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Winchester family. Papers, 1800-1872; 1899.

Title: Papers, 1800-1872; 1899.

The majority of items in this collection are letters, 1846-1872, written to Susan Winchester Baldwin by members of her family. After the death of her first husband, Harriette moved her family to Florence, Italy, and the early letters to Susan were written to her there by her grandmother Catherine Marshall Raymond Mears (1778-1867) and her aunt ("Aunty") Catherine Mears (1808-1892). The six sisters returned to the United States in 1856 and lived in Boston with their grandparents. Susan attended the Temple Place School for Young Ladies, where whe was a friend of Julia Romana Howe (1844-1886). The collection includes letters from Julia and letters from mutual girl friends of Julia and Susan describing the Howe household in Boston and near Newport, Rhode Island. Many of Susan's friends and family members were active in the Unitarian Church and there is information in their letters about James Freeman Clarke (1810-1888) and Ezra Stiles Gannett (1801-1871). There are also a few letters to Susan from Kate Gannett Wells (1838-1911). The sisters' lives were very unsettled until they married. Their mother, who was evidently an erratic person, suffered severe financial losses, and the older girls were forced to help support the family with teaching jobs. Much of the correspondence to Susan for the late 1850s and early 1860s concerns their jobs and financial situation. There are letters from Fanny who had a job as a governess in Cincinnati and letters from Susan's school friends, some of whom also taught after their graduation. There are a few letters from her Temple Place teacher Henry Williams ( - ) and many letters from his wife. There are also letters from Susan's cousin Granville Mears, Jr. ( - ) who writes about his position as a clerk at Jordan, Marsh & Company, a retail store in Boston. In the early 1860s Susan and Fanny taught in Miss Dutton's Seminary in New Haven, Connecticut. In New Haven Susan became acquainted with her future husband, Simeon Eben Baldwin (1840-1927), Yale Law School professor, 1869-1919, and Connecticut governor, 1910-1914. In the folder for 1865 there are many courtship letters he wrote to Susan which also include news about his law practice and activities in New Haven. Baldwin's sister married Dwight Foster (1828-1884) and the correspondence after 1865 includes references to Foster and his family. Throughout her life Susan had suffered from periods of despondency, and there are many passages in her family's letters trying to encourage and cheer her. After her marriage severe depression and worry gradually incapacitated her and she began to spend her time visiting various health resorts. There is no evidence as to what happended to her after 1872 but she did outlive her husband. Her sister Charlotte took her place as mother to her children. During the early years of Susan's marriage, there are letters from her mother-in-law Emily Perkins Baldwin, Mrs. Roger Sherman, (1796-1874) trying to encourage her in her wifely duties. Scattered throughout the collection are a few letters written by friends to Charlotte Winchester. There are also a few letters from Susan to Charlotte, 1863-1864. Folder 3 of Box 1 contains undated (probably 1840s) letters from Harriette to Edmund Winchester who was travelling on business. The folder also contains three letters from Edmund to Harriette, 1843-1844, one business letter written by him, and a memorandum book kept by him, 1837-1844, with most of the entries for the year 1837. The folio volume is an account book, 1800-1821, for Edmund (1772-1839) and Amasa Winchester's (1775-1846) wholesale provision company in Boston. The volume includes some entries by a William Winchester ( - ).

ArchivalResource: 2 boxes.1 v. (200 p.) ; folio.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/207181571 View

Bolton, Ethel Stanwood, 1873-. The north side of Richmond Street, Boston, in 1866 [graphic] / E.S. Bolton ; from a water colour drawing by WIlliam Walker in 1866.

Title: The north side of Richmond Street, Boston, in 1866 [graphic] / E.S. Bolton ; from a water colour drawing by WIlliam Walker in 1866. 1917.

A depiction of four residential buildings on Richmond Street in Boston's North End neighborhood. The steeple of the First Methodist Episcopal Church on Hanover Street is shown in the background. A handwritten pen and ink key under the title identifies the buildings as follows: House of Elkanah Cushman and Birthplace of Charlotte Cushman 1816; Birthplace of John G. Gilbert 1810; the Second Church on Hanover Street [First Methodist Episcopal Church]; House of Darius Boardman 1816; House of Edmund Winchester 1816. This section of Richmond Street, between Salem and Hanover Streets, was re-named Parmenter Street in 1870.

ArchivalResource: 1 drawing on paper : pen and ink, b&w ; image 28 x 36 cm., sheet 29 x 37 cm.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/75384648 View