Rose paper and a bottle of ink

My cataloging lately has involved many account books. There is often little to distinguish one from another, so many containing numerous entries for sales of corn, molasses, and rum. Today, the account books of Stephen Coit provided a pleasant surprise.

Stephen Coit was a merchant in Canterbury, Connecticut. We have four of his volumes in our collection, three account books and a day book. Like many merchants of the time, Coit sold a variety of dry goods and food items. Nails, tea, candles, and codfish are among the many items recorded.

As I opened the day book, my eyes settled on a familiar Connecticut name, Miss Prudence Crandall. Prudence Crandall has become our State Heroine for having the strength and courage to educate African-American girls in 1833 and 1834 (her house is now a museum). Not only does the day book demonstrate she routinely purchased from Coit, we also have the corresponding account book detailing her expenditures.

So, wondering what a school teacher in Canterbury, Connecticut purchases from a local merchant? The first time she is listed in the day book she purchased three yards of white flannel, one and three quarter yards linen diaper, three sheets wadding, two skeins black silk, 15 needles, and fine tape.  She spent $3.37 on these items. Other times she would buy ribbon, robe, and crackers. Crandall must have been doing some writing in June 1832. One day that month she purchased rose paper and a bottle of ink.

As late as June 1833, the last month the day book was used, Coit was still conducting business with Crandall. Once Crandall began teaching African-Americans many of the shopkeepers in the area refused to sell to her. There is no indication as to whether Coit was among those shopkeepers. Additionally, Coit left Canterbury at some point in 1833.

The Stephen Coit account books (Account Book collection/Ms. 55740) are open for research. Please come and learn even more about Prudence Crandall!

A messy divorce, 19th century style

Sometimes, our volunteers and interns have all the fun!  If you can call divorce fun.  In the papers of Augustine Harlow (Ms 68508), processed by Zac Mirecki, are a series of letters from Augustine’s sister Flora Barry who was living in Boston.  The letters date from 1872-1873,  and in them she details the actions of her husband, Charles A. Barry, in obtaining a divorce.

The first indication that all was not well is enclosed in a letter dated November 16, 1872.  He wrote: “I have fully resolved to make a change in my domestic affairs on the first of December next.  I am not happy here, and the expense to me in carrying on so large an establishment as this is greater than I can any longer than the first of December willingly meet.”  On December 4, he wrote again: “A few days before you went away from this City–on the 27th of November last–I made known to you that I could not continue to live as we have lived–in an expensive manner. You have been away from home–against my wishes–a large part of the time for several years.”  He tried to get her to agree to a separation, which she refused to do.  Flora was a singer and was on frequent concert tours  and she mentions trips to Maine, Nova Scotia, and Chicago.  Evidently Charles did not like her independent life style.  When he issued his ultimatum to move to a smaller house and stop traveling, she refused and he sued for divorce.  But not before punching her in the eye and cheek and publishing slanderous articles in the Boston newspapers.

The end of the story is that Flora finally filed her own divorce suit against Charles, and when he did not bother to show up, the divorce was granted.  These letters are intriguing in that rarely do we get to see the inner workings of a marriage in total failure.

The  Augustine Harlow papers are a study in contrasts.  The bulk of the collection consists of letters exchanged almost daily between Augustine and his wife, Ella, who had a very happy and loving marriage.  The less positive side of life is reflected in the letters of Emma Jean Ritner, Ella Harlow’s sister, in which she mentions local incidents of rape and sexual assault as well as instances of childhood injury.  Love, courtship, divorce, assault all in one collection.  The research possibilities are endless!

October in the Archives

October was a busy month for the CHS manuscript catalogers. As part of our NHPRC grant funded project, we completed over 120 entries for the online catalog! Here are some of the highlights.

Three of the entries pertain to the Hartford Bridge Company (Account Book collection/Ms 32203,32205,32206) . CHS has a number of items from the Hartford Bridge Company, so while these particular lists of stock shares and tolls collected may not be the most exciting information in our archives,  the company as a whole could make an interesting research topic.

In the spirit of Halloween I will mention the Boston and Albany Railroad Co. Surgeon’s record (Ms. 36423).  This is a record of incidents occurring on railroad property.  Each entry contained the name of the injured individual, their position with the company, what happened,and where they resided (if they survived). Injuries reported included fingers being crushed, ankles being twisted, and more gruesome occurrences, such as bowels being torn open.

What happened in 1802 that caused many members of the Turkey Hills Ecclesiastical Society of East Granby to leave the society and join the Episcopal church? Perhaps the answer is among the Society’s papers (Ms. 100769). Dating between 1737 and 1910, the papers include meeting minutes, treasurers’ accounts, a record of admissions, births, baptisms, marriages and deaths, correspondence, statements of admissions and withdrawals,  documents related to inviting or dismissing pastors, warnings of society meetings, financial records, sales of slips and pews, and documents related to disciplinary actions taken by the society, including complaints, responses to allegations, confessions, and testimony.

Upon her 1862 graduation from the Hartford Female Seminary, Annie B. Wadsworth’s mother gave her an autograph book (Ms. 46297). A precursor to today’s yearbooks, Annie filled the pages with photographs of her Seminary classmates and gathered their signatures.

In 1845 Sarah Coit Day and her daughter Catherine traveled to the Brattleboro (Vermont) Water-Cure for treatment. Day kept a journal (Ms. 47047), writing about taking tepid baths, walking, the view of the Connecticut River, and other people who were also at the facility. Though not mentioned in the journal, the Brattleboro Water-Cure was attended by many well-to-do people, including Harriet Beecher Stowe and her sister, Catharine Beecher.

Just a quick update to a previous post… Rich, our fearless Head of Collections, sent along this bit of information regarding Solomon Porter:  Solomon Porter also became surveyor and and collector of revenues for the port of Hartford in the 19th C.  He was also engaged in the West Indies trade. We have a nice miniature of him in the collection, as well as one or two portraits of his lovely daughter Rebecca Porter Conner. By the way, he married his first cousin!

This Satuday, November 7, is the first Saturday of month. Here at CHS that means FREE admission from 9am to 1pm. Come visit! And while you are here, become a member!!