Kurtz, Jeannie Wright. Jeannie Wright Kurtz papers, 1845-1850.
Title:
Jeannie Wright Kurtz papers, 1845-1850.
Letters from writer in Charleston, S.C., identifying herself only as "Jeannie" and addressed to her sister, Anne Wright, in Georgetown (District of Columbia). Letter, 18 Aug. 1845, Fort Johnson, [Charleston, S.C.], to Miss Anne Wright, c/o E.S. Wright, Esq., Georgetown, D.C., relating details of her safe arrival at home following travel via rail and water, with references to fellow travelers and medical treatment rendered by Dr. Benjamin of North Carolina as well as details of the assistance she received from friends in Charleston upon her return, "they dispelled cobwebs & all bachelor dust &c." Further reporting that everyone was disappointed to learn that Anne had not come along with her and that sore throat was still prevalent in the area and apologizing for the fact that she was writing "very badly & hurriedly by candlelight & mosquito music." Letter, 20 July 1849, Charleston Harbor, [S.C.], to Miss Anne Wright, c/o Miss English, Georgetown [District of Columbia], penned in response to rumors of her sister's ill health and asking that Anne consider coming southward to regain her strength. Letter, 23 Mar. 1850, Charleston Harbor, [S.C.], Jeannie [Kurtz], to Miss Anne Wright, c/o the Rev. C[hauncey] W[heaton] Fitch, in Piqua (Miami Co[unty], Ohio), expressing surprise that her sister had traveled to the west, briefly mentioning gold mining in California, including a group of prospectors, perhaps Charlestonians, who had sent back 350 ounces of gold dust, and noting that the "scientific association" had met in Charleston two weeks earlier, "Prof Agaziz [i.e. Louis Agassiz], Mr [Michael] Tuomey, Prof Shepherd [i.e. Charles Upham Shepard] & one or two others came down to see John D's shells--he has the finest collection of coast shells that has been made at the South...." [Both Louis Agassiz on leave from Harvard, and Charles Upham Shepard, formerly of Yale were serving as professors at the Medical College of South Carolina this time, with Shepard teaching during the warmers months at Amherst College and returning during the winter to teach in Charleston; Tuomey, formerly state geologist of S.C., was, after 1848, serving in the same capacity in Alabama]. Also discussing the fretfulness of her son, Johnny, possibly from loneliness after the death of his sister, and closing with a reference to the fact that she and her husband were "getting wore out with the climate--& having nothing to interest us - oh this Engineering I wish John D were any thing else & we living near the District...."
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