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July 2ndMy Dear Son I thank you for your good letters to myself & Ann-your letters generally haveto much of incoherency & appearance of hurry about them whether it is for the want of time orto show that you are a "business man" I don't know but I think tis usually best to give yourself timeenough to do whatever is worth doing at all - however I am very glad of anything from either of you.Eliab has hardly written a word except what pertain'd to business & was absolutely necessary since hewent there perhaps he don't have time but it seems to me he ought to - I am afraid you work a little to hard or take to little rest and allow yourself to get nervous - take care and keep yourself coolcalm & steady - you are too sensitive and finespun to get along well in the crowd and stand yourground among all the bustle & rebuffs that are unavoidable in a business life but you musttry to toughen your feelings and train yourself to it or stretch your feeling give way and letother people do as they please without being disturbed by it what if you are amongsubject to the "beck and bidding" of such as you discribe try to be humble and faithfulact the part of christian and you will find in almost everyone something that isamiable and lovely you to much reasonable the misanthrope try to think much of yourown fault but be very charitable to the faults of others you are fond of order and methodand is in well to be so but do not let it carry you so far as to be fidgety by the wantof it in others you will accomplish more business and do it better if you allow yourself sufficient rest and relaxation than if you keep yourself in a fever all the time withevery nerve strained - if you've got a good place don't get unease with it theinitiating or probationary state is in any case a state of trial & the greater thetrial the more find and fit for use the subject of it will beand if you are really gaining what will be very useful to you in after life I would not grudge the time if you get but small wages a year oreven 2 or 3 soon pass away but I stop this strain of advise lest your patienceshould quite exhausted but one thing I want you should that isan errand to Mr Brown I was going to write to him, but can't well spare timeit is to ask him to spare Eliab a few day and let him come homewith Charles, tell him I do want to see my baby very much indeed he never has beengone so long from me you know before, besides I think he absolutely needs to havea few days or his health will suffer by it - it would be very bad for him to be sick there& if he should come home and the fresh air and relaxation might prevent itMary says tell him to come do I want to see him you cant think how she does enjoyherself flying about like a squirrel among the cows & calico pigs & chickens: Strawberriesetc. riding on Cate & Donkey she has inform'd herself more now about all the matters &things on a farm, than Ann would in a year she lives upon strawberries & milk has grownfat and smart - I expected C. would go last thursday but it rain'd so that he could not go tellE that it will be just in good time for strawberries next week and do try to have him come.written across letter I meant to inquire about price of wooll but haven't had time Will if I can I express in figures on back or face of letter
Title
Metcalf, Anna Mayo Stevens Rich (mother), to Joseph M. Metcalf (brother) (also from Eliab Metcalf, brother), Isaac Stevens Metcalf family papers, 1845-1850
Creator
Metcalf, Isaac Stevens, 1822-1898
Date
1845-1850
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 87
BibID
821787
Size
3470px × 4355px 86.51 MB
IIIF Resource Type
Canvas
Filename
998217878805867_mms_metcalf_box_04_fl_87_001_001.tif
Unique Identifier
NL11FGD9
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