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We took tea by invitation at Mr. Pomroy's and had a pleasant visit. Mr. P. is just as social and jolly as ever, has I think, an additional ease and elegance of manner and is rather more robust and hardy in appearance which is all the change I can discover in him.He described to us an Arab dinner to which he was invited with two or three other guests: he accepted the invitation on condition that the visit should be conducted strictly according to their customs. He arrived before the others and was conducted into a carpetted room of moderate size but very high to secure coolness: no chairs, but a low cushioned seat running all round the room about or less than a foot from the floor with cushions at the back so that one would recline rather than sit: soon after he was seated there servants came in one with something resembling a coffee pot, full of water - another with an empty vessel or tray, a third with towels: they think it an abomination to dip their hands in a dish and wash as we do but it must be running water to carry off all the filth; their habits are far removed from neatness in some other respects. - next servants brought in a censer with some aromatic gum burning, placed it before him & wrapped him in a large sheet to start he might inhale the incense; after this the mistress of the house appeared with a bottle of strong scented rose water - which she sprinkled very plentifully all over him; lastly the master of the house came seated himself near him & began a strain of compliments such as "I take the greatest delight in your company," "I feel greatly honoured that you are my guest" "This room & this house is lightened by your presence" &c.The dinner itself occupied an hour three small round tables about six inches from the floor at which he sat with feet doubled under him. I have not told you much of us of the family who abide here nor have I much to tell nor space to tell it in. J. & E. go on as usual I suppose you know more about them than I do for I see only once in a little age. My school is prosperous apparently and pleasanter than ever before but a teacher in order to be successful must be vigilant on every sideWritten up the left side:Poor Mr. Bent from Taunton succumbed yesterday at Ft. John's at church; his wife was oldest daughter to Eliab W. Metcalf of Cambridge consequently second cousin to you, He is to be settled here over the unclear society, J is coming with his family soon.
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
3192px × 3943px 72.05 MB
IIIF Resource Type
Canvas
Filename
998217878805867_mms_metcalf_box_01_fl_12_004_003.tif
Unique Identifier
NL11FDM5
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