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would not be in the room with the company. If he goes up at all he will probably go by himself or ride up with his partner, the point I am coming to is this: if you can be here to go up at the same time, there would be so many of us going that it would be as cheap to have a private carriage (a one horse carryall will take four,-- expect to pay stage fare both ways, and far pleasanter therefore I want you should make your arrangements, so as to be able to tell exactly when you will get here and let e know as soon as you can as well as the folks at Milo.I think very favorably of Mother's returning with you to make a longer or shorter stay as she finds convenient & pleasant: I feel pretty sure of making a visit there at the close of the summer and perhaps she could return with me: she would enjoy being in Boston at the Aniversaries the last of May: - her wardrobe is in tolerable readiness and can be fully so, - her chief objection is I believe, the travelling expenses, and that I think amongst all her children will not be difficult to furnish. I have written within the last fortnight, three long letters to the folks, urging them to make all feasible improvements about the premises; and I hope something will be done. I feel that it is rather derogatory to Charles' reputation for enterprise and energy to suffer the grounds about his house, to remain in the state they have the past three years.--The other front room ought to be finished, for Mother's use; it is not right that at her age, and such, as she is, she has not a comfortable room that she can call her own, appropriate to her own use and for her own things; I fear if it waits C's. convenience she will have to wait for it a long time, and I am not sure but it will be the duty of the rest of us to be at the expense of it. Charles has had rather a hard time of it, and I see no probability of any thing different in future. ---What great news we hear from all parts of the world and what great events are taking place! It seems as if we must be on the eve of some remarkable changes: the Catholic power must receive a blow from the recent revolutions.--The weather has been remarkably fine this spring, the river is almost open the ice nearly down out of sight, the winter has been dull for business men, and the spring bids not so fair as usual, I believe I hear said.Sister AnneWritten up the left side:I do not approve of sleeping on tables, nor keeping one'self wholly out of society, it will lead to a selfish rather those a benevolent spirit. -- I expect to see your form much more exert - your business is favourable to it: --Give my love to all inquiring friends.
Title
DeWitt, Elizabeth Anna Rich (half-sister), to Isaac Stevens Metcalf, Isaac Stevens Metcalf family papers, 1842-1851
Creator
Metcalf, Isaac Stevens, 1822-1898
Date
1842-1851
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 14
BibID
821787
Size
3192px × 3905px 71.36 MB
IIIF Resource Type
Canvas
Filename
998217878805867_mms_metcalf_box_01_fl_14_002_004.tif
Unique Identifier
NL11FDN1
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