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How are your sabbaths spent? You have not spoken of that day. I concluded you usually spend them either in Brattleborough or Northfield if at the latter, I suppose you go with the small and rather despised flock, of what we consider real Christians, - great watchfulness is necessary for you as well as all others to keep in the way and not turn aside in any way yielding to temptation. It seems to me it would not be wrong for you to spend part of a sabbath with our cousin Mrs. Dickinson - she is as nearly related to you as any one there - you would enjoy her conversations she would take much interest and you, and she has been so intimate with our family - spending months with mother when quite young that I think you owe it to her as well as yourself to become acquainted with her. I wish you to remember me with much affection to cousins Joseph and Hannah and Maria when you see her and all other friends - Mrs. Dickinson in particular. I have forgotten whether in my last, I mentioned that Mr. Pomroy had commenced a cause of lectures to young men on modern infidelity: he has given four, the closing one last sabbath eve, they drew very crowded congregations and have caused much excitement, because connected with the Lyceum here. In his first, he said that there is here a 'clique of men who are trying to bring in, pour in, sift in, thrust in, as much infidelity upon this community as they cleverly care'. He changed it when the managers of the Lyceum, from information from one not connected with any Orthodox society ' who had sagacity enough to see what was in the wind', - he was understood to implicate the meeting for chair of managers, consisting of Gov. Kent, and nine others: this raised a great breeze, the dailies came out, the opposers were chuckling at the thought that Mr. Pomroy had got himself in to difficulty by assailing private character & motives, Mr Walker came out strong against him and in defense of the Lyceum, but Mr Pomroy in his second lecture explained wherein he was misunderstood, wherein he had been misinformed, reiterated his charge of infidelity when the 'clique' in fact conceded nothing but came off quite triumphant in the knots of men, who after the first lecture half gathered, in Smith Bugbee's stores etc. etc. and talked so loud, were quite whist? after to ?[right-hand side] Joseph was in the schoolroom to day and read me some valuable thoughts, which if I had time and space and could do them justice, I would write. One idea was the tendency of correspondence is to deteriorate unless special efforts are made on both side to originate racy thoughts and striking ideas.[left-hand side]The managers of the Lyceum are Abram Sanborn, br? Jordan and another irreligionist that I do not recollect.
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 13
BibID
821787
Size
3226px × 3919px 72.38 MB
IIIF Resource Type
Canvas
Filename
998217878805867_mms_metcalf_box_01_fl_13_005_002.tif
Unique Identifier
NL11FDMR
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