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on rich bottom lands, wheat cannot be raised at all, the stalks grow so rank and mat, together, there successive crops of corn are raised for twenty years, the ears three times as large as Yankee corn grows on New Eng. rocks, and so high that a man cannot hang his hat on the ears: - one man can cultivate 40 acres, yields 75 bushels to the acre: it is quite common to see log houses with corn growing around them, higher then the house & almost hiding it. Mr. H. told me that when he lived in Ohio, and the severe laws of that State against runaway slaves were in force, a number escaped to Ohio, and took refuge in a fifty acre field of corn then nearly ripe, which concealed and sheltered them like a thick grove of trees, affording them sustenance till they could make good their escape. Mr. H. is quite a story teller a very pleasant man, a vermonter, but lived several years on the shores of Lake Champlain in New York, in rather humble circumstances I judge, from his remarks, not from his present appearance - He was speaking of fishing one day and described to me his home: on the outlet of Lake George separated from Lake Champlain by a low range of hills: - at the foot of the range is a small plateau on the shore and near the old fort of Ticonderoga where he said he had many a time played dug up lead &e. His mother was famous for fishing, would often come to the door when he was ready to melt with heat and fatigue on a warm summer afternoon, and he would hear the welcome sound 'Hopkins' - so she called her husband: - will you let 'Tim' go fishing? when they would go out on the lake together in a small boat take the fine large fish, frequently staying till the moon silvered the placid lake: no doubt he tasted some of the purest and sweetest of life: pleasures in that mountain home, - the vivid remembrance of which, no after scenes will have power to dim -- Perhaps my brother in their boyish exploits and excursions on the quiet and solitary river and around the retired home of their childhood, had pleasures more free, fresh and joyous that will ever again be
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 15
BibID
821787
Size
3294px × 4276px 80.63 MB
IIIF Resource Type
Canvas
Filename
998217878805867_mms_metcalf_box_01_fl_15_003_003.tif
Unique Identifier
NL11FDNY
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