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I could relate a long concatenation of circumstances the why, and wherefores (nothing very unusual however) but it is of no use - he is now again expecting a chance to sell the Grey but perhaps it will fail. He has borrow'd money of Eliab to pay Everett & the "Division" but must get it for him again by 1st of Jan. He has 6 or 8 tons of hay to sell but it is very low no more than 7 or 8 dollars serv'd - It is no small trial and mortification to me that we cannot send you some money. You enquire about Joseph and his business, I can't tell you much for he is not communicative - Sons and Nephews rather objected to giving him all the wages he ask (have got the same Tom Boynton they had when Jo' went there for still less than Joseph had) but the principle reason of his leaving was his health - they asked him if he expected to make more than they would give him he told em no but he expected have longer time to make it in- his partner is a Mr. Fulsom a likely man, I suppose but has not much property I guess - They mean to trade in lumber furnish supplies & have begun in a small way. Joseph went up to Boston & bought his dry goods I don't know to what amount. West India goods they get in small lots at Goss & Upham and any more I doubt whether he'll make any more at present than at wages he needs, Eliab with him & will have in time perhaps - you speak of J as clear headed foresighted & so he is - but not more so than E nor so much either consider the difference in age. I suspect you & all of us have undervalued E. He is not only shrewd but clear & deep beyond his years you know he is not twenty yet he can and actually does teach both Mrs Browns boys (& himself besides) in some things. They carry on an immense sight of business & he is (Joseph says) the main spoke in the wheel. Joseph is philosophical, curious and critecising -Eliab has more politeness more natural good feeling perhaps - more versatility and expansiveness of mind but perhaps I have not expressed just my ideas for lack of the right words. You are as you say not much acquainted with him. I wish you were more so he would be perhaps as good a correspondent as Jo if you give him the opportunity. He is quick of apprehension and exceedingly sensitive - I suspect he has the idea that you don't price him quite so high as he deserves in comparison with Joseph. Not the least jealousy tho as I can see about it.
Title
Metcalf, Anna Mayo Stevens Rich (mother) (also from siblings), to Isaac Stevens Metcalf, Isaac Stevens Metcalf family papers, 1844-1851
Creator
Metcalf, Isaac Stevens, 1822-1898
Date
1844-1851
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 3 Folder 77
BibID
821787
Size
3131px × 3941px 70.64 MB
IIIF Resource Type
Canvas
Filename
998217878805867_mms_metcalf_box_03_fl_77_007_002.tif
Unique Identifier
NL11FFGD
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