William Dall, 3rd, (1753-1829) - Father, husband, or uncle to the correspondents. During the American Revolution, just around the time. of the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, he was sent through the lines with dispatches for Connecticut patriots and was wounded in the foot. During his convalescence, he became a writing master at Yale College. Later he became the executive head of a syndicate of about a dozen associates, which undertook for a grant of land on Boston Neck, to build a causeway, and fill in between the sea walls the tidal isthmus that connects Boston and the mainland. For this work, the syndicate was paid with a grant of land clean across the neck in the vicinity of Dover Street and southward toward Roxbury. The land was split among the members of the syndicate. This would account for Mr. Dall's various properties on Washington and Orange Streets. He appears to have been the manager or bookkeeper for a local merchant, and constantly reminds his children that a good education and hard work are the keys to success.
- William Dall, 4th, (1794-1875), son of William Dall, 4th, is the primary recipient of the correspondence. An apprentice to a Baltimore merchant, he suffered from rheumatism.
- James Dall, 2nd, (1781-1863), son of William Dall, 3rd, lived in Baltimore with his wife Henrietta and their two children. It is unclear whether he was self-employed or worked for a firm, but he engaged in the same business as his father and brothers. His letters reflect a head for numbers and a keen business sense.
- John Dall, (1791-1852), son of William Dall, 3rd, was a student at Harvard who was later apprenticed to a Boston merchant. John's letters are insightful and literary in tone, describing Boston and its culture.
- Rebecca Keen Dall, second wife of William Dall, 3rd, and mother or aunt to the other correspondents sends motherly advice in her letters.
- Sarah Keen Dall, (1798-1878) and Maria Dall, (1783-1836), daughters of William Dall, 3rd, write primarily about family matters.
- Joseph Dall, (1801-1840), son of William Dall, 3rd, and youngest of the correspondents, writes well-wishes on rare occasions.
- John Robert Dall, (1798-1851), nephew of William Dall, 3rd, stayed with his uncle on weekends while attending Harvard.
From the guide to the Dall Family Papers MS 282., 1810-1843, 1810-1817, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries)
