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Milo AprilMy Dear Son We rec'd letter from you by (Mr. Newton) way of Bangor whereof we were glad You say you have made up all your studies I think you must have been very diligent take care and not study too hard "the young man glories in his strength,, but does not Joseph's narrow escape as well as the very unusual Mortality all around us ought to make us realize that tho' we may feel ever so secure there is but a step between us and death. How grateful we ought to be for the immutable mercies we enjoy particularly for Joseph's preservation from death & yours from severe sickness. I suppose they have written you all about it (the flood at Bangor) All Joseph says about it in his letter to me is - I am reported about here to have narrowly escap;d from the rush at 12 P.M. Saturday night with life & tow'd out our Christophe by the Collar. I'll send you part of Ann's letter but be sure you bring it back again. Am very glad to hear of your Bible class I fear that you have been so much engag'd in your other studies that you have neglected the study of the Bible to much which would be worse you know than throwing away gold & diamonds for the sake of gathering up sand and sawdust. Charles will endeavor to be in Bangor in time to bring you home if you conclude to come that way. I have been counting the weeks this long time and begin to count the days but oh! the time will be so short that you will have to stay. I expect Ann & the boys will come home while you are here or rather when you do. Almeda feels almost discouraged about trying to carry on her farm & so does Charles his, it is so difficult hiring labour. C. is not near as "spunky,, about work as he us'd to be health not so good perhaps Says he has work'd hard and got nothing for it long enough he thinks he should like to get into some other business but perhaps it wouldn't be so well for him if he could...I say if you can possibly spare money enough for it get your 'Dag" before you come homeI guess we can Hire some money of the S. of T. for you.
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
3300px × 3985px 75.28 MB
IIIF Resource Type
Canvas
Filename
998217878805867_mms_metcalf_box_03_fl_77_003_001.tif
Unique Identifier
NL11FFFU
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