Newberry Library - Nathan Kendall and Abby J. Reed Kendall family correspondence [box 02], 1842-1875

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Title Nathan Kendall and Abby J. Reed Kendall family correspondence [box 02], 1842-1875

Creator Kendall, Abby J., b. 1827, Kendall, Nathan R.

Date Created 1842-1875

Subjects Spouses, Steamboats

Description Formerly known as Ayer MS 470a and Ayer MS 3114.

Summary Mainly correspondence, but also diaries, mss. and biographical notes of Nathan Kendall, his wife, Abby J. Reed Kendall, and their immediate families and friends, dating primarily from 1842 to 1911. Included are the couple's numerous courtship letters and correspondence during later separations, and a collection of their small diaries. There is also correspondence with siblings, cousins, friends, former students, and business associates, including Charles Reed's on his California gold rush experiences, 1849-1855, and Agnes Allen's on travel to California via Panama. Among the many subjects covered are the activities of family and friends, frank references to physical love and conception, health, farming chores and problems, and other issues ranging from the minutiae of daily living to major topics of the day. There are also schoolgirl essays of Nathan Kendall's first wife, Josephine Stedman, and biographical notes on family members.

Biographical/Historical Note Members of two Massachusetts families who married in 1857 and raised a family of four sons, first in Indiana and later in Illinois. Born in 1827 of Stephen and Jerusha Moore Reed, Abby J. Reed taught school in New England prior to her 1857 marriage and move to La Porte, Indiana. Her husband, Nathan R. Kendall, born in 1824 to Jane and Paul R. Kendall, served as principal of academies in New England, Kentucky, and Ohio, before becoming a civil engineer in 1853. While residing in La Porte, Indiana, during the 1850's, he superintended the Cincinnati, Peru and Chicago Railway and owned a lumber mill. Kendall also acquired considerable agricultural land, including farms near Kankakee, Illinois, and Goodland, Indiana. Chronically ill with lung disease, Nathan Kendall died at age 47. Abby Kendall lived to be 85.

Extent 4 cubic ft. (7 boxes)

Format Correspondence

Archival Collection Title Nathan Kendall and Abby J. Reed Kendall papers

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 record

Call Number Midwest MS Kendall-Reed

BibID 134252

IIIF Resource Type Manifest

IIIF Resource ID https://collections.newberry.org/IIIF3/Presentation/Manifest/2KXJ8Z44PHY5

Original File Name 991342528805867_mms_kendall_reed_box_02_fl_0021_001

Unique identifier NL1145N2

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