The school closed in 1880. This ...
