Letters, 1863-1865.

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Letters, 1863-1865.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/191276046

This collection contains one hundred letters all written by Ellen Tucker Emerson to family and friends. The majority of the letters (45) were written to her sister Edith (1841-1928), who spent twelve months in New York undergoing the water-cure. Eleven letters were written to her brother Edward (1844-1930), who was often away at Harvard College, twelve to her cousin John Haven Emerson (1840- ), and seven to her father. The remainder were to friends and other relatives. Most of the letters were written from Concord, Mass., and in lively prose detail Ellen's life in the Emerson household and in the wider Concord community. The family was firmly based in Concord from which town Ralph Waldo Emerson traveled widely lecturing and Ellen made occasional visits to friends and relatives in Boston, Canton, Naushon, and Plymouth, Mass., and Newport, R.I. Ellen writes of: her visits to "Aunt Ripley" [Sarah Alden Bradford Ripley (1793-1867)] at the Manse where Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Sanborn are boarding for part of 1864; her Dante studies with "Aunt Lizzie" [Elizabeth Hoar (1814-1878)]; and her labors with Sophia Amelia Peabody Hawthorne (1809-1871), Una Hawthorne (1844-1877), and Julian Hawthorne (1846-1934) in behalf of "Mrs. Mann's fair". She describes skating on Walden Pond [14 January 1863], visiting Edward's newly decorated room at Harvard [6 January 1863], attending Anna Ward's wedding at the Catholic Chapel [30 January 1863], listening to Mr. Alcott and her mother discuss education [8 January 1864], and monitoring the behavior of her "daughter", Edith Davidson, her ward for several years. The Civil War, the ever-present background, was for Ellen a spur to patriotic action. She attends the Soldier's Aid sewing circle and works on fundraising fairs and balls. Emotionally she was most concerned with the well-being of her cousin Charles Emerson (1841- ) who served on the staff of General Nathaniel Banks. William "Wilky" James (1842-1910), a friend of her brother's and a frequent visitor, was wounded during the attack of the Mass. 54th on battery Wagner. She was particularly distressed by the deaths of Col. Charles Russell Lowell (1835-1864) and Concord's own hometown hero, Col. George Lincoln Prescott (1829-1864), whose funeral she describes at length [1 September 1864]. In her 3 November 1864 letter to her friend Addy [Manning?] she betrays her mixed feelings about the war: Oh, what a blessing it is to live during this war, to know all the high heats of patriotism, all the glory of the soldier's character...I think that all this new, heavenly atmosphere came from the war, and pity a people who live in peace. But I want the war to end soon nevertheless, of course[.]. These letters are an important addition to the two volume Letters of Ellen Tucker Emerson, edited by Edith E. W. Gregg (Kent State University Press, 1982), filling gaps in 1863, 1864, and January of 1865. It seems probable that the pencil markings on the letters--"go on" and "omit" were made by Ellen's nephew, Edward Waldo Forbes (1873-1969). According to Edith Gregg, he marked up transcripts for possible publication but in this case it must have been the originals which were not available to her.

1 box (100 letters)

Gadsden Public Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6957904

Gadsden Public Library

Related Entities

There are 18 Entities related to this resource.

Ripley, Sarah Alden, 1793-1867

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jn325j (person)

Sarah Alden Bradford Ripley was born on July 31, 1793, in Boston, the daughter of Gamaliel Bradford III and Elizabeth Hickling Bradford. She was the oldest of nine children and, as her mother's health was poor, was largely responsible for her siblings' upbringing. Though the family lived in Boston, Sarah spent much time in Duxbury, where her grandfather Bradford lived and where she formed a lifelong friendship with Abba B. Allyn (later married to Convers Francis, brother of Lydia M...

Hoar, Elizabeth Sherman, 1814-1878

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62k73bp (person)

Elizabeth Sherman Hoar (July 14, 1814-April 7, 1878) was a schoolmate of Henry Thoreau and his siblings. After his death she assisted Sophia Thoreau and Ellery Channing in collecting the posthumous works of Henry, close friend and traveling companion of her brother Edward. In her youth Elizabeth was engaged to marry Charles Chauncy Emerson, her father's young law partner. Charles died of consumption in May, 1836, before they were wed. Much beloved by his family, Elizabeth was for the rest of her...

Emerson, Lidian Jackson, 1802-1892

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6m43m7h (person)

Lidian Jackson Emerson (born Lydia Jackson; September 20, 1802 – November 13, 1892) was the second wife of American essayist, lecturer, poet and leader of the nineteenth century Transcendentalism movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and mother of his four children. An intellectual, she was involved in many social issues of her day, advocating for the abolition of slavery, the rights of women and of Native Americans and the welfare of animals, and campaigned for her famous husband to take a public stan...

Emerson (Family : Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vn53p7 (family)

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was an American essayist and poet. The Emerson family was prominent in the literary and social life of New England during the 19th century. From the description of Emerson family papers, 1699-1939. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612701545 Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American poet and essayist. From the guide to the Emerson family additional correspondence, 1811-1859., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Librar...

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1803-1882

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63k44cq (person)

Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803, Boston, Massachusetts– April 27, 1882, Concord, Massachusetts), American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century.Epithet: American essayist British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000621.0x000365 ...

Forbes, Edward W. (Edward Waldo), 1873-1969

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6zp447q (person)

Relation of Alexander Forbes (1882-1965). From the description of Correspondence to Van Wyck Brooks, 1959. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 176629718 Forbes graduated from Harvard in 1895. From the description of Notes in Zoology 1, 1893. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 77073959 From the description of Notes and midyear thesis in Philosophy 9, 1894-1895. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 77074017 From t...

Lowell, Charles Russell, 1835-1864

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60p20rb (person)

Harvard College (1780- )

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6xh3df9 (corporateBody)

Special students were those who took courses in Harvard College but were not degree candidates; they had not gone through the standard admissions process completed by AB degree candidates. From the description of Records of special students, 1876-1907. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 77064523 It is unclear whether F.C. Fabel ever attended Harvard College. F.C. Fabel may be Frederick Charles Fabel, who received an AB from the University of Rochester in 1893. ...

Hawthorne, Una, 1844-1877

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6mk6nh4 (person)

Daughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne. From the description of Autograph letters signed (2) : [n.p.], to "Aunt Lizzie" [Elizabeth Palmer Peabody], 1865 May 16 and [no year] Apr. 6. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270475708 From the description of Autograph letter signed : Bayswater, to "My own dear Auntie", 1872 Apr. 8. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270465836 Una Hawthorne was the eldest daughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Sophia Peabody Hawthorne. From the de...

Ward, Anna Lydia, 1850?-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6156167 (person)

Emerson, Ellen Tucker, 1839-1909

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sn0vhk (person)

Second child and elder daughter of philosopher, essayist, poet, and lecturer Ralph Waldo Emerson and his wife Lidian (Lydia Jackson) Emerson, Ellen Tucker Emerson (1839-1909) was a resident of Concord, Massachusetts. She was born at Bush (the Emerson home on the Cambridge Turnpike) and named for her father’s first wife. She attended Elizabeth Sedgwick’s school for girls in Lenox, Massachusetts, the Agassiz School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Frank Sanborn’s school in Concord. Never marri...

Emerson, John Haven, b. 1840.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6f20gp9 (person)

Hawthorne, Sophia Peabody, 1809?-1871

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w69g5rsr (person)

Wife of American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. From the description of Autograph letter signed : [n.p.], to Ellen Sturgis Hooper, 1843 Dec. 10. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270870979 Sophia Hawthorne Peabody was a painter and illustrator as well as the wife of American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. She also published her journals and various articles. From the description of Sophia Peabody Hawthorne letters, 1827, 1868. (Middlebury College). WorldCat record id: 654...

Prescott, George L. (George Lincoln), 1829-1864

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6kd3045 (person)

Concord, Mass., dealer in lumber, building supplies, coal, hay, etc. Born in Littleton, Mass., May 21, 1829 to Timothy and Maria (King) Prescott. The family moved to Concord some four years later. George Prescott joined the 5th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment in 1861, fought at Bull Run, and came back to Concord for a short time. He returned to the Civil War with the 32nd Massachusetts Regiment, fought at Fredericksburg, was promoted to colonel, and died at Petersburg, Va., June 19, 1864. ...

Hawthorne, Julian, 1846-1934

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cr5tjt (person)

Son of American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, Julian Hawthorne was also a writer of short stories and novels. From the description of Essays : manuscripts, undated. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612756082 Second child and only son of Nathaniel and Sophia Peabody Hawthorne, Julian Hawthorne was a writer of reviews, articles, and late 19th century American popular fiction. From the description of ALS, 1886 September 16 : Sag Harbor, N.Y., to J.D. Holmes...

Forbes, Edith Emerson, 1841-1928.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62r586x (person)

Davidson, Edith B.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6df87x2 (person)

Emerson, Edward Waldo, 1844-1930

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66m3mbz (person)