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Brownville Dec. 29th 1853My very Dear Children Here I am on the verge of Civilization in this direction Notwithstanding I did recieve two good letters from you Isaac with a little from Nettie Dated 7 & 11th of Dec. I feel very anxious to hear from Charles--dont know whether Albina has had any letter or not I thought of ever so much last night when abed & not sleeping to say to you which I cant think of just nowyou say Etties health is improving I rejoice that it is from not seeing all the letters or that you did not write very plainly about it I have not been aware of the State of her health I had known that she did not get strong but thought it all- the hot weather & nursing. If she does not get strong and well perhaps it would be necessary to wean baby yet it would be a pity to do it till shorter nights - another thing had not Ettie better come east when Charles comes home whether you can come or not. O I do want to see her & baby to say nothing about yourself. Am not at all dispos'd to dispute your assertion about the baby for tis said that the first baby is always one of the very few perfect things under the Sun. Sam'l Conant! He is about Charles's age large & stout rather venturous & incautious for a Conant & tho' quiet and bashful is a little apt to boast of what he can do & tell large things considering whose son he is. But perhaps I do him wrong I have had just no acquaintance with him since he was a boy. I never saw his wife but suppose she[[left hand side] ]Almeda lives so far away that I could get very little news and letters while there but yester when Sam'l came from Bangor we got a good bundle of Letters what a feast I did have I have got my sheet full but I want to add a word to Charles Jan. 6 I have just been[[top of page] ]down to the barn saw Uncle Marks horse there very well ? to live and all the rest of the creatures looking very hungry I dont know how they feel I am afraid they will be very short for fodder having to keep the oxen till now & perhaps a week or two longer - however I suppose I know very little about the matterupside down John will get your colt trained he just call'd here on his way to Charl's and Norman with him tis 9 oclock now
Title
Metcalf, Anna Mayo Stevens Rich (mother), to Isaac and Antoinette B.P. Metcalf (wife), 1852-1860, Isaac Stevens Metcalf family papers
Creator
Metcalf, Isaac Stevens, 1822-1898
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 4 Folder 83
BibID
821787
Size
3455px × 4370px 86.43 MB
IIIF Resource Type
Canvas
Filename
998217878805867_mms_metcalf_box_04_fl_83_001_004.tif
Unique Identifier
NL11FG7Y
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