Papers, 1833-1899.

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Papers, 1833-1899.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/207176820

Folder 1 of this collection consists of family correspondence, 1833-1899. There are letters from Caleb and his sister Sarah while boarding at the New England Society of Friends School in Providence, Rhode Island, 1834-1845, concerning their studies and family matters; letters from Thomas and Roxana in New York and Ohio City, Ohio, to his parents and friends in Leicester, 1833-1839, concerning their efforts to start a scythe manufacturing business in Ohio in the midst of a nation-wide depression; and letters from Joseph S. Wall with detailed descriptions of that city as contrasted with Boston and difficulties faced in his efforts to establish himself as a journeyman printer at the Pennsylvania Freeman and later in Boston and Worcester. In folder 1 there are also letters, 1848-1899, written to Caleb from Samuel May (1810-1899) of Leicester, Stephen Salisbury (1835-1905) and Lucius Robinson Paige (1802-1896) mainly concerning invitations, with some comments relative to Spy publications. There are also miscellaneous letters from various relatives reporting the deaths of family members, 1833-1852. Folder 2 contains the diary of Caleb A. Wall, 1840-1841. It includes detailed descriptions of long walks to Leicester to attend monthly Quaker meetings, and Wall's summations and analyses of lectures delivered at the Worcester Lyceum by Horace Mann (1796-1859), Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), Alonzo Hill (1800-1871), Benjamin Franklin Thomas (1813-1878) and others. Included are astronomical observations, as well as details of the annual exhibitions at Leicester Academy and visits with relatives. Halfway through the journal, Wall decided to restrict it to serving as "a medium for the expression of thought on whatever subject may seem to strike my reflection." There are brief essays, poetry, and a description of the area in Worcester viewed from the window of the printing office in which he worked. This diary was previously attributed either to Caleb A. Wall's half-brother, Nathan Harkness (1801-1873) the son of James Harkness (1776-1806) and Sarah Farnum Harkness, or to Elisha Harkness (1789-1845) James's brother. However, the diarist seems not to be married and mentions living parents, while both Nathan and Elisha were married and their father died before 1840. The "Brother Moses Harkness" (1799-1860) mentioned in the diary was another of Walls' half-brothers.

2 folders.

American Antiquarian Society

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7000711

American Antiquarian Society

Related Entities

There are 13 Entities related to this resource.

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 ...

Wall family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fc423b (family)

This collection contains papers of the family of Caleb Wall ( -1846), who moved to Worcester from Leicester, Mass. in 1836. The family members represented in this collection are Wall's wife Sarah Farnum Harkness Wall ( -1853) and their children Caleb Arnold Wall (1820-1898), his sister Sarah Elizabeth Wall (1825- ), and brothers Joseph Southwick Wall (1817-1842) and Thomas Wall (1808- ) as well as the latter's wife Roxana F. Wall ( - ). Caleb A. Wall was employed by the Worcester Spy from 1837 t...

Mann, Horace, 1796-1859

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sf2xnw (person)

Horace Mann was an educator and a statesman who greatly advanced the cause of universal, free, non-sectarian public schools. Mann also advocated temperance, abolition, hospitals for the mentally ill, and women's rights. From the description of Horace Mann Letter, 1858. (University of the Pacific). WorldCat record id: 213372958 Horace Mann, "Father of our Public Schools," was born in Franklin, Massachusetts on May 4, 1796. His family was poor and his father di...

Wall, Sarah Elizabeth, b. 1825.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6th9zmh (person)

Wall, Caleb A. (Caleb Arnold), 1820-1898

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pr96qx (person)

Hill, Alonzo, 1800-1871

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qn7jdj (person)

Wall, Thomas, b. 1808.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60v9qjq (person)

Thomas, Benjamin Franklin, 1813-1878

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jm3ndc (person)

Leicester Academy

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sb96nt (corporateBody)

Leicester Academy was established in Leicester, Mass., in 1784 by Ebenezer Crafts (1740-1810) and Jacob Davis ( - ) of Charlton, Mass. Around 1921, it ceased to function as a private, coeducational institution and was leased to the town to be used as a public high school, with the Trustees functioning primarily as business managers. In 1940, it became the Leicester Academy School of Business Administration, changing its name in 1941 to Leicester Junior College. From the description o...

Walls family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tz2djt (family)

Harkness, Elisha, 1789-1845.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jh4z3d (person)

Wall, Joseph Southwick, 1817-1842

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ms54d8 (person)

Harkness, Nathan, 1801-1873.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vd89dv (person)