1
10
5
-
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18th cen.: Correspondence including enslavement and servitude documents
Subject
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Original documents and annotated transcriptions related to servitude at this property, or produced during the period 1745 - 1883 during which people were enslaved at this Hadley farmstead.
Description
An account of the resource
Original documents and annotated transcriptions related to servitude at this property, or produced during the period 1745 - 1883 during which people were enslaved at this Hadley farmstead.
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A project of the Amherst College American Studies course "Global Valley" in collaboration with the Porter Phelps Huntington Foundation and University of Massachusetts Special Collections and University Archives.
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These documents are the property of the University Massachusetts Special Collections and University Archives. This is an ongoing project and additional materials will be added over time.
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Contact UMass SCUA for permission to publish or reproduce these materials.
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1789.08.28 — Charles Phelps to Moses Charles Porter Phelps, August 28, 1789
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An account of the resource
A letter from Charles Phelps to his son Moses Phelps, which begins with Charles gently chastising Moses for failing to write and leaving the family to learn he had arrived at school safely from Mr. Houses who brought Moses a horse. The letter then details how and when Moses will receive the items he requested from the family. Next Charles briefly touches on how Moses should handle school finances and related administrative matters, before launching into advice and expectations for Moses’s four years at college. After warning Moses of potential pitfalls and reminding Moses of his standards, Charles closes the letter warmly. Under the signature, Charles adds a post script, informing Moses of the recent sudden death of Aaron Gorgrich, and the uncertainty around his cause of death.
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Charles Phelps
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Porter-Phelps-Huntington Family Papers (Box 4, Folder 5)
University of Massachusetts Special Collections and University Archives
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1789
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Public domain
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Letter
Scripto
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A written representation of a document.
Hadley 28th August 1789 -
My son,
By Mr. Howse who brought the horse, we heard you got down safe, I expected you would have wrote - but must suppose you had not time.
Your things you sent back for, We send by Mr. Wright - I expected to have had a pair of shoes for you, but [Peck?] will not have them finished seasonably - and shall send them by Eleazer Porter some time next week -
I expect you will write respecting Robbins money, the steward’ Bill - and other Matters by Mr. Wright – I hope you mind your studies and improve your time profitably - your four years at College (if you should live) will soon be gone - and to go thro college and not touch as we commonly sayof poor Scholars - will be very disagreeable to me - however it may to you - I therefore warn you in season - Remember to avoid all bad company - and especially card playing – and let your behavior be equal to your advantages - remember likewise to be serious, as your life is uncertain, be diligent to make your calling and education sure -
I am your very affectionate father
Charles Phelps
PS Aaron Gorgrich dyed on Tuesday night very suddenly some supposed by the bite of a dog - others, of a putrid malignant pleurisy —
Aaron Gorgrich
advice
Card Playing
Charles Phelps
College
death
education
Eleazer Porter
family
Father
Hadley
James Robbins
Morals
Moses Phelps
Mr. Wright
Postscript
PS
school
Son
-
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18th cen.: Correspondence including enslavement and servitude documents
Subject
The topic of the resource
Original documents and annotated transcriptions related to servitude at this property, or produced during the period 1745 - 1883 during which people were enslaved at this Hadley farmstead.
Description
An account of the resource
Original documents and annotated transcriptions related to servitude at this property, or produced during the period 1745 - 1883 during which people were enslaved at this Hadley farmstead.
Creator
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A project of the Amherst College American Studies course "Global Valley" in collaboration with the Porter Phelps Huntington Foundation and University of Massachusetts Special Collections and University Archives.
Source
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These documents are the property of the University Massachusetts Special Collections and University Archives. This is an ongoing project and additional materials will be added over time.
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Contact UMass SCUA for permission to publish or reproduce these materials.
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1788.03.14 — Charles Phelps to Moses Charles Porter Phelps, March 14, 1788
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An account of the resource
Charles Phelps writes to his son, Moses Porter Phelps, who is away at Harvard University to remind him that his primary focus is to his studies and to act with dignity. He reminds Moses that the family misses him and that he may have the opportunity to see Elisha Dickinson and Nodiah Warner at Cambridge.
Creator
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Charles Phelps
Source
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Porter-Phelps-Huntington Family Papers (Box 4, Folder 5)
University of Massachusetts Special Collections and University Archives
Date
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1788
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Letter
Scripto
Transcription
A written representation of a document.
Hadley 14th March 1788
My son
Having an Opportunity by Mr Dickinson, would just inform you, we are all well– I shall not come Down before April- would have you be careful to improve your time well, remember you have now a Price in your hands to get wisdom, and knowledge, and see you have a heart to it– avoid childish notions– and act with the Dignity of a scholar– you may have Opportunity to unite by mister Noadiah Warner and Elisha Dickinson- who are down with cattle they will see you at Cambridge (as they say), having but a moments Time you will excuse the shortness of the Letter– while I subscribe myself your Affectionate Father.
Charles Phelps
Moses P. Phelps
Ps. the Family Desires to be remembered to you–
from my
father date
14th March
1788
My father
Mar. 14 1788~
Mr Moses Porter Phelps
Student
Cambridge
Part by
Mr Dickinson
Reciev.d the written in full of the demands
Of Moses Porter Phelps
C. Phelps Mar. 14. 1788
Cambridge
Cattle
Charles Phelps
College
Elisha Dickinson
Father
Harvard
Moses Porter Phelps
Noadiah Warner
University
-
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Title
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18th cen.: Correspondence including enslavement and servitude documents
Subject
The topic of the resource
Original documents and annotated transcriptions related to servitude at this property, or produced during the period 1745 - 1883 during which people were enslaved at this Hadley farmstead.
Description
An account of the resource
Original documents and annotated transcriptions related to servitude at this property, or produced during the period 1745 - 1883 during which people were enslaved at this Hadley farmstead.
Creator
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A project of the Amherst College American Studies course "Global Valley" in collaboration with the Porter Phelps Huntington Foundation and University of Massachusetts Special Collections and University Archives.
Source
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These documents are the property of the University Massachusetts Special Collections and University Archives. This is an ongoing project and additional materials will be added over time.
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Information about rights held in and over the resource
Contact UMass SCUA for permission to publish or reproduce these materials.
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1788.09.14 — Charles Phelps to Moses Charles Porter Phelps, September 14, 1788
Description
An account of the resource
Charles Phelps informs his Moses (Charles Porter Phelps), studying at Harvard, that Reverend Austin is getting married. In the first part of the letter, Charles Phelps explains how his wife (Elizabeth Porter Phelps) tried to contact Moses in Cambridge, sending a letter and then sending General Porter, both without response. Charles Phelps instructs Moses to meet with Reverend Austin in Cambridge. Charles Phelps then explains that he received a letter from Moses and instructs him to write a letter to Reverend Austin. Charles Phelps affirms the family's good condition. He closes the letter by reminding Moses to remember his family and to be a well-behaved college student.
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Charles Phelps
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Porter-Phelps-Huntington Family Papers (Box 4, Folder 5)
University of Massachusetts Special Collections and University Archives
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1788
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Letter
Scripto
Transcription
A written representation of a document.
Sunday evening 14th Sept 1788
My Son
Having an opportunity by Revd Mr Austin would inform you, your Momma sent you a letter last week by General Porter – but as you were not to be found, He left word to have you meet him in Boston – you not attending to it – and his business calling him home through Little Cambridge, brought the letter home – inclosed I send the Letter – your Momma sends by Mrs Austin / alias Jerusha Hopkins / for the [article?] she desired you to get in her letter to you – Mr Austin is to be marryed to Miss Jerusha Hopkins, this evening – and tomorrow they set out for Boston if he comes to Cambridge you will hear him with Complacence – I received your Letter by Roger Smith left Fryday – you will write by Mr Austin if you have opportunity – We are all well and desire to be remembered to you – Behave yourself as a steady, studious, youth –
I am your Affectionate Father,
Charles Phelps
Austin
Boston
Cambridge
Charles Phelps
College
Elizabeth Porter Phelps
Father
General Porter
Harvard College
Jerusha Hopkins
Marriage
Moses Porter Phelps
mother
Parent
Roger Smith
University
wedding
-
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Title
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18th cen.: Correspondence including enslavement and servitude documents
Subject
The topic of the resource
Original documents and annotated transcriptions related to servitude at this property, or produced during the period 1745 - 1883 during which people were enslaved at this Hadley farmstead.
Description
An account of the resource
Original documents and annotated transcriptions related to servitude at this property, or produced during the period 1745 - 1883 during which people were enslaved at this Hadley farmstead.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
A project of the Amherst College American Studies course "Global Valley" in collaboration with the Porter Phelps Huntington Foundation and University of Massachusetts Special Collections and University Archives.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
These documents are the property of the University Massachusetts Special Collections and University Archives. This is an ongoing project and additional materials will be added over time.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Contact UMass SCUA for permission to publish or reproduce these materials.
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1787.12.11 — Charles Phelps Jr. to Moses Charles Porter Phelps, December 11, 1787
Description
An account of the resource
Father Charles Phelps sends a letter to his son Moses Charles Porter Phelps at his college in Cambridge (Harvard University). He explains that the family has not heard from their son in some time, and offers him an opportunity to send a letter back via Colonel Lyman, who might have been his primary and secondary school teacher and who will be in the area in coming days.
Charles then goes on to offer Moses advice concerning how he should carry himself as a young scholar as he enters the academic world. He recommends that his son associate himself with virtuous people, behave himself, and be sure to keep reading his Bible.
Finally, Charles explains that he will come visit his son in about a month, and informs him of recent town deaths, specifically of a young woman who died at 20 years old.
Creator
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Charles Phelps Jr.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Porter-Phelps-Huntington Family Papers (Box 4, Folder 5)
University of Massachusetts Special Collections and University Archives
Date
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1787
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Type
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Letter
Scripto
Transcription
A written representation of a document.
Hadley 11th—December 1787
My Son—
Having an opportunity of sending a letter by — Col-Lyman– would inform you we are all well, have heard nothing from you since Gen’l-Porter’s return Mr. Paul Wright sat out this morning for Bolton but as he was going in the Pedling way– did not suppose he would get down so soon as Col-Lyman but defined him to call on you. If you have any thing to send you may have opportunity by him perhaps Saturday or the beginning of the next week.
I would recommend to you, to be particular in learning to write, these long evenings, – Much time may be lost in foolish Company – If you intend to make a scholar, you must be a careful improver of time — you must consider you are arriving to a state of manhood, and are now establishing your Character as a scholar– be not trifoling and Vane in your behavior associate yourself with the Virtuous and Wise — and you will guard against any indecent or profane Language — and always, remember you have business to transact between God and your own soul, every Day read your Bible — and learn to be a sober virtuous youth —
I expect, (if it comes snow) to be at Cambridge the second or third day of January, if there is no — sleighing shall send you a horse — We have had no snow yet — there have been several Deaths in Town since you went down – particularly a Daughter of Dea Smith, perhaps, 20 years old was buried last Sunday —
I am your affectionate Father– Cha- Phelps [Charles Phelps Jr.]
7.
My Father
Dec. 11. 1787
Moses Porter Phelps
Student
Cambridge
Honored by Col- Lyman
From my father dated
Dec 11th 1787
C. Phelps Dec 11 1787
(Charles) Moses Porter
Cambridge
Charles Phelps
Colonel Charles Lyman
Dea (Deacon) Smith
death
education
Father
General Porter
Hadley
Morals
Mr. Wright
snow
Son
Student
-
https://www.ats.amherst.edu/globalvalley/files/original/a3bc87fa8318b9184887a2ab673dd60b.pdf
afc94e579dd4753f66b279bfc27b2208
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Title
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19th cen: Huntington family correspondence
Subject
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Original documents and annotated transcriptions primarily of letters between Elizabeth and Dan Huntington and their eleven children.
Description
An account of the resource
Original documents and annotated transcriptions primarily of letters between Elizabeth and Dan Huntington and their eleven children.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
These letters are the property of the University Massachusetts Special Collections and University Archives. This is an ongoing project and additional letters will be added over time.
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Contact UMass SCUA for permission to publish or reproduce these materials.
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A project of the Amherst College American Studies course "Global Valley" in collaboration with the Porter Phelps Huntington Foundation and University of Massachusetts Special Collections and University Archives.
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1841.12.13 - Elizabeth Huntington to Edward Huntington, Dec. 13th, 1841
Creator
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Elizabeth Whiting Phelps Huntington
Source
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Porter-Phelps-Huntington Family Papers (Box 12 Folder 5)
Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
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Courtesy of the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Foundation
For permissions contact Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Correspondence
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1841-12-13
Description
An account of the resource
From the letter, we learn that the Edward had been writing to her consistently, yet this letter was one of the first responses. Elizabeth used to think that Edward had been in solitude but had learned of all of the things he was doing and being a part of. She thought that her letters were the only thing in his life, but it turned out otherwise. His brothers and their families recently journeyed from Providence, and they were able to safely travel back home. Helen had gotten sick from the visit to Elizabeth’s. Elizabeth gives Edward all the family events and occurrences that had happened since he was gone, including his family meeting with Mr. Cunningham. She implies that he probably gambled too much. There is also a new plan for a meeting house in town. His father had recently gone through rheumatic pains, and he is still struggling. Elizabeth fills Edward in about the other members of the family, says that Bethia is sewing and his father is indebted to him. This letter to Edward shows that Elizabeth wanted him to know everything he has missed since he had been gone. She waited a while to respond to him, but she still wanted to give him an update on things that affected his family and community since his absence.
Scripto
Transcription
A written representation of a document.
D. Huntington P.M.
Free
Decem.. 14th N. Hadley
Mr.. Edward P. Huntington
Cabotville
[SP][1].. MA
Dec. 13th 1841- Dear Edward,
From a remark in your last letter to Bethia, I infer that you have done expecting that I should write you. It is very reasonable for you to draw this conclusion, from my having so long neglected to notice your kind attention in writing to me. Strange as it may seem to you, it is a fact that I think of you with far less solicitude, (not with less affectionate regard,) than I did six months ago. I then felt for you as without society, solitary, and by stealth as it were, taking your scanty refreshment.[2] Now, what a change has taken place. Instead of thinking as I then did, that one of my letters might be as relief in the dull monotony of your life, I am rather fearful that it will interrupt the steady current of your present enjoyment. From all that I can learn of your domestic arrangements, I am inclined to feel well satisfied, and even highly gratified, so that dismissing anxiety, I have only to hope for a continuance of the blessings which you enjoy, and that you may be assisted to render some acceptable return to our Common Benefactor and unfailing Friend.[4] Your brothers with their wives reach'd home about three o'clock; and I think we ought to notice the hand of a kind and watchful Providence, which so remarkably prospered them on their journey, and brought them home safely. We were sorry to learn by your letters, by then, that Helen's[6] health had suffered from her visit here. I hope she will not always go home from us sick. We have been rather anxious to hear from you, on her account. Before now I trust she is quite well or you would have informed us. Mr. Smith called on Thursday evening and left a letter from Mr. Cunningham. In grasping after too much, he will probably lose it all.[8] Your brothers and sisters – two of the first and three of the last,[9] made a visit last week at Henry Shepherd's.[10] Tomorrow they are to visit Mr. Apthorp [11] – they will probably have some fine musick. The old meetinghouse has traveled as far as Mr. Danforth's garden.[13] The new society or the West street party, have invited Mr. Woodbridge[14] to settle with them and have offered him a salary of six hundred & fifty dollars.[15] The are making preparation to build a meeting house, between Mr. Gaylord's house and Dudley Smith's store.[16] In a letter from Lizzy Fisher[17] which Bethia lately received, she mentions their having had yours of the 5th[18] of August, in which she says you "announced your marriage." "Whether or not the marriage took place we cannot tell, but it is certain that we drank to his health and that of his wife, at dinner, on that day."[19] We have had no letter from Frederick[20] since he left us. In about a month we shall hope to see him again. Perhaps while he is with us we shall look in upon you, if there should be sleighing. Your father has not been able to shake off entirely his rheumatic pains; He went into the woods every day last week and made a fair trial of what chopping would do for it, but it is there yet.[22] Bethia, who is sewing at my side sends her love to you and Helen. Your father on the opposite side of the table is absorbed with a newspaper. He is indebted to you for the amusement of many of his leisure hours.[23] I was at Charles' yesterday between meetings, Helen has had an augur for a week past. Mills[24] is getting better. The last letter we had from William[24] came while you were here after your marriage. As you and Helen are one, she of course will take her share of what is written to you, especially in the affectionate regard with which I subscribe myself as ever your mother
Elizabeth
(Note: Written on the side of the first page: "Pray excuse the blot, and all the blunders." A small blot of ink stains the left side of the first page about halfway down it, while Elizabeth occasionally adds a forgotten word or phrase in superscript. Those superscript words have been incorporated into the body of the text in this translation. Also written on the side of the first page, lower down, are the phrases in pencil "domestic economy" "social relations." They appear to be catargorizing notations by a scholar, archivist, or family member.)
[1] Unclear. May be "SP" in reference to Springfield, to which Cabotville was proximate
[2] In 1839, Edward and his wife, Helen Maria Williams Huntington (1819-1902), moved to Cabotville, near Springfield in Massachusetts. Apparently, his mother worried that his life there was a dismal and socially isolated one, but, as she continues in the letter's first paragraph, soon changes her mind and regards Edward's life as happy and dynamic.
[4] In the context of the sentence, "Common Benefactor" and "unfailing Friend" appear to be references to God. The words are capitalized, a practice generally applied when referring to God, and the writer implies that Edward should give in return for the "blessings" that entity has provided.
[6] Presumably Helen Maria Williams Huntington (1819-1902), the wife of Edward Phelps Huntington.
[8] The precise implication of this cryptic statement is unclear, though it may suggest that the aforementioned Mr. Cunningham, whose letter Mr. Smith left after his visit, had allocated an excessive share of his assets to a failed investment or business venture.
[9] By 1841 Bethia and Elizabeth were the only sisters still living. William was away in the west and this letter similarly may mention that Frederick is away from home. The other brothers available to visit are Charles, Theodore, and Theophilus .
[10] This Henry Shepherd may be the future resident of the eponymous Shepherd House in Northampton, which Shepherd's wife, Susan Monroe Shepherd, purchased in 1856. It is not immediately clear where the Shepherds lived prior to then, or whether that was the Henry Shepherd to whom Elizabeth refers. a. "Historic Northampton: Shepherd House, c. 1796." Historic Northampton. 2012. <http://www.historic-northampton.org/virtual_tours/architecture/q1shepardhouse.htm>.
[11] Mr. "Apthorp," could be a descendant or close relative of a wealthy Charles Apthorp of Boston whose tax burden was the greatest in that city in 1758, when it exceeded 540 Connecticut pounds. a. Judd, Sylvester. History of Hadley, including the Early History of Hatfield, South Hadley, Amherst, and Granby. Springfield, MA: H.R. Huntting & Company. 1905. p. 305.
[13] Possibly the Rev. Francis Danforth, the seventh pastor of the First Religious Society (apparently later called the First Congregational Church) in Hadley. He served as pastor there from 1839 to 1842. Elizabeth's statement, "The old meetinghouse has traveled as far as Mr. Danforth's garden," refers to the move of the First Congregational Church in 1841, indicating that the church building's relocation brought it next to, or even onto, its pastor's own property. See note thirteen, immediately following, for a substantive explanation of the event and its context.
[14] In 1659, the residents of Hadley established the First Congregational Church, and in 1808 built its present chapel along what was then known as Front Street but which is now, and was when Elizabeth wrote her letter in 1841, called West Street. Then, Hadley was essentially divided into two major parallel streets, West Street and Middle Street, which remain the major residential streets of the original town. In 1841, the residents of West Street and Middle Street agreed to move the church building to a location roughly equidistant to each street (Hoffenberg). However, the Middle Streeters eventually demanded that the building be moved to their street. This demand produced a dispute – one nineteenth-century writer dubbed in the “Feud of the Streets” (Wright 59) - that led the Middle Streeters to physically move the 1808 building to the intersection of Middle Street and the present Rt. 9 and caused the West Streeters to erect their own place of worship on their street (Hoffenberg). The "society of the West street party" that Elizabeth mentions refers to the is the Russell Society, the name assumed by those West Streeters who chose in 1841 to establish their own more proximate church in response to the Middle Streeters' demands (Judd 436). The two churches reconciled less than fifty years later, and most of the West Streeters returned to church now on Middle Street (Wright 59). During what essentially amounted to a schism, the Russell Society, which took its name from its first pastor, the Rev. John Russell, enticed the Rev. John Woodbridge, D.D. (the "Mr. Woodbridge" Elizabeth mentions) to serve as its pastor, and Woodbridge served from 1842 to 1857. Woodbridge had previously led the First Religious Society (the congregation of the First Congressional Church) (Judd 436). a. Hoffenberg, Noah. "The Rock of Hadley: First Congressional Church celebrates 350 years." GazetteNET (Daily Hampshire Gazette). October 17, 2009. <http://ns.gazettenet.com/2009/10/17/rock-hadley>. b. Wright, Charles Albert. Some Old Time Meeting Houses of the Connecticut Valley. Chicopee Falls, MA: The Rich Print. 1911. c. Judd, Sylvester. (See the citation under note thirteen.)
[15] Equivalent to approximately $14,644 in 2011. (Methodology: divided listed 2012 Consumer Price Index by 1841 Consumer Price Index; multiplied result by stated salary of $650) a. "Consumer Price Index Estimate: 1800-2012." Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. 2012. <http://www.minneapolisfed.org/community_education/teacher/calc/hist1800.cfm>.
[16] It is unclear which Mr. Gaylord the letter refers to, though the Gaylord family appears to be a prominent one in Hadley, beginning with the arrival of William Gaylord of Windsor, CT on February 25, 1651 (55). Dudley Smith, as the letter suggests, was a merchant, born in 1793 or 1794 and dying in 1858 (136). He also served as town clear from 1834 to 1841 (452). (See citation in note thirteen for source.)
[17] Uncertain, but possibly a nickname for Elizabeth Porter Huntington Fisher (1803-1864), Edward's second-eldest sibling.
[18] The specific date is unintelligible, though it may be a poorly written "5" or "6."
[19] That "Lizzy Fisher," very possibly Edward's sister, suggests, "Whether or not the marriage" of Edward and Helen "took place, I cannot tell," implies a soft sardonic quality in "Lizzy." The sister would almost certainly have taken a revelation so personal and serious from a loved one as credible. Thus, the expression of doubt from Lizzy seems more wry than anything else.
[20] Unclear, this may be the youngest brother, Frederick Dan Huntington, but also possibly the writer's grandson, Frederick Pitkin Fisher, who was born in 1828 and thus would have been thirteen, and thus boarding-school-aged, at the time of the letter’s authorship. a. "Frederick Pitkin Fisher (1828-1886)." Ancestry.com. <http://records.ancestry.com/Frederick_Pitkin_Fisher_records.ashx?pid=172267962>.
[22] Edward's father, Dan Huntington, was apparently suffering from the normal physical effects of old age but was still agile enough to engage in physical labor. At the time of the letter's authorship, he would have been 67, having been born in 1774. He would live another 23 years, dying at the extraordinarily old age of 89 or 90. (See the citation under note one.)
[23] In 1841, Edward became editor of the Cabotville Chronicle. Elizabeth states that Edward has provided "the amusement of many of his [father's] leisure hours." In the sentence immediately prior, Elizabeth notes that Dan Huntington, her husband, was reading a newspaper at the time of her writing. Thus, it would seem that Dan has been receiving at least some of his son's newspapers and is enjoying them. (See the citation under note three.)
[24] To whom does "Mills" refer? There are several members of the Porter-Phelps-Huntington with a surname or middle name "Mills," apparently deriving from Helen Sophia Mills Huntington, who married Charles Phelps Huntington, Edward's eldest brother, in 1827. Helen Sophia – apparently unrelated to Edward's wife, Helen – bore seven children and died, at age 37, in 1844. (See citation under note three.)
[25] Probably William Pitkin Huntington (1804-1885), another of Edward's elder brothers, now a missionary in the western US.
Bethia
church
Dudley Smith
Edward
Elizabeth
Father
Frederic
Henry Shepherd
Journey
Lizzy Fisher
Meeting house
Mills
Mr. Apthorp
Mr. Cunningham
Mr. Danforth
Mr. Gaylord
Mr. Smith
Mr. Woodbridge
music
NEEDS EDITING
Newspaper
sewing
West Street Party