1849 Boston Massachusetts Stampless Letter - Great Hale Family & History Content

Description

Type:
Stampless Folded Letter (SFL)
Author:
“Mama”
[Sarah Preston Everett Hale (1796-1866), newspaper columnist, diarist]
Origin:
Boston, Massachusetts
Recipient:
Mr. Alexander Hale
[(1829-1850), U.S. government civil engineer]
Care of:
Osmond C. Tiffany, Esq.
[Osmond Capron Tiffany (1783-1851), Baltimore merchant and financier]
Destination:
Baltimore, Maryland
Date
: February 28, 1849
Postmark:
BOSTON 28 FEB 10 Cts
(red circular handstamp).
Pages:
4 pages (3 pages of manuscript + 1 cover page with manuscript).
Wax Seal:
“H”.
Content:
This letter has great content on the Hale and Everett Family. There is also content on the social life in Boston, including numerous prominent names of the period.
History:
Sarah Preston Everett Hale (b. September 5, 1796 in Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts – d. November 14, 1866 in Brookline, Norfolk County, Massachusetts) was a writer, translator and columnist. Sarah wrote articles for the
Boston Daily Advertiser
which was edited and owned by her husband, Nathan Hale (1784-1863). Her diaries (1850-62) are housed in the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College.
Alexander Hale (July 1, 1829 in Boston, Sulfolk County, Massachusetts -September 23, 1850 in Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida) was a U.S. Government Civil Engineer. Hale was a graduate of Harvard (Class of 1848) and found employment at the U.S. Navy Yard in Pensacola, Florida. His career was cut short when he was lost at sea attempting to help rescue a crew of a ship that was stranded in a storm. He was the son of Nathan Hale (1784-1863) and Sarah Preston Everett Hale (1796–1866).
Below is a list of names found in this letter. I have attempted to determine who most of these people are, however, one can never be completely sure. One complicating factor is many members of the Hale and Everett family had the same first name and lived in the same period. I have gone with the most likely solution which is that many of the first names are the children of Sarah Preston Everett Hale and her husband Nathan Hale (1784-1863). Some of the prominent names stand out, and again I went with the most likely solution based on their ties with the Hale and Everett family in the sources, and other evidence found in the letter itself. More research will be needed.
Lucretia
[Lucretia Peabody Hale (1820-1900), daughter, journalist & author]
Nathan
[Nathan Hale (1784-1863), husband, newspaper publisher & journalist (or her son Nathan Hale (1818-1871)]
Sarah
[Sarah Everett Hale (1817-1851), daughter]
Uncle Edward
[Edward Everett (1794-1865), brother, politician, pastor, educator, & diplomat]
Mr. Sparks
[Jared Sparks (1789-1866), historian, educator and minister]
Susie
[Susan Hale (1833-1910), daughter, author & artist]
Mr. Webster
[Daniel Webster (1782-1852), politician & lawyer]
Charlotte
[Charlotte Gray Brooks Everett (1800-1859), wife of Edward Everett or Charlotte Brooks Everett Wise (1825-1879), daughter of Edward Everett]
Mr. Winthrop
[prob. Robert Charles Winthrop (1809-1894), politician and lawyer]
Charlie
[Charles Hale (1831-1882), son, diplomat and politician]
Edward
[Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909), son, journalist, author, and minister]
Everett Peabody
[(1830-1862), U.S. Army officer in the American Civil War & civil engineer]
Meggie
[Margaret Eliot Harding White (1823-1908)]
Longfellows
[poss. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), poet and educator, and his wife, Frances Elizabeth “Fanny” Appleton Longfellow (1819-1861)]
Other names found -
Mrs. Butler, C.C. Filton
(Fitton?),
Mary Ward, Julia Sumner, Holton
(?),
Miss Dwight, Mrs. Howe
,
Robert, Mrs. Sam. Ward
.
Notes and References:
1.
Dictionary of Women Worldwide, 25,000 Women through the Ages. Volume 1: A-L
. edited by Anne Commire, etc. Thomson/Gale. 2007. (pg 810). 2.
The History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong, of Northampton, Mass
. by Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight. Joel Munsell, 1871 (pg. 344-345). 3.
Find A Grave
(online). 4.
Hale Family Papers. Smith College Libraries
(online). Alexander Hale is referred to as
Elly
in some sources, which explains
Dear Ellie
(although a different spelling). 5.
Harvard Memorial Biographies. Volume 1
edited by T.W. Higginson. 1867 (pg. 151). Has a nice biographical write up on Everett Peabody which states he visited Philadelphia and Washington in the Winter vacation of 1849. 6.
After Noontide
by Margaret Eliot Harding White. Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1907 (pg. 195). Margaret Eliot Harding White was a close friend of Lucretia Peabody Hale going back to their childhood in school. 7.
Ames family historical collection, 1762-2006
, Hollis, Harvard University Library (online). Margaret Eliot Harding White was also nicknamed
"Meggie".
8.
The Carriage Journal, Vol 15 No 4 Spring 1978
(pg. 377). Source on Osmond C. Tiffany.
Condition:
Folds, creases, small tear holes, large tear hole (wax seal), edge wear, light soiling.
Shipping Note:
I do combine orders to save on shipping costs, however please wait for me to send a new invoice before paying.
Item Number
: 2106009