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Milo March 9th 1845. It being Sunday and I being compelled to pass the livelong day in "The School," in immediate juctsposition with the unsophisticated inhabitants of that uncultivated region. hoping, thereby to bring a kind of relief to my feelings, I will endeavor so far to relax the unbending dignity of my mighty mind, as to write a letter to my dear Brother Issac. To begin at the beginning, I went away from home last Sunday night, I was somewhat frightened about going with the cold, and did'nt hardly realise that you were going away to stay so long and altogether I almost forgot to tell you "good bye."But you must take the will for the deed, and remember that I love you none the less. Jenny and Wash. Hobbs were at Temperance meeting the same night; so I learned from them the particulars of the absquatulation of Donkey. A sorry fracus, wasn't it, considering all things. I conclude Mother was somewhat alarmed before Charley got safe home. But the worst of it was, your being so hindered about getting to Bangor.I suppose you failed of being at Brunswick at the Initiation you spoke about did'nt you? You seem to have some "pull backs" and troubles, but perhaps no more than are needful for you. Every one must expect his share you know. We will hope you'll have the less by and by. If we were permitted to enjoy uninterrupted prosperity with no occasional downfall and trials to remind us on whom we are dependent for all our blessings, how soon should we forget and grow proud and self-dependent - get "two big for our jacket" and come to a bad end, as, according to parson Laurence, the king of Israel did. I heard a Mr. Laurence lecture at the Mills one Sunday eve this winter. Speaking of getting proud and above my station etc., he brought up, as an example (Jehosaphat was'nt it, I have most forgotten). Said the reason he was killed was he grew proud and swollen like the Frog in the fable, you know, and stretched his harness, so that, when the man drew a bow at a venture, it smote him between the joints of his harness, where by reason of his pride, he had stretched it apart. Was'nt that an ingenious interpretation? So he said God made us and place us where we belong; that is, made a harness to fit us, and if we stay put and do our duty without swelling, we are safe, otherwise must have something to humble us and bring us back within our proper limit. I suppose we ought to consider these little troubles & trials from which none are entirely exempt, as gentle admonitions from our allwise Father, intended for one good, to keep us humble, in the "straight and narrow way." I do not doubt that I need this "preachment" as much to say the least, as yourself, so I will keep the rest to myself & tell you something about my school. My class in the Introduction read something one day about the "golden rule." I asked them, and every scholar in school, what it was. Not one could tell. I found it in the Testament and told them to learn it. So they studied upon it most all the forenoon and afternoon, and when they came to spell? it at night, I demanded it of them, and said they, in the innocence and simplicity of their hearts, "Whatsoever men do unto you, do ye upon to them." Don't you think I wanted to laugh? Great boys, as big, and almost as old as I am. That is, however, in very truth, the version of said "Golden Rule" which is very generally practiced in these parts. Oliver Beal Hobbs goes to my school. It is a pity for him to waste his time to go, for he never can learn any thing. I have five of Nat. Hobbs' children (one very unsophisticated girl 22 years old) and I cannot learn them all, so much as might be put
Title
Furber, Lucy M. (sister), to Isaac Stevens Metcalf, Isaac Stevens Metcalf family papers, 1842-1845
Creator
Metcalf, Isaac Stevens, 1822-1898
Date
1842-1845
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 31
BibID
821787
Size
2795px × 3387px 54.20 MB
IIIF Resource Type
Canvas
Filename
998217878805867_mms_metcalf_box_01_fl_31_002_001.tif
Unique Identifier
NL11FE3Q
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