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Bangor Jan. 3d 1846Dear BrotherI wish you a happy new year.- I have begun a letter to you, two or three times and thought I would begin one a great many more times, but still your last kind letter remains unanswered. I will not take up time and spare in telling the seasons of my neglect but redeem my past negligence as well as I can, by writing all I can think of that will interest you. Joseph's health is pretty good now, but it would be better if he would come down from his elevation, occasionally, and find amusement, though it were in triffles: there is too much sameness in his life he has too little variety, nothing to give versatility enough, to his subjects of thought, and pursuits, to render his mind buoyant:- he very seldom hears a lecture in the evening, and has not made a social call or visit since he has been here: he went to Uncle Natty's one evening to bargain with him about the land for my (i.e.) his schoolhouse, but that is the most like a social call that he has done: I mean to make him if possible go with me and spend an evening at Mrs. Brown's soon, I have bought some Battledores almost on purpose to have him exercise in playing it with me, but he seldom does: he is however liked by his roommate Mr. Weld, and by the way: they say of him, 'where he does give a joke, it is worth something' and, 'though he do'nt say much, when he does speak it is something worth hearing:' I take some credit to myself for his being liked, for without me to help him along, he would not be understood;- I do'nt think he was at all at Browns.-He has built me a schoolhouse since last Nov. all completed and paid for. I have been keeping in it, about a week have 35 scholars: 5 of them at $3,00 per quar., the rest at $2,00: Joseph agreed with the men to wait for part of pay till next summer, but they (the joiners) were in want of money, and made a discount to have the pay now and he has been able to do it, by taking up wages in advance, and by means of a note against Brown he received past payment from Charles. The schoolhouse
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 12
BibID
821787
Size
3229px × 4023px 74.36 MB
IIIF Resource Type
Canvas
Filename
998217878805867_mms_metcalf_box_01_fl_12_001_001.tif
Unique Identifier
NL11FDLQ
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