Five generations of the family of Anna Leonard Stetson Smith Shaw (1766-1847) of Dighton, Mass., are represented in this collection. Her five daughters were Nancy Leonard Smith Peabody (1785-1856), Harriet Smith Goodnow (1787-1869), Maria B. Smith Noyes (1790-1875), Emma Augusta Shaw Hobbs (1792?-1875), and Hannah King Shaw Webb (1800-1875). Eventually the family settled in Bucksport and Bangor, Me., and Atkinson, N.H., and corresponded extensively among themselves, their children, grandchildren, and friends. In 1846, Hannah Webb's daughter Anna Leonard Webb (1821-1868) married Thomas C. Farris of Bangor who later joined with her brother Jahaziah Shaw Webb (1824-1890) in the Farris-Webb Produce Company. Maria Noyes' daughter Augusta Maria Noyes (1817-1871) married Captain Joseph G. Stover ( - ) in 1842 and frequently accompanied him on sea voyages. Several cousins from the Stephen Peabody (1773-1851) branch of the family became merchants, traveled to California during the gold rush, actively participated in Maine politics, and fought in the Civil War.
From the description of Papers, 1756-1936. (American Antiquarian Society). WorldCat record id: 191276479
