Search

Sarah Brown Capron was born in Lanesboro, Massachusetts, in 1828, the daughter of Henry Brown Hooker and Martha (Chickering) Hooker. The family subsequently moved to Falmouth, Massachusetts. Sarah graduated from Wheaton Seminary, and married William Capron on October 1, 1856. Over the course of their marriage, the Caprons had 3 children. On November 24, 1856, the Caprons sailed to Ceylon, India, as missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission. Arriving in Madras in March of 1857, they labored in Tirupuvanum and Mana Madura for the next sixteen years. Collection comprises a copy of a letter (10 pages) written by Sarah B. Capron in Mana Madura, India, to unidentified recipients on 1865 December 26 and 28.

Collection comprises an autograph letter from Marianne North to Dr. Jessop, dated May 22, requesting that Jessop provide details about the possible sale of manuscripts of her ancestor, Roger North.

Collection comprises a letter Robert Dale Owen wrote (1867 November 13) to a "Mr. Stevens" regarding changes to his lecturing schedule and announcing that his lecture on labor is not ready, although he adds that "...on The Law of Kindness, with a scene in the Temple at Jerusalem is ready; and I think your audience would be likely to prefer it."

Collection contains two letters written on one sheet of paper. Sheldon wrote (1883 October 3) to a "Miss Powell" regarding her travel plans. The letter was perhaps accompanied by the clipping regarding her activities and photograph reproduction of her that are also present in the collection. Another writer, "Minnie," forwarded Sheldon's letter to her parents by writing her own letter on the back. She mentioned that she visited Charles Dickens' daughter-in-law, and that she was on tour with "Maud," who may have been American actress Maude Adams. She added that "Miss [Susan B.?] Anthony is still here, but will leave for America soon. She is very proud of Maud as a representative American girl."

Collection contains a letter William Nast wrote (1860 June 18) to "Charles" regarding his move to a house they rented near Cincinnati, and his request that regular notices be run in Harper's Magazine and the Atlantic World for new issues of the "Commentary," along with reports on the activities of family members.

Collection comprises a handwritten letter Lydia Howard Sigourney drafted as Secretary for the Hartford Ladies' Association for supplicating justice and mercy towards [sic?] the Indians, to request assistance with the circulation of a petition among the women of Hartford. The letter also discusses the political process behind the petition and its circulation. Includes a faint handwritten addendum, written in another person's hand, noting a decision not to send the letter. The item is undated, but possibly dates to the 1830s.

Samuel Simons was a U.S. Representative from Connecticut. Collection contains a letter from Samuel Simons to an unnamed recipient describing the recent election which he narrowly won against a Whig candidate.

M. A. M. Smith was the wife of a Civil War soldier who resided in Mazeppa, Minnesota. Collection comprises a letter (1863 June 5) M. A. M. Smith wrote to a friend, discussing the conduct of the war ("What is to become of the country. How long shall or must we wait for the right man in the right place to do the wash."), politics, her psychological state, the state of her farm, and the safety of her husband. She notes, "Cares, work, weariness, the blues, dumps, without the ling, are doing their legitamate [sic] business in bringing gray hairs & wrinkles. Will be a regular "roan," ha. ha."

William N. Pile was an Adventist minister, author and editor. Collection comprises a letter Pile wrote (1894 July 21) to Bro. Goodell regarding space for tents at a camp meeting. He complains that others do not wish to move their tents in order to accommodate his tent.

Collection contains a 4-page letter (7 March 1873) Whipple wrote to Jeremiah Hacker, a Maine reformer, abolition advocate, journalist, and publisher of "The Pleasure Boat." Whipple mentions an article Hacker wrote for "The Voice of Peace," as well as his admiration for "The Pleasure Boat" and "N.P. Rogers' Newspaper Writings." He also discusses his difficulty printing "The Voice of Peace," and the increase in pacifism since the end of the Civil War, noting that abolitionists and industrialists Adin Ballou and E. D. Draper were constant in their support of peace, while members of the utopian Hopedale Community were "untrue to the professions of years." Whipple included a printed photograph with his letter.

Madame de Staël (1766-1817) was a French literary figure whose writings were highly influential in late 18th and early 19th century Europe. She was a political polemicist whose famous confrontation with Napoléon Bonaparte led to her exile from Paris until the Bourbon Restoration. This letter was written in 1814 towards the end of her life. She writes from Paris to the prominent New York mercantile firm LeRoy, Bayard & McEvers concerning a financial transaction in the amount of $20,000. She states that she has transferred the sum to McEvers in London, and wishes to confirm that they will, in turn, transfer it to her account with another firm. At the time she wrote this letter, Madame de Staël owned a large tract of land in upstate New York. Her father originally purchased the land in the event that the family wanted to escape France's instability and settle in America. Although she and her children never moved to the United States, de Staël both increased her land holdings and invested in developing her property. LeRoy, Bayard & McEvers represented Europeans purchasing property in New York State, so it's highly likely that the $20,000 was used to either increase or develop Madame de Staël's American land holdings. This letter is evidence of a degree of financial and business independence that was highly unusual for a woman at the time.

Dame Sybil Thorndike was a distinguished British actress best known for her work on stage. In this letter to the actress and playwright Elizabeth Robins, Thorndike thanks her for the gift of some heather from Yorkshire. She also sends her regards and thanks to "Lady Bell" for her support. The letter is addressed to Robins at Rounton Grange, the North Yorkshire estate which was the family home of the writer Florence Bell ("Lady Bell"). Bell and Robins were close friends and collaborators. Thorndike refers to a play; at the time of this letter, she was in rehearsals for the 1922-23 London production of Shelley's The Cenci at the New Theater, directed by her husband, Lewis Casson. This letter connecting three key female figures of the London stage is evidence of the strong support network these women formed in a male-dominated arena.

Collection contains a letter from Sarah R. L. Williams (1889 April 19) to Frank D. Andrews, regarding his requests for autograph letters. She mentions her "constitutional dread of bringing up the diverse memories which are inseparable from the handling of files of old letters." With envelope.

Corporal in the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 32nd Regiment (3rd reserve), Company D. Letters from Corporal Lewis F. Henderson to an unidentified friend in Philadelphia contain accounts of the Battle of Gettysburg; the Battle of Cedar Creek; and the Battle of Lynchburg. Other topics include Union hospitals; the burning of Virginia Military Institute and Governor John Letcher's home; Union and Confederate desertions; and "copperheads" in Philadelphia. Letters provide description of Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 and the last days of the Civil War.

Advertising executive with Aubrey, Moore & Wallace agency in Chicago, Ill. Letter to W.W. (William Wolff?) Heitler solicits and discusses plays for Campana Company's "First Nighter" radio broadcast series. Radio play criteria (length, structure, content and appropriate social values presented) are discussed. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

Advertising executive, author and philanthropist in Detroit, Michigan; principal in the D'Arcy MacManus Masius agency. Letter to William H. Solle, a bookshop owner in Omena, Mich. answers an inquiry regarding forthcoming poetry. MacManus reminisces on the ironies of his life, reflections, his legacy as author of the Cadillac "Penalty of Leadership" advertisement of 1915. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

Copywriter and advertising executive who began one of the first woman-run advertising agencies in the United States, Hockaday Associates, in New York, N.Y. in 1949. Letter appears on Harper's Bazaar stationery and concerns locating photographers for magazine illustration, editorial and publishing concerns, and a research project to survey ideas of beauty among college-age women. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

Collection comprises a four-page letter Van Cott wrote (19 May 1884) to an unidentified close friend regarding her preaching in Dover, Maine, and its impact. She confesses "...I find the people spiritually dead" and tells the story of a father who dragged his son away from her and the altar. The letter is signed, "Peggie." She inserted into the letter a newspaper clipping reporting the revival she led in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Collection comprises a letter Stokes wrote to dramatist Benjamin Butler Davenport regarding her plan to attend his play "The Silent Assertion" with her husband. Includes enclosure.

Collection comprises a letter written by "Nonia" on June 16, 1913, regarding how she managed to obtain the Emily Wilding Davison memorial items, including a bulletin for the memorial service, an official program for the funeral procession, and a memorial card. Nonia was likely an upper class woman, for Princess Alice of Teck assisted her in collecting the items; the princess was afraid they would be considered suffragettes. The collection also holds a transcription for the letter.

Collection comprises an undated letter Becker wrote to Lady [Downing?] regarding the fate of an unnamed bill before the House of Lords. She mentions that "... we have done what we could to bring a strong body of earnest, intelligent, feminine opinion to bear on the Peers." She then requests help finding accommodations for upcoming meetings in Exeter. Pasted to the letter, probably dated 1890, is a copy of Becker's obituary.

The Margaret Sanger letter to Vachel Linsday regards a request from the contraception activist to the poet asking him to write a statement of support to be read at an upcoming birth control conference. Linsday responds by writing a note at the bottom of Sanger's letter replying that he wishes to father "twelve sons seven feet high" with the famously long-haired Seven Sutherland Sisters. The accompanying pamphlet contains the program for the upcoming conference.

Virginia Woolf was an English writer and publisher, and one of the foremost modernists of the twentieth century. Collection contains a letter from Virginia Woolf to Quentin Bell. Topics include her cook's operation; distractions during the letter writing process, "How any woman with a family ever put pen to paper I cannot fathom;" how Vanessa Bell produced an old French lady to replace the cook; and relates the incident of lost keys to the [Gordon Square] flat. She informs Quentin that "We are now at Rodmell for Whitsun, and the Austrians are gliding over our heads like gulls. Yes, this is a fact. They have tents on the downs and prove that one can fly up and down Asheham Hill without an engine. As I never doubted it myself, I take little stock of it." This is in reference to very enthusiastic and popular Sussex gliding, or sail plane, club. After a bit of village business, she adds that the family cocker spaniel has had five pups and that "Julian [Bell, Quentin's older brother] is coming to Charleston with a troupe next week." She also reports that the senior tutor of Kings College has been shot by one of his students. Woolf fills Quentin in on the further doings of the Keyneses, Roger Fry and his Aunt Vanessa with regard to a troublesome art show, from which Fry has resigned, and looks forward to each friend bringing her up to speed on the outcome. She tells Quentin that Vita Sackville-West's book is selling so well "that Leonard and I are hauling in money like pilchards from a net. We sell about 800 every day. The Edwardians it is called." Woolf asks her nephew if he is at his family's French retreat in Cassis, and asks for a letter from him describing his "life from the inside." In closing, she laments she hasn't actually said what she wanted to say, and that the "snap-snap of the typewriter frightens me as the snap of a turtle frightens fish. So good bye." Also contains a black-and-white photograph of Virginia Woolf and Quentin Bell, undated, but probably around 1930.

Thomas Prince (1687-1758) was a graduate of Harvard College, a clergyman, scholar, historian, pastor of the Old South Church in Boston, Mass. from 1718 to 1758, and author of A Chronological History of New England, in the Form of Annals (1736). Collection includes three letters, dated 1721, 1726, and 1738, to Thomas Prince, pastor of the Old South Church in Boston. There are two letters from Prince's sister Abigail in Middleborough, Mass., dated January 4, 1721 and February 25, 1726, both discussing family matters such as health, various leases and deeds, and other subjects. In another letter, dated 1738, Prince's mother-in-law Grace Denny, of Old Newton, England, discusses her anxiety about not hearing from Prince, her declining health, and politics and the royal family in England. In a postscript, Denny notes that she has "heard of a printed account about Great Conversions in Hampshire...by the the Rev'd Doctor Watts and Doctor Guyse."

ALS. Announces that a medical jury composed of M. Lacroix, M. Valleday and himself will be visiting Gilledey's area.

ALS. Informs addressee that his apartment is ready and warns him that recently there have been several cases of cholera in Paris.

Sir Lionel Henry Cust was a British art historian, courtier, and museum director. He was director of the National Portrait Gallery from 1895 to 1909 and co-edited The Burlington Magazine from 1909 to 1919. Collection comprises two autograph letters signed by Cust, dated 1906 November 22 and 1906 November 26, to "Jack," regarding a portrait said to be that of Charlotte Brontë. The November 26 letter also mentions Constantine Gilles Romain Heger. On letterhead of the National Portrait Gallery.

Collection contains two letters Susan B. Anthony wrote on National American Woman Suffrage Association letterhead in February 1905 to Minnie C. Rodey, who was chair of the "Women's Club" in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In the letters, Anthony described informational material she will be sending Rodey, including a history of woman suffrage. In addition, she recommended a process by which the territory would vote on the issue of woman's suffrage before it acquiring statehood, since she considered the legislature and governor more likely to pass it than the general male voters in the state. She added, "... I read yesterday of the number of Indians and Mexicans and negroes that were in the territories. It is amazing that people want to make a state out of a territory composed of a majority of what we should term 'incompetents' Voting should be confined to intelligent beings." She also inquired of mutual friends and recommends her relatives who are visiting Albuquerque.

The Sarah Orne Jewett letters consist of two pieces of correspondence written by the author to an editor, Mr. Sawyer, and to Lucy Coffin. Sarah Orne Jewett was a well-known 19th century author whose fiction is set in her native rural Maine. In the first letter, Jewett declines to send Mr. Sawyer anything to print in the first issue of his magazine, as she has been ill and busy, and doesn't want to write something in a hurry, although she wishes him well with his new publication. The second is a condolence letter to Lucy Coffin of Newbury, Massachusetts on the loss of her father. The Coffins were a prominent Massachusetts family.

Lydia L. Brennan ran a photographic business, the Elite Studio in Butte, Montana, until December 1896, when she sold the business to J. W. Nelson. Brennan married John N. Kirk, a Butte lawyer. Collection comprises two autograph, signed letters Lydia L. Brennan wrote to the Holter Hardware Company in Helena, Montana, on July 1 and October 3, 1896, to place orders for photographic supplies, particularly American Aristo Platino papers.

Lydia Maria Child was a prominent American abolitionist. The Lydia Maria Child letters consist of two letters written by Child, the first to artist William Tolman Carlton, and the second to a Miss. Howland. The first letter concerns Carlton's well-known painting "Waiting for the Hour," and references the writer and fellow abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier. The second letter replies to a query about the German writer Bettina Von Arnim.

Mary Ritter Beard was an American historian and archivist. Collection comprises 8 letters Mary R. Beard wrote to Margaret Zogbaum, a resident of Mizzen Top in Tryon, North Carolina, between 1947 and 1950.

Collection comprises two letters by William Henry Burr. Topics in the 1883 letter include a scam involving "that fellow 'Kellogg'" and rumored presidential scandals involving Chester Arthur and James Garfield. The 1897 letter involves Burr's making a copy of a letter by Thomas Paine regarding Paine's service as an editor for the Pennsylvania Magazine.

The collection consists of five typescript letters, one photocopied Encyclopedia Britannica article regarding Sackville-West's book "Aphara Behn" in the "Representative Women" series, along with a poem. The first letter, one page addressed to Sackville-West, dated 1953 May 22, signed "A. Purvis," discusses the birthplace and date of Aphra Behn. A photocopy of the Encyclopedia Britannica article on Behn is included. A typescript note dated 18 July, 1961, signed V. Sackville-West on Sissinghurst letterhead, was written in response to a letter from Sylvia Haymon about Aphra Behn, and Sackville-West's article on Behn in the Encyclopedia Britannica. Included are copies of three letters, all dated 1961, sent to Sylvia Haymon, two to Sackville-West, and one to Miss J. Parfitt, Acting Editor of the Women's Page of The Times in London. The topics of the undated, one-page "Diary-Poem" have to do with Sackville-West's loss of her given name upon her marriage to Harold Nicolson in 1913, and the loss of Knole, her family's estate in Kent, in 1928 because of patriarchal inheritance laws.

Sir William MacGregor (1846-1919) was governor of Lagos Colony, Nigeria, between 1899-1904. Correspondence sent to Sir William MacGregor primarily during his tenure as governor of Lagos Colony, Nigeria. One letter was written from Lagos in 1918. Topics include the new government when Northern Nigeria became a British protectorate, the West African Frontier Force, water sourcing, the rubber trade, and liquor traffic. All letters are signed and the majority are manuscript, except for two that are typed. Includes one black-and-white 6x10 cm photograph of an Nigerian family outside their hut.

Maria Mitchell was a pioneering United States astronomer. This collection of social correspondence comprises three notes written by Mitchell between approximately 1846-1868.

William H. Scovill (1796-1854) of Waterbury, Connecticut, businessman and founder of the Scovill Manufacturing Company; and Rebecca Beecher (1800-1876), of Kent, Connecticut. The collection includes twenty-nine letters, chiefly the courting letters of William H. Scovill and Rebecca Beecher during a long period of geographic separation and secret engagement from 1817 to 1820. Materials in the collection range in date from 1816 to 1864.

Dorothy Parker Maloff was an editor at McGraw-Hill, Whittlesey House, and Atheneum, as well as other publishing houses in New York City. Known to Styron as "Didi" Parker. Collection comprises letters William Styron sent to Parker while he was serving in the Marine Corps and stationed at Camp Lejune in North Carolina. Also includes letters he wrote to her in 1952 from London, Paris, and Rome after he won the Prix de Rome. In addition, there are postcards Styron wrote to her under an assumed name. Styron mainly writes about his love for Parker; other topics include his military activities and training, as well as his novels, other writing, and publications.

Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) was an Scottish poet. Collection comprises four letters written by Campbell, and a published article on Campbell and Italian General Guglielmo Pepe.

Collection comprises letters, all but one of which was written by Moncure Daniel Conway, and an undated newspaper clipping outlining his work as an abolitionist. Topics of the letters include: conflict within his congregation, genealogy research, his relocation to England in 1893, arrangements for meetings and his lecture schedule and topics, his request for confirmation regarding the provenance for a manuscript, his writing plans and publications, and payment for his work. In one letter he mentions that he will be passing time with Samuel Clemens.

Collection comprises 5 letters (three originals and two copies) Photius Fisk wrote to "Friend Hacker," probably Maine reformer, abolitionist, and journalist Jeremy Hacker, between 1886 and 1889. Topics include health matters, money enclosed, and end-of-life planning. Also includes a copy of Fisk's obituary.

Mary Peblow was a white woman who lived in Brooklyn, New York, during the late twentieth century and appears to have spent the majority of her later years in temporary public housing or welfare assistance hotels. This collection consists of Peblow's early 1990s correspondence to her cousin, Lillian Aubery, who also resided in Brooklyn. Peblow's letters document some characteristics of an ongoing mental illness; her distrust and dislike of healthcare systems and nursing homes, different charity organizations, and New York's government assistance programs; and her beliefs that she and her family were victims of Democratic or global conspiracies. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture and the History of Medicine Collection.

Lydia Rabinowitsch-Kempner (1871-1935) was a German bacteriologist and one of the first women to reach the rank of Professor in Germany. The Lydia Rabinowitsch-Kempner Autograph Book and Papers date from the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century, and contain letters written to Rabinowitsch-Kempner from leading German scientists, as well as a reprint and three photographs. Correspondents include Robert and Hedwig Koch, Paul Ehrlich, Emil Behring, Richard Pfeiffer, and Alexandre Besredka, as well as calling cards with notations from Lord Joseph Lister, Elie (Ilija) Metchnikoff, and Albert Calmette. Many of the letters and calling cards are arranged in a bound scrapbook, and relate to personal as well as professional matters. The collection also contains a series of six letters from Max von Pettenkofer to Paul Lindau, editor of Nord und S端d,. Acquired as part of the History of Medicine Collections at Duke University.

The collection consists of two letters written by Michael Faraday, English physicist and resident of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, toward the end of his life. One is addressed to the Duchess of Northumberland thanking her for her generosity, and asking if she might send Faraday something in return, apparently a photograph of herself. The other letter is written to F. Gye, also thanking him for a gift, most likely tickets to a Covent Garden show: Frederick Gye was the prominent manager for the Royal Italian Opera productions. Acquired as part of the History of Medicine Collections at Duke University.

Author of the "Essay on the principle of population" (1798). Collection comprises an undated letter from Malthus to his publisher, William Clowes, regarding a proof correction for an advertisement in one of his publications. In it he also asks if he has misdirected the mailing of his previous corrections, and wonders if they were received in time.

Holograph, with signature page missing. Writer's references to Waterhouse and Jenner signal his involvement in the promotion of vaccination. Writer also communicates his surprise at Frank's decision to take up a post at the University of Vilna.

7 letters (ALS). Letter from Bartlett to the engraver Joseph Callender. Letters to Bartlett from his brother, Dr. Josiah Bartlett, and from Drs. Thomas Kittridge and Amos Gale. Letters from J. Bartlett and Gale relate to the cowpox virus and Benjamin Waterhouse's efforts to regulate its use.

A statement of charges accrued during the last illness of Col. Smith and clippings of obituary notices.

ANS. Introduces Dr. Grant, a Canadian surgeon.