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I hardly know whether it is safe to send a bill in a letter feel a little in doubt about it. I have heretofore lived chiefly in the present, like Isaac, I have plucked the flowers by the way, heard the birds carol, rejoiced in the present sunshine, thinking little of the end of the path. I have in with been finishing my education, gaining knowledge and experience, while shifting along through various services and circumstances;it is well I have needed all the teachings I have had; but the time will come when I shall want a quiet haven to rest in and my idea of home includes 'a local habitation', though not a name; of having a home amongst my friends the idea is far from pleasant the chief happiness this earth can give, consists to me in the enjoyment of family affection and of the social principle in intercourse with friends, here I sometimes feel a solitude of the heart when the knowledge is forced upon me that no one around me however polite and pleasant, cares a straw for me, but I want to look forward to a place I can call home do not want to be an aunt or sister at large, but a daughter sister and aunt at home, but I have not sight to make out any way to fix in my mind that one situation is pleasant another not so, since I know nothing about it save that I have a good home, kind friends and in many respects thus far a favored lot. I have been led into this train of thought by looking forward to next July when Mrs. H. expects to go East to accompany her daughter to South Hadley, having long vacation: then the question is, what shall I do go to Chicago and open a school or some city farther south or go to Jerusha W. & teach there if I can? or take a school in this region either private or public? and so try to amass filthy lucre enough for spending money, then go home and live with you; comfort and assist those who need it or do this last trusting Providence for means. I want to go home it seems as if I could not stay away another year, I want to help you in ministering to Joseph's comfort and happiness; but I have no resource against sickness or old age Does duty require me to bend my [bottom to top left side of page]if you know how glad I was to receive your last letter you would write me another very soon.
Title
DeWitt, Elizabeth Anna Rich (half-sister), to Anna Mayo Stevens Rich Metcalf (mother) (also to Lucy M. Furber and Almeida ..., Isaac Stevens Metcalf family papers, 1850-1859
Creator
Metcalf, Isaac Stevens, 1822-1898
Date
1850-1859
Place
United States
Subjects
Bowdoin College
,
Brothers and sisters
,
DuQuoin Coal Company
,
Illinois Central Railroad Company
Description
Use the link to the finding aid for a fuller description of collection contents that explains the use of the name and subject terms appearing in this catalog record.
Summary
Correspondence, writings, diaries, and journals documenting family and rural life, as well as early business correspondence and records, and a few photographs, all pertaining to Isaac Stevens Metcalf and the Metcalf, Furber, and Putnam families. Family correspondence was used to keep all of the branches of the family in touch with each other when family members moved away. There are many instances where multiple family members wrote on one letter to one or more other family members, and some people even wrote "family letters" that were intended to be shared amongst parents, siblings, and the like. Topics of family correspondence tend to be related to religion, daily activities on the farm, weather, and the news of friends and relatives (births, deaths, sicknesses, etc.) Business records of Metcalf's pertain to land ownership, railroad engineering and construction, and running a coal mining business. The mid-19th century business records also document tax payments and some reports including labor and payroll expenses. There are a few drawings and sketches from Metcalf's tenure as division engineer of the Illinois Central Railroad. The first accession of these family papers was a donation of the letters between Charles W. and Albina Rich, given by Grace Leadingham, Charles Rich's granddaughter. This gift was facilitated by Keyes D. Metcalf, 17th child of Isaac Stevens Metcalf.
Biographical/Historical Note
Railroad engineer, farmer, and businessman of Maine, Ohio, and Illinois during the second half of the 19th century. Isaac Stevens Metcalf was born in Royalston, Massachusetts, on Jan. 29, 1822. His father, Isaac Metcalf, had married Lucy Heywood in 1810; she died childless in 1820. In March 1821 he married Anna Mayo Stevens Rich, the widow of Charles Rich, by whom she had had three children (named Charles, Elizabeth Anna, and Almeida). Isaac was born to Metcalf and Rich, followed by Joseph, Lucy, and Eliab. Isaac Metcalf (father) died in Boston in 1830, and the family relocated to Milo, Maine, where half-brother Charles had purchased a farm. Isaac Stevens Metcalf lived there with his mother and siblings, preparing for college and working on the farm until he entered Bowdoin College as a sophomore in 1844. He graduated there in 1847, having taught school while studying engineering. He surveyed and built railroads in New England until the spring of 1850, when he became a division engineer on the southern section (near Centralia, IL) of the Illinois Central Railroad. Metcalf worked closely with the Chief Engineer, Roswell B. Mason. Metcalf remained on the job until the line was completed to Cairo, IL, in 1855. While in central Illinois, Metcalf purchased land and with his partner Chester A. Keyes laid out the railroad town of Du Quoin, which was officially dedicated on Sept. 20, 1853. On Jul. 5, 1852, he married Antoinette ("Nettie") Brigham Putnam, the daughter of prominent New Hampshire minister John Milton Putnam. The couple had twelve children, three of whom died young. They settled in Elyria, Ohio, in Nov. 1856, to be near Metcalf's half sister, Elizabeth Ann (also known as Ann Elizabeth), and more family joined them within the next ten years. Metcalf and family lived in Elyria for over 41 years, farming and running a flour mill while Isaac Stevens Metcalf maintained business interests in Du Quoin, Illinois (real estate and coal mining). Antoinette died Aug. 14, 1875, and three years later Metcalf married Harriet Howes. That couple had six boys. Harriet Howes died of pneumonia Dec. 7, 1894, and Isaac Stevens Metcalf died Feb. 19, 1898, age 76. A more complete Metcalf genealogy family, focusing on the children of Isaac Stevens Metcalf, is available in the Special Collections Department information files. The genealogy was compiled by Keyes DeWitt Metcalf, 17th child of Isaac Stevens Metcalf.
Extent
10.8 linear feet (20 boxes and 1 oversize folder)
Format
Business records
,
Correspondence
,
Diaries
,
Genealogy
,
Invoices
,
Manuscripts, American
,
Personal narratives
,
Records and correspondence
,
Sources
Archival Collection Title
Isaac Stevens Metcalf papers
,
Midwest Manuscript Collection
Rights Status
No Copyright - United States
Newberry Open Access Policy
The Newberry makes its collections available for any lawful purpose, commercial or non-commercial, without licensing or permission fees to the library, subject to
these terms and conditions.
Contributing Institution
Newberry Library
Link to Catalog
View finding aid
|
View record
Call Number
midwest ms metcalf Box 1 Folder 6
BibID
821787
Size
3111px × 3910px 69.64 MB
IIIF Resource Type
Canvas
Filename
998217878805867_mms_metcalf_box_01_fl_06_001_004.tif
Unique Identifier
NL11FDF6
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