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not quite eighteen years old. Refinement ditto as Mr. Wiley. They have one child eight months old. I have from thirty to forty scholars: forty, for a week or more past. Lydia Giles, the oldest & Julia Mower the next. A hateful mortal, the latter is'nt she? I suppose you can sympathize with me in my trials concerning her, Oscar Whitcomb Charles Graffan & the like, most especially Oscar Whitcomb, "Seem if I should die" sometimes when he's reading. There are some exceeding bright ones, especially the Mowers girls & Barry Dudleys youngest, Emily. July 4th Visited at Berry Dudley's by invitation, & met there the Dudley girls. On being introduced by Mrs. Wiley, we saluted each other & not another word passed between us, till when they started home. They asked me to call on them. I am not usually so stuffy, but in this case I am determined to "stand upon my dignity." I like Mrs. Berry Dudley very much. I am some acquainted at Mrs. Clark's. Have called on Mrs. Buchanan & Gullin's also up on the Kasey road. Must go up Garman way next week. I liked the appearance of folks at Mr. Kasey's, also at Mr. Mower's, but Mrs. M. is rather forbidding in her manner at first. I think I shall like her. I guess you did'nt visit enough, here did you? I close my school with singing. There are here some very good singers. I do love to hear little children's voices don't you? They have learned quite a number of new tunes since school commenced. I fear you cannot read this for I am very warm & tired & my hand trembles so, I write just as fast as I can. The boys were up to see me last Sabbath afternoon. Mr. Wiley's people have company every Sunday, laughing & carrying on. I have no table in my room & am forced to do all my writing in my lap, or go out in the warm kitchen, which is grievous. Every body has their disagreeable things to get along with you know. We have meetings here every Sabbath and S. School. Some of the Students preach. Folks don't turn out to meetings any hardly, & only a dozen, fifteen or twenty children attend S.S. I should'nt think the Students would try to help them. I want you should write to tell me who are the clever folks here if you know. Also I want to know all about yourself. Do write me a long letter with lots of good advice. You know I am alone here. I have'nt seen the boys but once. I received a note from Joseph yesterday. He said he had written to you. Tell me all about your visit at Boston. I am infiniment obliged for your lettre Francais. Shall not dare attempt an answer in kind, at present. I am progressing slowly in French, as I have time & opportunity but I need a teacher. I do wish with you, that I could have the benefit of your Libraries. I long for something tor read. Have'nt any thing here hardly. How miserable poor wretches like me do feel, who have just been permitted to dip into the fountain of intellectual enjoyment, and therein to realize its sweetness & then are obliged to stand aloof & see others drink their full. while they hunger & thirst. However, "I'm thankful for what I got, but I want some more." Mother writes that Mary Barnes is happy as a kitten. I feared she would be homesick. They take comfort there, I expect, but it is rather an unfavorable season for farmers, I should think. I fear Charles will not realize his expectations. He laid out pretty largely this year. Mrs. Wiley and I went out in "Uncle Sam's" pasture for Strawberries tother day & a wicked, unbroken, five year old colt came at us full speed, his ears lopped & looking cross as could be. We would throw clubs at him & then run till he got most to us & then throw things again & in that way we managed to get out of the pasture. I fainted almost away when I got out of the pasture, or came so near it that I saw "men as trees walking." I suppose we barely escaped with our lives. He would have stamped us under his feet if he had got to us. It makes me tremble every time I think of it.
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
2829px × 3385px 54.83 MB
IIIF Resource Type
Canvas
Filename
998217878805867_mms_metcalf_box_01_fl_31_004_003.tif
Unique Identifier
NL11FE41
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