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my notions,"you learned folks" ought to have something of more depth & value on which to depend for success in life. Am I right? If not, enlighten me. Well, having discoursed upon moral policy & sentiment at a great length, I will now answer some of your inquiries about my school etc. I got honorably through & closed up my business Friday Aug. 29th. Buchanan and some others desired me to stay & keep private school another month, but I prized my freedom too much to be again enslaved. I gave my scholars books the last day & every scholar in school save Oscar Whitcomb! returned some little trifle for me to keep as a memento. That was of course, quite gratifying to me. I could tell how well they like me you know, by the pains the parents took to fix up something to give. Mond. afternoon, before the close, we had a Pic Nic. Some 50 or 60 present including the scholars. Very pleasant time; principally under direction of Mr. James, who came into school two or three times talked to the children, found a Cold Water Army etc. Folks in that region, you know are very queer, remarkably unsophisticated etc. Did'nt 1/2 of then know what a Pic Nic was -never one of them been to one but me. I took the sole charge, making preparations, selecting a spot etc. Some called it "Pig beat," others "Pig meat," "Pit Nic, Pic Nit, and so on. Laughable business, I assure you. However, we got the table prepared in fine style, in a beautiful grove back of Mr. Edison's house, & about 3 o'clock Mr. James came up from the City. Parents & scholars, all who went, except a 1/2 dozen young ladies, Garmans, Lydia Giles. Emma Clark etc. who staid at the grove, assembled at the schoolhouse & marched in procession, shalled by the minister & school- ma'am to the grove, where we were recieved by the aforesaid young ladies with a spirited cold water song. We had a beautiful swing out there on two tall trees. We sung, laughed & talked eat & dranked etc. & Mr. James read my old Temperance Address , which I had new moddelled to render it appropriate, & then rendered public thanks for "Miss Metcalf's able Temperance Address." We had, in addition, sundry toasts by Miss Metcalf & the Misses Garman. It is astonishing how those Dudley folks have acted this Summer. They would'nt go to the Pic Nic by the way, I understood by way of Mrs. Philbrooks many lies they tell about you. Many thing they say you said about me which I know you never said. They say you praise me up so much & said so much about me, my beauty etc. that when they came to see me, they were actually disgusted with me could'nt bear the sight of me etc. Query, which is the most disgusting in appearance, Mary Jane Dudley or I? For awhile I thought perhaps the fault was my own, in part; & finally overcame my feelings so as to call there, although they never called on me. I have an excuse as Octavia was sick. Mary J. & Juliett treated me with base civility. Susannah came into the room & sat down, her back almost towards me & spoke not a word. I inquired kindly after Juliett's health etc. and took my leave without being asked to stay longer or to come again. Mrs. Berry Dudley had a long talk with me the night before I came away. She told me she was up stairs with Juliett when I first came there & heard all that passed below. - her feelings were much hurt, she could have cried for me herself etc. Said after I went away, & Mis. J. Dudley came up stairs she told her she did wrong, she feared my feelings were hurt; Mis. J. Dudley said she did'nt care, hoped they were etc. She said they were strange girls. She did'nt blame me at all for the course.
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
2761px × 4432px 70.05 MB
IIIF Resource Type
Canvas
Filename
998217878805867_mms_metcalf_box_01_fl_31_006_003.tif
Unique Identifier
NL11FE4B
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