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half an acre of Corn which he thought very much of did not come up well and will turn out to be nothing his hir'd man is pretty steady and faithful but is slow compared with my boys C. has t do all the milking Mr. Gilman has been here 8 or 9 days fixed the bulkhead the backroom and piazza & a bedroom in the west end of the chamber except the plastering. I wish it could come right for you to be at home next fall how happy we might be. It seems sad to have ye all gone. How would it do & could'nt you get along with it if C. will let you have the oxen - to come here and work. Fro 8 weeks and then go and be there the last half of the term and then take a school somewhere about there or somewhere else during the winter vacation or if you can afford to be out so long not go back till spring the old oxen has got over his lameness is turn'd out to pasture & thriving well Donkey is pretty well broke in is very kind and clever & beautiful nay C. is just breaking Nelly (the new colt) she was stubborn as a mule at first he will bring her to it as she is long and smart a noble animal Old Cate has got a little Cate or a little Becca they call it we milk 4 Cows have got 4 pigs the late sow'd Oats are all dried up almost if we dont have rain soon the crops will be very light haven't I told you now about "every little thing,,. Joseph wrote that he had a letter from you not long since but I have not seen it hope shall have one soon your last great letter journey to Boston etc. was very interesting tis very kind of Mrs. Child to help you so why didn't you stay there more I wish you could have gone to Lowell and why in the world did not you go to Mrs. Caleb Metcalf, & you ought to have call'd on Mrs. Chase & Mrs. Thaxter too. I dont see how you get along without a better coat and new cap - what did you do with your hat you said you couldn't carry it back with you but I suppose you did. If you mean to take a school next fall and winter (& dont see what else you can do) perhaps you had better stay at home till November and then go down east of here ask your Chum about chances that way possibly Mr. Tash may want you to assist him but perhaps he could not afford to give wages enough. tis no harm to think these things all over and see what is best to try to do. Mary Barnes Pomeroy is staying here here 2 months while her Mother is gone a journey - & instead of the little funny nervous troublesome thing I expected she is (tho' rather childish for one of her age) neat smart and frolicsome is all round the lot among the hens & pigs & Calves learning to ride horseback picking strawberries & everywhere in a minute she'll go and catch old Cate put the saddle on herself and ride up & down the road & she has rode Donkey once but C. kept by the side of her Lucy & James & my little Jane Hobbs are just as good playmates for her as anybody notwithstanding she is a girl of good sense and quite accomplish'dI am very glad you went to Boston & think the journey must have been worth a good deal to you to say nothing about the 20 dollars.
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 76
BibID
821787
Size
3183px × 3925px 71.52 MB
IIIF Resource Type
Canvas
Filename
998217878805867_mms_metcalf_box_03_fl_76_005_002.tif
Unique Identifier
NL11FFEO
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