Sarah Orne Jewett to an unknown recipient, possibly Mary Rice Jewett
[ After 1871 ]
…….…I didnt know which room she wanted them for. This day has been devoted to friendship. I went to find Susy Ward in Fullton St., but she was in Washington and I had a few pleasant minutes with Dr. Ward,* and then had to come back to lunch for I was kept so late by my story man before I could start.
Notes
The line of points presumably indicates an omission from the manuscript.
Susy Ward ... Dr. Ward: Susan and William Hayes Ward. See Key to Correspondents.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
NY Public in Sargent, George H. Collection.
NYPL description https://archives.nypl.org/mss/2677
This letter pretty clearly is in his autograph collection, listed here.
https://archives.nypl.org/mss/2677#c1324879
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mr. Griffiths*
My dear Mr. Griffiths
I return the book with many thanks. I forgot to send it to you last night, but I hope it will reach you before you go away.
Sarah O. Jewett
7 May --
Notes
1872-1909: This letter seem likely to have been written at any time during Jewett's adult life, limited to those times when she was in South Berwick.
Griffiths: No person of this name appears elsewhere in Jewett's correspondence as it is currently known. His identity as well as the date and context of this note remain unknown. Probably it was written during Jewett's adult life, between roughly 1870 and 1908.
This manuscript is held in the George Henry Sargent papers. Manuscripts and Archives Division. The New York Public Library. Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.
This transcription is from a photocopy held by the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, the Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Georgina Halliburton to Sarah Orne Jewett
Dear Sarah
I have only time to write [ a ? ] line -- may I expect all my hopes that you will come & pass Christmas. If I can I shall pass Friday with [ Edith ?] {.}* [We ? ] will come home together. I trust nothing will prevent.
1870s: This guess at a date is supported only by the fact that the other letters between Jewett and Halliburton in the Columbia collection date from this decade.
Edith: Probably Edith Bell Haven (Mrs. Charles Cogswell) Doe. See Halliburton in Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Columbia University (New York) Library in Special Collections, Jewett. Transcription from a microfilm copy and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Edith Bell Haven Doe
Dear Mrs. Doe
The other books were
^are^ not published, so the man sent the money to Georgie,*
which she will keep until he can get the books, or send back
to you as you may direct --
I brought the message night before last
and meant to have seen you yesterday, but I could not -- There
was no news in particular -- The family
[ Page 2 ]
were all well and sent love to you. In a hurry
yrs. affly Sarah
Thursday morning
Notes
Undated: No information in this letter yet offers help with dating it.
Georgie: Georgina Halliburton. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of the letter is held by the Houghton Library
of Harvard University: Box: 5 Identifier: MS Am 1743, (251),
Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence II. Letters from Sarah
Orne Jewett. Doe, [Mrs ] recipient. 1 letter; [n.d.]
Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Charles Henry Bell*
My dear Mr. Bell:
I meant to write a letter to the family this morning but in the first place I slept (as usual) until the last minute, and in the second place I find two thick letters lying on my desk directed
to Aunt Mary & Persis. So I am just going to send you a note enclosing the two book-marks which I hunted up last night as soon as I had eaten my supper. It is very still here, but I am consoled by hearing
that Tom Thumb* is to exhibit himself and family at an early day, so I live just now in that charming anticipation!
We have had so many nice talks already about our charming visit at the Cove, and have laughed over our sprees, but after
all I shall remember longest the quiet part of it all and the bits of talk that seem now to have been like lulls in a storm. With much love to the household and thanks for all the kindness & pleasure
Sarah O. Jewett
Notes
Bell: See Mary Elizabeth Gray Bell in Key to Correspondents. The Bell family summer home was "The Cove," at Little Boar's Head in North Hampton, NH.
It seems likely, though not certain, that this letter was composed before the marriage of Mary Persis Bell to Hollis Russell Bailey on 12 February 1885; she seems to be living with her parents at the time of this letter. It certainly was written before the death of Charles H. Bell on 11 November 1893. As Jewett visited the Bell family at the Cove nearly every summer through her life, the letter could have been written almost any July in her adult life through 1883, the summer before the death of Charles Stratton (see note below).
Tom Thumb: It seems likely that Jewett refers to Charles Sherwood Stratton aka General Tom Thumb (1838 - 15 July 1883), "an American dwarf, who achieved great fame as a performer under circus pioneer P. T. Barnum." His performances included plays as well as music and comedy. Jewett is likely to have seen him, if she did, in nearby Exeter, NH, where he performed several times before his early death.
The manuscript of this letter is held by Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA: Sarah Orne Jewett Papers, 1849-1909 Series 1: Correspondence, MC 128 Box 1, Folder 8.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Mary Follett Palmer to Sarah Orne Jewett
Wednesday.
West Newton.
Please believe that Mr. Palmer and I deeply appreciate your kindness
in giving, and our gift.
We shall read the book with great pleasure, not alone for what it contains, but for its author, who
Thank you most warmly. I hope we may be able to thank you in person some day.
Mary Follett Palmer
Notes
1909: Were I able to identify Mrs. Palmer, the letter offers hints that could narrow the date range. As it is, Jewett could have given Palmer one of her books at virtually any time after Deephaven appeared in 1877, up until the beginning of 1909, when she suffered her first stroke.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, bMS Am 1743 Box 4, Item 173. I. Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Katherine Mosley to Sarah Orne Jewett
My dear Miss Jewett
Between the [ unrecognized word ] from [ unrecognized word ] (if they come from there? ) and those from the spraying
machine, I am afraid the peonies are not what they have been in other years. But I am sending them none-the-less just to show I know it is
With much love always in which [ "Longy" ? ] joins us, from
Katherine Mosely.*
Notes
1908: It seems this letter could have been composed at any time in Jewett's adult life.
Mosely: This person has not yet been identified. Though the Houghton folder for this letter shows her given name as "Katherine," Mosely seems to have written "Katharine."
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, bMS Am 1743 Box 4, Item . I. Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Mary E. Burt to Sarah Orne Jewett [ Fragment ]
The children take a personal interest in such a list as well as a greater interest in Authors and their books.
I will try to reciprocate the favor if you can take the time to grant it, in my own way and time.
Mary E. Burt
Jones School
Room 2
Chicago
Notes
1909: Jewett may have received this letter almost anytime after she began publishing.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 1, Item 33 I. Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett probably to Mary Rice Jewett and Caroline Jewett Eastman*
[Before 1878 or between 1892 and April 1897 ]
Dear Girls
……….It wasn't you being busy that was unnoticed, but you said that it was a beautiful morning and we would go somewhere if I were home, and I thought it was proper for you to go anyway, and I afterward found that you did, so I laughed. But I always think the fuller we can make our lives when we are apart the more we have to give when we are together -- which has a didactic tone, but you will please excuse. I think sometimes people who are a great deal together get to be each one-legged when they are apart -- and it is not useful to be one-legged.
Notes
Eastman: Jewett often writes to both of her sisters, sometimes addressing them as "girls." That no other family members are mentioned suggests that the letter comes from before Caroline's marriage in 1878, but it may come from between the deaths of her husband, Edward, in March 1892 and of Caroline in April 1897.
The line of points presumably indicates an omission from the manuscript.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilian Woodman Aldrich
Thursday [ 1880 - 1902 ]
Indeed I will pour the tea (and make every body's too sweet!) with the greatest of pleasure.
Mary* thanks you so much for your kindness and the invitation, and regrets she can't be there --
'Sadie'*
Notes
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
'Sadie': Sadie Martinot was a Jewett nickname with the Aldriches, presumably after the American actress and singer, Sarah/Sadie Martinot. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Bailey Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2728.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilian Woodman Aldrich
Dear Lilian
May I be a little late at your lunch? because if you wont mind that I will accept with many thanks -- I was not sure you had come home from New York until ^this morning when^ we read Mr. Pierce's* name in a paper. I wish to hear all about
your good times -----
I shall be glad to see Mifs Sprague* again --
"Sadie"*
Notes
1880 - 1896: This letter was almost certainly composed after 1880 when Aldrich became editor at Atlantic, definitely before Henry L. Pierce's death in 1896.
Mr. Pierce's: Henry Lille Pierce. See Key to Correspondents.
Mifs Sprague: While this can only be speculation, it is possible this is Mary Aplin Sprague (1849-1939), author of An Earnest Trifler (1880), a novel praised by William Dean Howells.
Sadie: Sadie Martinot was a Jewett nickname with the Aldriches, presumably after the American actress and singer, Sarah/Sadie Martinot. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Baily Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2722.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[Winter 1881-1891]*
My dear darling
I didn't read a word in the cars and I must say that the way seemed long! It was a lovely brown and gold winter afternoon with a cold clear yellow sunset and a great wind that really rocked the car to and fro when the trained stopped at those little stations on the marshes, but the air was fresh and sweet and not too cold. I thought and thought of you my darling and I had such a pain in my heart when I thought that I had been cross only it wasn't with you. I felt so baffled and helpless and as if I were doing wrong just when I had meant to do right. [AF parentheses begins] I don't mean that I am going to talk all about things in this letter [end parentheses] -- for you know how it is with me better than I do myself -- and know all that I could say, except that I must tell you over again how dearly I love you and always have you in my heart as I could never have anybody else. It is as much a love born into me and grown into me as for Mary and Carrie and Stubby, and what you are to me and have been in my life I can never write or say. So when I have to say no to any wish of yours or have to come away when you wish I would stay it hurts me terribly. Do remember always how I think and think to [of?] you if I am away ----
[AF parentheses begins] I found Mary very cheerful thank Heaven, and enjoying her visit from Stubby who still remains -- his father having taken the little room while Carrie is ill. She is looking weak, but getting on pretty well I should think and the grippe is taking its course so that she ought to be better now in a day or two. Mary has been busy between the two houses & [unreadable] has been good.
I am going to the bank and so I must end my letter. Good bye dear darling Fuff -- from
Earlier transcriber notes.
A Letter from Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Fields
(nd - but written while Ned Eastman was still alive. AF has
marked a couple of passages with parentheses in pencil)
New notes
Winter. Theodore Eastman (Stubby) was born
on 4 August 1879. His father, Edwin Eastman, died 18
March 1892. Jewett's intimate letters to Fields begin in
1881.
The manuscript of this letter is at the University of New
England, Maine Women Writers Collection, Jewett
Collection correspondence corr058-soj-af-07. New
transcription by Terry & Linda Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields [1881 or
later]
"The country is beautiful to look at, but it is such clear cold weather that you feel as if you were under a great block of clear, shining ice, instead of air and sky. There is a grey cloud-bank hanging over the sea all along the eastern horizon and I think it is going to snow again, or rain. The wood-sleds are creeping out of the woods and into the village, and the oxen are like rocks from the pastures, or the tops of ledges, they look so hard and tough and frosted over.
You are like my monkey and the
jack-in-the-box with your meetings. Some day you will get up a
big one that will scare you to death."
Note
This letter appears in Annie Fields, Letters of Sarah Orne Jewett (1911), Transcribed by Annie Adams Fields, with notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[ After 1881 ]
Dear Mary
………….…What an empty calico bag Vallie* is! She is devoured by self love and self pity poor thing -- if anybody wants to see where those things lead a person there she stands -- miserable herself and making everybody miserable and bored. Only a little while ago, I wrote of Discontent* and a note, that was all no good. Well, we can see what turns up but cant give her either Mr. Howell's letter or Mr. Aldriches* the latter only signs his name to the letters I want to keep -- the rest are but notes with an initial. She wears me all out only to think of her. Oh my “sister now blows a great whoo like Fappy Rice”. I wonder if people stopped doing she would turn round and try to please them.# My heart breaks for Mary Harriet a wintering of her, I don't think it was worth a while.
#Now she only tries to make you pleasedwithher -- Whoo!
Notes
after 1881 This letter must have been composed after Jewett become friends with Thomas Bailey Aldrich and would have substantial correspondence from him, which makes 1881 about the earliest likely composition date. The line of points presumably indicates an omission from the manuscript.
Vallie: The later reference to Mary Harriet offers a clue to the identities of people mentioned in this letter. Vallie may be Valeria Denny, sister in law to two Jewett family friends, Augusta Denny Tyler and Mary Harriet Denny. See Augusta Maria Denny Tyler in Key to Correspondents.
Discontent: Jewett may speak of her poem, "Discontent,"which appeared in St. Nicholas (3:247), February 1876.
Mr. Howell's letter or Mr. Aldriches: William Dean Howells and Thomas Bailey Aldrich. See Key to Correspondents.
Fappy Rice: Presumably this is a nickname for a Rice family relative, but this person has not been identified.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett probably to Mary Rice Jewett
[ Saturday a.m. between 1880 and 1903]
I left my letter open thinking that I would send a few lines this morning but I am catching a fair wind & tide to go to H. & Mifflins so I shant stop to write.
Notes
between 1880 and 1903: The composition date
of this letter seems bounded between the formation of
Houghton, Mifflin and Company in 1880 and Jewett carriage
accident in September 1902.
Handwritten notes with this transcription
read: [Saturday a. m.]
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Bucklin Davenport Claflin
148. Charles Street.
Boston.
[ End letterhead ]
[ After 1881 ]
Thank you for remembering me, but I am going away for a few days for a change, and I am afraid at any rate should not be quite equal to the day at Wellesley --
Sarah O. Jewett
10 March: Sent from the home of Annie Fields, this letter almost certainly was composed after the death of James T. Fields in April of 1881.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Colby College Special Collections, Waterville, ME: JEWE.1. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Sarah Wyman Whitman
Maine.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The truth has been that all summer I could not put myself down to steady work but autumn weather is always kind, and certain things have blown away that troubled the summer air . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. O. J.
Notes
After 1881: The earliest letter so far known
between Jewett and Whitman is dated April 3, 1882.
Jewett seems to have become close friends with Whitman at
about the same time she became friends with Annie Adams
Fields.
A handwritten note on this transcription
reads: To: S W. The ellipses in the transcription
indicate that this is a selection from the manuscript.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
May. [After 1881 and before 1891, the date of Jewett's mother's death]
This is something I remember at this
moment in Voltaire. "He labored at every new work as if he had
his reputation still to make!" But oh, his letters! such
grace, such "gaieté de cœur"! They are really wonderful, are
they not? I only wish that there were more of them, and when I
saw an edition of his works for sale in Libbie's catalogue,* I
was tempted to bid. I don't dare propose to Mother the
bringing in of seventy volumes at one fell swoop! or it might
be ninety-seven in the best edition.
Good morning, dear. I begin to set my day and to wonder if I can't spend a week from this coming Sunday with you....
I hope you can get off to Manchester
by the fourth or fifth, as you planned, for I can only get a
few days there at first, for I find that the County
Conference,* dear to my heart, is coming on the eleventh, all
the country ministers and their wives and delightful delegates
who never appear to go anywhere else -- nice old country
women.
Notes
in Voltaire. "He labored at every new work as if he had his reputation still to make!": Voltaire, (François-Marie Arouet, 1694-1778), according to the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, "was the most influential figure of the French Enlightenment." He is best known, perhaps, for his novella, Candide (1766). Information on the location of the quotation would be welcome.
Libbie's catalogue: Charles F. Libbie & Co., auctioneers of Boston, regularly published catalogs of book collections to be sold at auction. For example: Catalogue of a portion of the libraries of the late Rev. Convers Francis, and his sister, Lydia M. Child, of Cambridge, being a very interesting collection of standard, rare and curious books ... To be sold by auction ... May 12, 13 and 14, in the Library salesroom, no. 608 Washington St. ... (1887).
County Conference: a meeting of representatives from local churches. See above note for Manchester.This letter appears in Annie Fields, Letters of Sarah Orne Jewett (1911), Transcribed by Annie Adams Fields, with notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 1882 - 1908 ]*
My own dear Sarah:
I found the sonnet,* dear, which I had not seen before only last night when I was quietly re-reading your poems. They are both most tender and beautiful and like a ray of light from your very self when you are far away.
I want you very much! Do come when you can consistently steal away from the friends who claim you.
Notes
1882 - 1908: This letter could have be composed almost anytime in the Jewett-Fields relationship when Jewett was reasonably mobile.
sonnet: Jewett wrote more than one sonnet that fits Fields's description. Two examples are "Assurance" and "To My Father II," both collected in Verses (1916).
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Unknown person to Sarah Orne Jewett
O dear Sarah, the wreath goes to my heart! I always wanted one, but I feel as if you might to have kept it yourself -- I shall come up later I hope and thank you both
[ Unrecognized signature ]
Notes
1908: The letter probably was written to the mature Jewett, after 1882.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 5, Item 234.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Sarah Wyman Whitman
[ 1882- 1904 ]*
This card is stamped in blue top left with Jewett's initials (SOJ) enclosed in a circle.
1882-1904: These are the known years of the Jewett-Whitman correspondence.
and: Jewett often writes "a" with a long tail for "and." I render these as "and."
you: Presumably the preceding period is accidental, but it is clearly so marked.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 6, Item 277.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Sarah Wyman Whitman
Dearest S.W. I send you this little branch of pine which has just come up from Berwick -- I am sorry that it couldn't have gone this morning with a wish, and a blessing on your dear head!
December 5th
__________
Notes
1882-1904: These are the known years of the Jewett-Whitman correspondence.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 6, Item 277.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Sarah Wyman Whitman
[ 1882-1887 ]*
does Mother -- who says she wonders how you were wise enough to know that she loves a Wiesbaden prune! The roses are still flourishing and I give them a kiss now and then and take hold of them or I go by -- good [ morning ? ] darling --
Notes
1882-1887: The earliest known correspondence between Jewett and Whitman is from 1882. Jewett's grandfather died in 1887.
Cora: Probably Cora Clark Rice. Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 6, Item 277.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Helen Bell to Sarah Orne Jewett
Woodstock --
[ 1882-1908 ]*
Dear Sarah
Alice Howe* has written me about Annie -- I had heard a mere rumor of her illness -- She tells me she is better but oh how I long to know more -- This beautiful weather must build her right up -- Of course it is beautiful here
but what if it is?
Nothing -- but you and Annie are of any interest now -- I am writing with a pin dipped in blueing, but it is all the hotel offers --
your Helen Bell
Notes
1908: This letter could have been composed at almost any time between 1882, when Jewett & Fields began spending time together, and 1908, the last year in which Jewett was fully able to correspond.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence I, Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett. bMS Am 1743 (19).
This transcription is from a photocopy held by the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Box 2, Folder 99, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Ellen (Nelly) Day Hale
Tuesday
[ February 1882-1908 ]*
Dear Nelly
I shall be delighted to come on Saturday, to luncheon at half-past one! I hope to see you before this month of February came in, but I have been attending to a large Massachusetts cold and have been a prisoner, though not an exile.
Sarah O. Jewett
Notes
The manuscript of this letter is held by Smith College Special Collections, Northampton, MA, Hale family papers, Sophia Smith Collection, SSC-MS-00071; Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1871, undated -- Correspondence, incoming, Box: 78, Folder: 28.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Eben Norton Horsford
Thank you many times for this new kindness and thoughtfulness dear Prof. Horsford -- We mean to be ready and waiting when that carriage comes --
S. O. J.
148 Charles St.
Monday morning --
Notes
1882-1892: In the absence of more helpful information, it seems impossible to date this letter at a specific time during the known period of Jewett's correspondence with Horsford, other than placing it after the beginning of her close friendship with Annie Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of the letter is held by the Fales Library and Special Collections, Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, New York University. Sylvester Manor Archive 1649-1996, MSS.208, IV: Horsford Family, Box 63: Folder 41. Jewett, Sarah Orne: Maine & Massachusetts. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Eben Norton Horsford
Monday morning
[ 1880-1892 ]*
Thank you so much for the note, and invitation for tomorrow evening. If I were to be in town I would be delighted to accept, but I am to be in Exeter for a day or two and shall not reach Boston until Saturday night --
In a hurry, but always your affectionate
Notes
1880-1892: In the absence of more helpful information, it seems impossible to date this letter at a specific time during the known period of Jewett's correspondence with Horsford.
The manuscript of the letter is held by the Fales Library and Special Collections, Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, New York University. Sylvester Manor Archive 1649-1996, MSS.208, IV: Horsford Family, Box 63: Folder 41. Jewett, Sarah Orne: Maine & Massachusetts. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
Friday morning
[ 1882 - 1889 ]*
Dear darling Here are the two letters, and Pinny's* love had to be sent too on another bit of paper -- and this is to say she does love T.L.* and wants to see her and hopes she is being good. It would be more than sad for Pinny to find Liza* in tears on Monday, and run
[ Page 2 ]
[ Manuscript breaks off. No signature. ]
Notes
1882 - 1889: This date range is bounded by the beginning of Jewett's intimate correspondence with Fields and the last fairly reliable mention of Jewett's dog, Roger, as living.
Pinny: Pinny Lawson (Pinny / Pin) was an affectionate nickname for Jewett, used by her and Annie Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
T.L.: Nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Liza: Presumably an employee of Fields. She is not known to have been mentioned the correspondence after 1882. She accompanied Jewett and Fields on their 1882 trip to Europe.
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Annie Fields (Adams) 1834-1915, recipient. 194 letters; 1877-1909 & [n.d.] Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Georgina West Graves Perry to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ After 1882 ]*
Dear Sarah
I am so glad. What a lovely time you must be having. and [ so it appears ] could you stop here Saturday & pass Sunday{?} I want to see you so much. Do come if it is a possible thing. I have so much to talk over, and you will have
How strange & nice it seems to address this letter. How can you return on Sat. much as I want you{?} I advise you to stay until Monday.
Georgina.
1870s: With this letter is an envelope postmarked from Portsmouth, NH and addressed to Jewett in care of Mr. Charles Perry at the Hotel Kempton, on Berkely St. in Boston, MA. The very faint cancellation may read "Nov 12."
Melissa Homestead of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, has identified Charles French Perry and his wife Georgiana West Graves: "Charles Perry was a distant cousin of the Jewett sisters, on their mother's side." Georgie Perry was a socially active resident of Cambridge, MA in the 1890s.
This guess at a date is supported only by the fact that the other letters between Jewett and Halliburton in the Columbia collection date from this decade.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Columbia University (New York) Library in Special Collections, Jewett. Transcription from a microfilm copy and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett and Mary Rice Jewett
Dearest I hope that you and Mary can come Thursday for our first reading which is here at 11 o c'lk. [ a.m. corrected ] Alice Howe* is to read and we are each to bring five, so if you
and Mary will come and stay over [ the corrected ] birthday I shall like it much{.} I cannot write this a.m. for I am already tired. I shall have my full "quota" if you and M. will be here --
Annie
Notes
after 1882: This letter could have been composed almost any time after 1882 and before 1909. If the birthday mentioned is Fields's (6 June) or Mary Jewett's (18 June) or Sarah Jewett's (3 September), then the date would have been during the summer.
Alice Howe: Alice Greenwood Howe. See Key to Correspondents.
That Howe will be reading indicates that Fields refers to one of several literary clubs with which she was associated at various times.
The manuscript of the letter is held by the University of New England Maine Women Writers Collection MWWC0196_02_00_008_01. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[ 1882 - 1895 ]*
so often my dear, when I am out riding all alone. The other afternoon I went through some woods by a cart-path, crossing some wide fields and coming out at least on the shore of the river. Sheila's* hoofs did not make a bit of noise on the turf and pine needles, and the birds were all singing -- the air was so fresh and sweet, and [ and repeated ] it was so still. I think I shall always remember that ride. I scared up a great brown rabbit once and it went scurrying off as if I were a dragon and Sheila were something worse.
You do not know how glad I am to get back to my
[ Page 2 ]
Did not I tell you about my picture? People seem to have different minds about it -- some like it very much indeed and others do not, but I believe that is what usually happens. There is something which does not seem quite right about the lower part of the face and I hardly know what it is, either. The mouth is too large, my sister days -- still it is a good enough likeness -- I beg of you, do not say that I find fault with it! And I should be sorry to prejudice
[ Page 3 ]
anyone the least bit against Miss B's* work which I think she does excellently -- And it was so very kind of her to print the picture for me --
[ Manuscript ends about 1/4 down the page. No signature. ]
Notes
1882 - 1895: This date range is bounded by the beginning of the intimate Jewett-Fields correspondence and Jewett's last known mention of her horse, Sheila, in a letter of 1895.
Sheila's: Jewett's personal horse, purchased in 1877 and last mentioned in a letter of 1895.
Miss B's: Presumably this is a photographer or painter, but neither she nor her work has yet been identified.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Annie Fields (Adams) 1834-1915, recipient. 194 letters; 1877-1909 & [n.d.] Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[ July after 1882 ]*
Dear Fuffy*
I got your post card this morning, but though I knew you were going to be awake all the night before the Fourth* I am afraid I should not have the strength of mind to say 'wait* until Saturday -- I will sit up with you! and be -- very pleasant but I do want to see you so much
[ Page 2 ]
P.L.*
Notes
July After 1882: This letter lacks evidence for dating it more specifically.
Fuffy: Nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Fourth: The letter's other content suggests that Jewett means U.S. Independence Day, July 4.
'wait: Jewett seems clearly to have written an opening quotation mark, but no closing mark seems present.
P.L.: Pinny Lawson (Pinny / Pin) was an affectionate nickname for Jewett, used by her and Annie Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Annie Fields (Adams) 1834-1915, recipient. 194 letters; 1877-1909 & [n.d.] Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilian Woodman Aldrich
[ 1882 - 1886 ]
Dear Lilian
Thank you so much for the lovely piece of pottery and for the chocolates which I have been "out of" very long -- and also for five little baskets, though I dont know whether I stole them from you or from the poor of Boston. 'Tal'* may have told you that I grabbed them, but he may have thought I
was in fun! I hope you had a very pleasant Christmas -- and I hope you are going to have twice as happy a new year as any old year you can remember --
-- T. L.* thanks you too and loves you dearly, and her conscience is clear of any sin about the little baskets
Notes
1882 - 1886: Probably this letter was written between Christmas 1882, when Jewett began regular stays with Annie Fields and 1886, when the Aldrich boys turned 18.
Tal: The Aldriches' twin sons, Talbot and Charles were born in 1868.
T. L: A Jewett nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
"Sadie": Sadie Martinot was a Jewett nickname with the Aldriches, presumably after the American actress and singer, Sarah/Sadie Martinot. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Bailey Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2734.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward
[ 1882 - 1888 ]*
[ Begin letterhead, printed in red ]
148 Charles Street.
Boston.
[ End letterhead ]
Thank you very much, but I shall have to depend upon A.F.'s* telling me the story of this afternoon. I shall have to keep on with some [ writing corrected ] which the weather and other primal causes have delayed!
Notes
1882 - 1888: Jewett began corresponding from the home of Annie Adams Fields in about 1882. Miss Phelps married in 1888. It is likely, therefore, that this letter was written sometime during that period.
A.F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held in the Abernethy Collection; Special Collections and Archives, Middlebury College Library, Middlebury, VT. Jewett, Sarah Orne Letters, 1890, Box: 8, Folder: 14 Identifier: ABER MS MISC.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Edward Henry Clement
Boston 27 February
[ 1882 - 1906 ]*
Dear Mr. Clements [So the name appears ]
Mrs Fields asks if you will be so kind as to give the enclosed appeal early publication in the Transcript.
S. O. Jewett
1882 - 1906: The appeal to which Jewett refers is unknown. The date of this letter, therefore, so far is limited only by the beginning of Jewett's close association with Annie Adams Fields in 1882 and the end of Clement's tenure as Editor in Chief of the Boston Transcript in 1906.
The manuscript of this letter is held in the Abernethy Collection; Special Collections and Archives, Middlebury College Library, Middlebury, VT, Jewett, Sarah Orne Letters to Edward Henry Clement, 1896, Box 8, Folder 15.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Abby Adeline Manning
[ After 1882 ]
[ Begin letterhead ]
South Berwick.
Maine.
[ End Letterhead ]
Dear Miss Manning
I happened last night in talking with a neighbor to hear of a nice person who wishes to get a place as house-keeper -- and I thought it might be just possible that you would like to hear of her -- She is said to be particularly quiet and to have a gift at getting on with maids, and to be
companionable -- this being said by someone who doesn't have the same ideas of companionship as you and I have! but still we must look upon it from any point of view as a good trait -- Somehow the story sounded well about Mifs [ so spelled ] Meserve* and I immediately thought here might be somebody who could help you out and set you free for more time
at your studio -- at any rate it will be something to get Miss Meserve a place -- for if you dont need her you may know somebody who does. I surely got this idea from what I was told last night, that she was a reasonable person who would after a time learn all ones ways of doing things and carry them on pretty well.
Which her
name it is Mifs A. F. Meserve,* 32 Howard St. Melrose Mass: and I think she would come promptly to see any one if they sent and asked. She has been for a long time with a family -- but there are good reasons why she wishes to make a change.
Forgive if I seem to interfere with a friend's affairs, but that is a foolish thing to say is n't it? I just thought there may be a chance of this being a really good person who would be a comfort to you
all three, & take part of the care off all three!*
Sarah O. Jewett
Notes
After 1882: Paula Blanchard points out that Jewett and Annie Fields stayed with Manning and Anne Whitney at their summer home in Shelburne, VT, in 1889 (Sarah Orne Jewett, p. 215). This letter cannot follow from that visit, however, as Jewett was with Fields in Florida in January 1890. However, Manning and Whitney also were Back Bay neighbors, on Mt. Vernon Street, so that Jewett could have become familiar with their domestic needs at any time.
A. F. Meserve: This person has not been identified. The village of Melrose, MA is about 10 miles north of Boston.
all three: Presumably, the "three" would be Miss Manning, her domestic partner, the sculptor Anne Whitney, and their maid.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Small Library, University of Virginia, Special Collections MSS 6218, Sarah Orne Jewett Papers. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to William Hayes Ward
[ After 1882 ]*
Dear Mr. Ward
Will you please put this cheque to the account of the sick doctor,* for whom you are doing such a great kindness -- Please credit it on your list to S.J.
The 'case' appeals to me very much since my father was a [physician corrected] -- This happens to be his birthday and
so I thank you the more for giving me the opportunity.
Believe me, with great regard
Sarah Orne Jewett
Tuesday 24th
Notes
After 1882: The letter must have been composed after Jewett began corresponding from the home of Annie Adams Fields. No other limiting factor has yet been discovered.
sick doctor: The occasion for this donation has not been identified.
Street: Jewett has crossed the second "t" with a line that extends across the rest of the page.
Olga von Radecki to Annie Adams Fields
My dear Mrs. Fields,
Fearing to be unsuccessful in my attempt to see you, I write to tell you how very very sorry I was, another engagement interfered with my spending the evening with you in the quiet neighborly fashion which I should have enjoyed extremely.
Please accept the little remembrance I brought for you from home,* and believe me
Olga von Radecki
96 Charles Street, Monday.*
Notes
After 1882: Von Radecki moved from Latvia to Boston in 1882 and began performing locally late that year.
from home: Olga von Radecki was born in Riga, Latvia, and it may be that she has given Fields an item from Latvia.
96 Charles Street: Note that this address makes von Radecki literally a near neighbor to Fields at the time she wrote this letter.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, MS1743, Series: III. Letters to Annie (Adams) Fields: Letters to Annie Fields from various correspondents.(320). Radecki, Olga von, fl. 1882. 1 letter; [n.d.].
Sarah Orne Jewett to John Greenleaf Whittier
Friday --
[ August, between 1882 and 1889 ]
My dear Friend
Your package came today and I must thank you first for your dear note and then for something so touching and peculiarly interesting that I cant be grateful enough. Poor Miss Sally.* I never shall forget her: -- few persons or things have ever made so deep an impression in me though I only saw her once in her late years. I have not had time to more than glance at these memorials, but is not t[h]e letter that came with them a charming one? You are so kind to me. It makes the relationship we sometimes have talked of half laughingly a very real one, and draws me very close to you all the time. I really belong to you more lovingly every year, and it makes me truly feel like “the little girl” to be so tenderly thought of, and remembered in so many lovely ways. This has come so close to my birthday* that I like to connect the worn letters and your thought and the day all together.
We talk every day about the First day afternoon and how much we rejoiced being with you. Mrs. Lodge* has been here for a day or two, so sweet and bright and kind and there has been a great gossiping about the Associated Charities* not to speak of lesser subjects. I must say good bye, but we both send love to you.
Yours affectionately
Sarah
Note
between 1882 and 1889: This letter must have
been composed between 1882, when Jewett began regular stays
with Annie Adams Fields in Boston and the death of Mary
Greenwood Lodge in 1889. A handwritten note on this
transcription reads: Whittier.
Poor Miss Sally: Miss Sally has not been
identified. She seems clearly to be close to Whittier
and at least an acquaintance of Jewett, who died between 1882
and 1889.
Mrs. Lodge: Probably Mary Greenwood Lodge (1829 - 1889). See Key to Correspondents.
Associated Charities: Annie Adams Fields was a patron of and volunteer for the Associated Charities of Boston. See Key to Correspondents.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in
the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New
England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 74,
Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more
information about the individual transcription, contact the
Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda
Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[ May 1, after 1882 ]
Dearest Fuff*
I have been on a trading binge to hold the horse for John* while he got a bunch of shingles to mend the well house roof. And we also went down to the boat house to see what must be done about painting etc. I begin to feel in a hurry about going down river! I particularly wish to take some photographs before the leaves are fully out.
Here is the first of May, and no Pinny* going a Maying for press of other business, only she may "fetch a compass" round by the woods later in the day. -- I wonder what you are going to do. Is it Board meeting* (As usual?)
There is such a bustle out of doors now all the farmers are out and they come hurrying into the village for seeds and shovels and all sorts of things. After this time they have to be just as hard at work as possible until after haying . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . -- With much love from P. L.
Notes
After 1882: The letter must have been composed after
Jewett began using the Pinny Lawson nickname for herself in
the summer of 1882.
The ellipses in the transcription indicate
that this is a selection from the manuscript.
Fuff: Nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
John: John Tucker. See Key to Correspondents.
Pinny: Nickname for Sarah Orne Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Board meeting: This would likely relate to the
Associated Charities of Boston.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
Wednesday morning
[ After 1882 ]
Dearest Fuff.*
Didn't we have . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dear
Fuffy
I
feel
sure
that
being so ill makes everything harder to bear and now you are
better life will be a good deal easier, though never easy for
us who are in the middle of its waves. The best we can
say to one another is Courage and Patience! but first of
all Love and Hope! and that we do have in both our
hearts, and if it were only to be in the world for the sake of
the joy it is to have one another I should think it worth
while! to have you and to love you is so dear to
me. And indeed a life very full of satisfaction for both
of us & we must forget the hard things in the bright ones
. . . . . . . . . .
Notes
The ellipses in the transcription indicate that this is a
selection from the manuscript.
Fuff: Nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Pinny: Nickname for Sarah Orne Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in
the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New
England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 72,
Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more
information about the individual transcription, contact the
Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda
Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
Monday
[ Summer, After 1882 ]
. . . . . . . . . . I have been weeding the garden with great industry since tea -- and the portulacca bed is clean as a whistle - much transplanting is also done this day by me and sister! or I should have properly & honestly said sister and me. Dear Fuff how I think of you and love you. . . . . . . . . . . . .
(Pinny)
Notes
After 1882: The letter must have been composed after
Jewett began using the Pinny Lawson nickname for herself in
the summer of 1882.
The ellipses in the transcription indicate
that this is a selection from the manuscript.
Fuff: Nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Pinny: Nickname for Sarah Orne Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 72, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College. Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[ After 1882 ]
Dear Mary
Thursday. ---------- Give ever so much love to both Aunts* also best respects… Mrs. Fields* sends affectionate remembrance. Oh, here was slaying of Hittites and Jebusites* last night. You know she had curiosities respecting buffalo bugs?* Well, a beast was found in her basket that has the crewels in it in a funny little pink & white box, and we had to go out in the Avenue to slay it properly, scratching it into the dirt. You ought to have been here. I never saw but one or two before myself. Goodbye from Sarah.
Notes
The hyphens at the beginning indicate this is an
incomplete transcription.
both Aunts: The Jewetts had many aunts with whom
they exchanged visits and letters. Which aunts are meant
in this case is not yet known.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
slaying of Hittites and Jebusites: Hittites and Jebusites are named in the Old Testament
of the Christian Bible as among the Canaanite nations who were
occupants of the "promised land" that was the destination of
the Hebrews after their escape from slavery in Egypt.
buffalo bugs: Probably black carpet beetles, the larvae of
which feed on natural fibers in carpets and clothing.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in
the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New
England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 74,
Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more
information about the individual transcription, contact the
Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda
Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
Tuesday afternoon
[ After 1882 ]*
You know that I told you about the poor woman who disappeared in the night? To-day somebody came racing to the village with the news that there was a drowned person in the river,* and so this is the end of the miserable story. Instead of going to the river at the landing she went across the fields and pastures to a lonely spot far from any houses and there tied a great stone into her apron and fastened it to her foot and another to her hand and to her neck with bits of her clothes -- All this at midnight and in the white moonlight of that week -- She said in the piteous letter that she left that she
[ Page 2 ]
[ Page 3 ]
[ Page 4 ]
It was a low dull face, yet not without some prettiness [ perhaps two deleted words ] -- Where is there a preacher who can make such people hear! ------ Why, it was somehow like having seen The Scarlet Letter* in real life, it was exactly as solemn and weird a thing as that would be. The whole story is most sad -- The poor soul who drowned herself had been wild and astray in her youth -- it seems as if she had gone crazy with the daughters sin to double
[ Page 5 ]
[ No signature ]
Notes
After 1882: The letter offers little clue of its date. It was written after Jewett and Fields began using the nickname "T.L." during their European tour in the summer of 1882. The story of the suicide it repeats has not yet been located elsewhere.
T.L.: A nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
drowned person in the river: No further information about this event has yet been found.
The Scarlet Letter: American Nathaniel Hawthorne's (1804-1864) novel, The Scarlet Letter (1850), examines the consequences of a woman bearing a child in an adulterous relationship.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Annie Fields (Adams) 1834-1915, recipient. 194 letters; 1877-1909 & [n.d.] Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[ After 1882 ]*
Dear Mouse*
. . . . . . . . . . I hope to finish the sketch today. Things are always longer than ropes when you have to copy them but this is really only fifty five or six pages just about right I think for what it is. I long to read it to you. I don't know when I have laughed so over anything that belonged to me! I hope your picture sale has been prosperous but I am afraid it cant draw as it did last year. People would buy one who would care about two! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Notes
After 1882: The earliest boundary for this
letter would have to be after Jewett and Fields return from
their first European trip late in 1882. While it cannot
be known which of Jewett's stories would make her laugh, some
strong candidates are: "The Dulham Ladies" (1886), "The
Courting of Sister Wisby" (1887), "Law Lane" (1887), "The
Guests of Mrs. Timms" (1894), and "Bold Words at the Bridge"
(1899)
Mouse: Nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 72, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilian Woodman Aldrich
Mary Ann* has been telling me about your setting yourself a-fire and I am in a great frame of mind about you. I shall tag you about and see that you behave yourself better! I have been wishing and wishing to see you, but I have had such "cricks" and yesterday
the worst headache that ever was, so I had to give up Mrs Whitman's* lovely lunch [ at corrected ] the last minute, and go to bed. I haven't put my head outside the door today for I am going to a dinner tonight [uncertain mark, perhaps intending a comma] that I should hate to give up -- I shall try to see you tomorrow certain
sure -- I hope Mr Bugbee* is getting on comfortably though that is not a comfortable illness at its best. Good-bye dear -- I wish I didn't have to send my love to you for I would so much rather bring it --
Sarah
Notes
1904: Jewett's acquaintance with Sarah Wyman Whitman seems likely to have begun in about 1882, when they first began corresponding. Whitman died in 1904.
Duchess: The Aldriches were affectionately known among their friends as the Duke and Duchess of Ponkapog. See Key to Correspondents.
Mary Ann: The identity of this Mary Ann has not yet been discovered.
Mrs. Whitman's: Sarah Wyman Whitman. See Key to Correspondents.
Mr Bugbee: Probably this is the author James McKellar Bugbee (1837-1913), who, according to Ferris Greenslet's biography of Thomas Bailey Aldrich, was an early and lifelong friend of Aldrich.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Baily Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2670.
Edith Matilda Thomas to Sarah Orne Jewett
Dear Sara Jewett
Thanks to the perplexity of H. & M. -- I once more hear from you. I always ask for you and Mrs Fields -- by every wind of Heaven blowing from that way. If you are ever in N.Y. surely you will let me know! --
(You have my permanent address ^West New Brighton S.? ^.)
As to the letter. I return it to H. & M. for your confidence & not theirs was right --
Edith M. Thomas
I return soon to Staten Island
Notes
1883-1902: Lacking more useful clues, it seems possible to limit the date of this letter only from the early years of the Jewett-Fields relationship to the end of Jewett's professional writing career in 1902.\
Fields: Annie Adams Fields. Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence, bMS Am 1743 Box 4, Item 213. I. Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
Your note from Wells last night I was more than glad to have. Do try now to get a little rest dear --
I send you a [ most ? ]
pathetic note from dear Whittier --*
Mr. & Mrs J. F. Clarke* came up yesterday{.} They were wonderfully lovely and full of beautiful thoughts and [ expressions ? ] --
These two [ girls ? ]* are really the kind you would like -- I wish you were to see and year them -- I think I told
you that Mr. & Mrs. Winch* are to come Monday --
A.F.
The fogs and clouds lately have been very beautiful { -- } these you could see at Wells -- but it is fine here -- very.
Notes
1883 - 1887: This letters was composed between 1883 and the spring of 1888, when James Freeman Clarke died.
Whittier: John Greenleaf Whittier. Key to Correspondents.
Clarke: American clergyman and author, James Freeman Clarke (1810-1888).
girls: This transcription is uncertain. The Clarkes are not known to have had daughters.
Winch: Boston musical artists William J. Winch (1847- ), tenor, John F. Winch, bass, and Mrs. John Winch, alto, made up a musical family performing in Boston from the 1870s.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
My darling:
I did stop to see "the ladies"* yesterday on my return and met with such a warm welcome that I was glad I did so -- They have both been ill and Mrs Cabot was still in her room, but today I sent the Texas letters up for them to read and Mrs Cabot was about again -- They were charmed with the idea of seeing the letters. The father of Mr. Cooke* R.T.C.'s husband apparently has lost all his money
and some of hers I fancy having failed in business and this was a great cause of interest and regret on the part of Mifs Howes* to whom Mrs Cooke had written the sad tale.
I have been at home quietly here all day -- I had many projects of things good to do, but the temptation to be still has mastered me --
This afternoon Katy and "Bridge"* have been down picking blackberries and Katy came up with her
eyes like saucers and smeared from ear to ear, with one box overflowing and dashed back to get more --
[ Deleted mark ] I have been catching up -- not my [ mice ? ] but my letters --
love to all yours
from your
A.F.
Notes
1883-1892: This letter was composed between 1883 and the death of Rose Terry Cooke in 1892.
ladies: The sisters Susan Burley Cabot and Elizabeth Howes. See Cabot in Key to Correspondents.
Cooke: American author and poet, Rose Terry Cooke (1827-1892). She married banker Rollin H. Cooke (1843-1904). Rollin Cooke's father was Charles A. Cook (1815-1898) Wikipedia and Find a Grave.
Katy and "Bridge": Fields employees, Katy and Bridget.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett [ fragment ]
dull enough and I miss you{.} I feel fresher and stronger. But if you were not coming soon I should feel like running away altogether! So you see how inconsistent I am.
Mrs Whitman* asked me to kiss you for her and for what you said [ about ? ] her work. She looked well but she had a very bad cold indeed. I am to go to South Boston Tuesdays this year. Charlestown is looking up; but Ward 16 is our weak point -- next week I have to go to Roxbury Monday also -- All good and healthy work but when you come we must have time for other things too sometimes --
Last night in all the storm was dear Olga's* concert -- I meant to have sent her flowers at least but it slipped out of my shallow pate.
Dear Pinny,* I fear this is not a very [ cosy or easy ? ] letter -- but we love to be together dear and I will make what I can of these fragments!
your loving
A.F.
Notes
1883-1902: This letter almost certainly was composed sometime between the first summer of the Fields-Jewett Boston Marriage and Jewett's carriage accident of September 1902.
Mrs. Whitman: Sarah Wyman Whitman. Key to Correspondents.
Olga's: Olga von Radecki. Key to Correspondents.
Pinny: A Jewett nickname.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
The note from dear Whittier is a sad surprise. He seems to have received neither my letter nor the photograph -- but
I have hunted up Mr. Millet* about it and it will doubtless be set straight.
I took Marygold* a long drive and tided her over pretty well until the dreaded [ moment ? ] tomorrow -- then I went to Chardon St.* and now I feel pretty tired.
Edwina* invites us both to the theatre
tomorrow and I have agreed to join here there for half an hour. Oh! my darling how I do miss you! but your dear letter tonight -- telling me of your being better and of having enjoyed your visit has been a great pleasure{.}
A.F.
Notes
1883-1892. This letter must have been composed between the beginning of Jewett regularly spending parts of each year residing with Fields J. G. Whittier's death in 1892.
Pin: A Jewett nickname.
Wilkins: Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. Key to Correspondents.
Nelly Hale ... Susie: Ellen Day Hale and, perhaps, Susan B. Travers. Key to Correspondents.
Whittier: John Greenleaf Whittier. Key to Correspondents.
Millett: Josiah Millett. Key to Correspondents.
Marygold: Mary Greenwood Lodge. Key to Correspondents.
Chardon. St.: Offices of Associated Charities of Boston.
Edwina: Edwina Booth (1861-1938) was the daughter of American actor Edwin Thomas Booth (1833-1893). Wikipedia.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
Dearest Pin* -- What a A. no 1 letter from you this morning, full of good spirits. I am housebound and so not quite so well off not having any active duties just now. In fact I have been quill-driving with social interruptions all day. The "interruptions" were all good.
Abby Alger* came to tell me that the operation was all well over at last. They were obliged to give her a great deal of ether and there were two physicians, a nurse and herself
present but they all seemed to need five hands. The excitement which her will had kept in check was all set free by the ether before she was stilled by it -- At length however it was well done. Tomorrow I shall go to see [ her corrected ]. She will have to keep still for some weeks! and her friends will have to be on guard, poor soul.
This afternoon came our good Alice and Fanny Stone* who is making her a long visit. They were very affectionate and
good! Alice wants us to come to her next Sunday at 1.30 -- Annie* has taken the old [ Dane ? ] house for the summer. The Frŭ Ole* stopped at the door and left me some glorious roses --
Dear Pinny, the blankets came and I will never send you another [ plea ? ] if you do not send me the bill!!
And "thy friend" has got the photograph -- Alas! he is getting old and forgot it I fear the next moment -- No matter! we tried to give him a pleasure.
The rain patters down tonight as if a week's storm were
just beginning. I wonder if it will really be rainy all the week again! --
Mifs Stone tried the piano and thought its tone beautiful but she also likes her own. She says there is a kind of [ reserved ? ] power in hers which she delights in -- The wedding cake has been made today with great excitement in Annie's breast and I think in Katy's* too.
I have seen Mr. Blake* about the Charlestown [ lands ? ] but he is less encouraging in one sense than Mr. [ Bacon ? ]. There are to [ consult ? ] today and [ he ? ] to let me know the price thereof -- The blankets are excellent -- thanks to you -- How are the [ hams ? ] -- The ladies last night brought me the most
wonderful apple blossoms. I did not know they were so sweet. I think
the [ lilies ? ] will be [ out ? ] next Sunday -- Your loving A.F.
Notes
1892: This letter was composed between 1883 and the death of Whittier in 1892.
Pin: A Jewett nickname.
Alger: Abigail Langdon Alger. Key to Correspondents.
Alice and Fanny Stone: Frances Coolidge Stone (1851-1931) of Newburyport, MA, was the daughter of Massachusetts politician Eben Francis Stone (1822-1895), who served in Congress in 1881-1887. Among her closest friends was Alice Longfellow. See Key to Correspondents.
Annie: This person has not yet been identified, but she may be the Fields employee, mentioned below, who seems about to be married. There were historic Dane houses in both Manchester by the Sea and Concord, MA. Probably Fields refers to one, but it is not yet known which.
Frŭ Ole: Sarah Chapman Thorp Bull. Key to Correspondents.
"thy friend": John Greenleaf Whittier. Key to Correspondents.
Katy: Probably a Fields employee.
Blake ... Bacon: Mr. Blake may be a Back Bay neighbor and banker, James Henry Blake (1842-1889). Mr. Bacon may be William Bacon, who served on the board of directors of the Unitarian charity, the "Children's Mission to the children of the Destitute" for many years.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
Dearest child: I think there should be two plaitings of the silk around the bottom, (not wide) and then the lace should be run on, just a little full, leaving the silk heading above -- that is, where the silk plaiting is fastened to the dress you should run the head of the lace on -- Is not this clear?
The fun of yesterdays rain was partly that everybody even the newspaper called it "easterly" whereas the wind was streaming from the west and was as soft as summer all day.
I am sorry about the colds. Have you one also -- I send the lozenges with delight --
A belt suits your "Trig" style so much better than ribbon dear that I am inclined to prefer it -- but if a sash I think one [ tick ? ] at the side in [ back ? ] prettier -- and yet with Punch "agin" me I am really to be rated down-- especially as the soft lace and silk may need the [ floppiness ? ]
of the bows to make the back quite large enough.
I think this pattern of cloth far [ too corrected ] yellow for our tastes -- but thank you for the suggestion of the grey.
I found your dear tired note as I came from the Conference. The money order was all right dear & I was very sorry not to have said so -- I have spent 12.00 and have the balance for you --
You must read G. W. Curtis's* address in Wedy's Todays Adventures --
dear --
[ No signature ]
Notes
1883 - 1892: This letter was composed between 1883 and 1893, the year of Curtis's death.
Page 4a: The first sheet of this letter has been folded in three parts landscape. Page 4a is written in the middle section of the back side, 4b in the right section. The left section is empty.
G. W. Curtis's address: George William Curtis. Key to Correspondents.
Fields's reference to Today's Adventures has not yet been explained.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
My darling: I am going to write you a word with pencil this Friday Evening because I can sit in the window without a lamp and scribble.
What a help you are to me dear! Every word you say about the little paper is true, but I wish you had liked it, or rather that it had been worth liking a little, just a little better --
But I am sure it needs quiet thought
and the kind of work I can perhaps do at Manchester and I was in a "driving hurry" to get the material together for that I knew I could not get in the country -- that you think I am on the way to something good is a great deal -- It is exquisite
But what a tired foolish note this is --
I fear I was never built to write prose -- even letters go hard!
1883-1902: This span of years is limited by the beginning of Jewett regularly spending parts of each year residing with Fields and the 1902 carriage accident that brought an end to Jewett's writing career.
Chardon St.: Offices of Associated Charities of Boston.
Judy: Judith Drew Beal, Fields's niece by the marriage of her sister, Louisa Adams Beal. See Fields in Key to Correspondents.
Nelly's tale ... Uncle John: It seems possible that Nelly is Ellen Day Hale. Key to Correspondents. But it has not been confirmed that she had an "Uncle John."
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
Pinny* to have nothing more to say against Every Saturday* --
She will be quite a "stuck-up" Pinny if she is not very careful --
There are many grand things beside in the paper this week! What a pity nobody wants it --
How good the poem "Asleep" --
I will not send my copy until I hear if you wish for it, because I believe it goes also to you.
Poor Brown!* You will see all from his note. I am just back from the Concert where I found time to talk to Mr. Lang* about him who is going to [ N.E. ? ]
and now says he will try to make a place for the exhibition of his pictures there. How I wish he had the sense to do it for himself --
The Rhine stone pins have come but they are set in silver and are not delicately made enough for our purpose -- I will write to Thompson* or see him about them --
The concert was delightful. The orchestra is now a marvel -- O we must go when you get [ here corrected ] almost every Saturday night -- I did not quite dare to stop to see Alice Warren* -- Mr. Lang was so friendly and good and musicianish as the Germans say that I enjoyed going with him -- good night, dear child --
Notes
1902: This letter probably was composed between 1883 and 1902, the year of John Appleton Brown's death.
Pinny: A Jewett nickname.
Every Saturday: Wikipedia says Every Saturday was a Boston literary magazine, edited by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, running from 1866 to 1874, which means it ceased publication before Jewett was very actively publishing.
"Asleep": Neither Jewett nor Fields is known to have published a poem with this title. Fields seems to suggest that the poem appeared in Every Saturday, but that magazine collected selected materials from other publications, and appears not to have published unsolicited work. In an imperfect search of contents, I failed to find a poem entitled "Asleep."
Brown: Probably John Appleton Brown. Key to Correspondents.
Lang: This probably is Boston organist Benjamin Johnson Lang (1837-1909).
Thompson: Presumably a jeweler. This person has not yet been identified.
Alice Warren: This may be Alice Amelia Bartlett Warren (1843-1912), who traveled often in Europe and moved in the same social circles as Fields and Jewett, being a friend of Henry James and Ellen Emerson, among other Jewett correspondents. See the introduction to Little Women Abroad: The Alcott Sisters' Letters from Europe, 1870-1871 (2008), edited by Daniel Shealy, pp. lxii-lxiii.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Alice Greenwood Howe* to Sarah Orne Jewett
Dearest of dear S.O.J.s,
I feel that the pills are good, & who knows? Only just now we are proceeding on a plan which if Markham* approves, may do, so no special changes at present --- Dont let your dear heart be troubled, for it is because all things are fussing and fuming now, even in patient nature -- Trees & things dont know which weather prophet to believe & cooks & waitresses have a strange mild mien, as
if they meant to take their silly wings & fly to uncertainty -- This morning, having found my seed in [ sweeping ? ] last night, I [ reaped ? ] uncommon well, & Mifs [ Brittam ? ]* leapt for joy. So, if it is good tomorrow I hope to get out, though not out of bed until a bit later this P.M.
I find a great freedom in having no clothes. Specially no coat but fur & the like, like an Esquimaw landed in the tropics -- Have you a silk coat to sell? You & Annie may look out for [ news ? ] tomorrow or
likely Monday morning -- not from me, but others. I have become a suggester, & my formula for you is that you will be all right in a day or two -- Say it every half hour!
Notes
Howe: Though the Houghton Library has filed this letter with those of Annie Adams Fields to Jewett, the style is not that of Fields, nor the handwriting, nor the stationary. And, clearly, it refers to Fields (Annie) as a probable reader of this letter.
Probably, the author is Jewett correspondent Alice Greenwood Howe. The voice resembles Howe's in the known letters from Howe to Jewett: 25 March 1890,Summer 1899, and 19 July 1899.
The letter is a single page folded in 3 parts. The text appears on one side. On the other, in the middle section, is penciled in a large hand: Mifs S. O. Jewett -- 148 Charles St. Almost certainly, it was hand delivered, and therefore, from a neighbor of Fields in Boston.
1883-1908: Clues about the date in this letter have not proven helpful. Therefore, it may have been written at almost any time during the Jewett-Fields Boston marriage until about 1908.
Markham: This transcription is uncertain and this person as yet unknown.
Mifs Brittam: The playfulness here suggests this may be the name of a pet, but the owner of this name remains unknown.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 1883-1894 ]
revived him -- Meanwhile we had a good time and at least a hundred people to ^listen.^ I shall not be surprised to find that we got a hundred dollars out of the letter venture and [ Andy ? ]* seemed pleased.
According to your advice I kept up Mr. Millet's spirits with visions of the coming circus!
Mrs Ames* came yesterday -- a party of four -- who enjoyed their afternoon I think. Meanwhile things are moving on at Manchester though poor Mrs Fresland* did not get
back from New York until yesterday -- I was very sorry for her! She has a great deal of heroism but life is not easy for her. It only shows how hard it is that she has enjoyed Manchester so much even at rather a forbidding season, as it was at first.
How I look forward to your coming!
Please tell Mary* that I wanted a flower or two the other night to send away and word came that there were none --
"Look again" I said -- Then
Patrick* brought in some golden flower de [ luce corrected ] from the roots [ she corrected ] sent me. They were the only things now in bloom and they were beautiful enough in themselves to allow the rest of the blossoming world to be excused. I was so glad to have them just then --
Notes
1883-1894: This date range is determined by the years Patrick Lynch may have worked for Fields.
Pinny: A Jewett nickname.
Millet: Journalist and publisher Josiah Byram Millet (1853-1938), Fields's next-door neighbor in Boston.
Andy: This transcription is uncertain, and the person has not yet been identified.
Ames: Rebecca Caroline Blair, wife of Massachusetts businessman and philanthropist, Frederick Lothrop Ames (1835-1893), who built the Ames Building as "corporate headquarters for the families' agricultural tool company." This was Boston's first skyscraper and from 1893 to 1915, it was the tallest secular building in Boston.
Fresland: This transcription is uncertain, and the person has not yet been identified.
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. Key to Correspondents.
Patrick: Richard Cary identified Patrick Lynch as Fields's "man of all work." His name appears in the Fields-Jewett correspondence in 1883 and perhaps as late as 1894.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 1883-1906 ]*
Thanks to this noble day Jessie* and I are refreshed and going on our way. Everybody missed you at the party -- We had two baskets of flowers for the "children" and a wealth of laurel!
if you please! for Mr. Winch* and I think it was a pretty [ "ccasion" ? ] -- though you know I am not very enthusiastic about occasions of this kind. Unless
they are really great successes and we were too many! [ well ? ] altogether I believe I was rather occupied in pitying the poor mortals who tried to call it pleasure!
Everybody asked for you -- Alice & Mifs Stone* were much disappointed{.} Now I must try to get a walk -- your dear dear letter of yesterday was full of sweetness to me -- Jess & I both wore some pinks dear!
The Twins were [ inscrutable ? ] as usual{.}
Good bye darling I will write again -- your A.F.
Notes
1883-1906: This letter was composed between the beginning of the Jewett - Fields "Boston Marriage" and the death of Miriam Choate Pratt in 1906.
Jessie: Jessie Cochrane. Key to Correspondents.
Winch: Boston musical artists William J. Winch (1847- ), tenor, John F. Winch, bass, and Mrs. John Winch, alto, made up a musical family performing in Boston from the 1870s.
Alice & Mifs Stone: Frances Coolidge Stone (1851-1931) of Newburyport, MA, was the daughter of Massachusetts politician Eben Francis Stone (1822-1895), who served in Congress in 1881-1887. Among her closest friends was Alice Longfellow. See Key to Correspondents.
Twins: Affectionate reference to the sisters (but not really twins) Helen Choate Bell and Miriam Foster Pratt. Whether Fields describes them as "inscrutable" is not certain. They did not have a reputation for silence at social occasions. Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
My darling: your letter last night was the greatest comfort [ deletion ] the one from Wells I mean -- It was all most interesting -- How glad I am you went. I had been alone all the evening on the piazza after the storm -- no, not alone! in the sense of being very lonely nor in any sense, but I was sitting there in the moonlight and I was [ more corrected ] than glad to have my dear Pinny* speak to me. It is exquisite here this morning -- I am so sorry that my darling did not have a letter too last night
Fuff sends her a few lines to read --
Notes
1908: This letter could have been written at almost any time during the warmer months between the beginning of the Jewett-Fields Boston Marriage and Jewett's final summer of good health in 1908.
Pinny: Pinny is a Jewett nickname; Fuff is Fields.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ June 1883-1908 ]*
One word to you dear with a Manchester pen -- We are getting into pretty order waiting for you! There is everything to say about my missing you at every turn but I remember how good it is to spare you some of the disorder of moving. Heaven bless you dear one.
Annie
Notes
1908: Absent more clues, the span of possible dates begins with 1883 and ends with 1908, the first and last summers Jewett and Fields were able to go to Manchester in the summer. Fields's remark about sparing Jewett disorder may suggest a date after Jewett's1902 carriage accident.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
My dearest dearest child;
Your dear letters & urgings are hard to resist but I really have too much to do to be able to get away. My Boston business is enough for one person but added to that comes all my private affairs -- you see I have the work of two people to do in the world while I stay now -- and I am
held again this morning by the news of Mr. Donati's* death --
Did I tell you that I sent the books yesterday to Tennyson?*
Drink up the glory of the world darling with your own sweet self, -- it will be
poured out again [ renewed ? ] and [ interpreted ? ] for us all --
your loving
A.F.
Saturday morning --
Your last dear note talking about the [ Public ? ] too! has just come.
Notes
1902: Absent other usable clues, one can say only that this letter was composed after Jewett and Fields visited Alfred Lord Tennyson in 1882 and probably before September 1902, when Jewett's literary career came to an end.
Donati: This transcription is uncertain, and the person has not been identified.
Tennyson: Depending upon the date of this letter, Fields could refer either to British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) or to his son, Hallam (1852-1928). Fields and Jewett were acquainted with both men. Wikipedia.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Oliver Wendell Holmes to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 1883 - 1894 ]*
My dear Miss Jewett,
Will you give me the pleasure of your company at the Symphony Rehearsal on Friday next? If you will do me that great favor I will call for you at 2 p.m. or a few minutes before 2.
O. W. Holmes.
This note was meant for you a week ago, but not left as you were said to be away. -- Shall I have the pleasure of your company at the Rehearsal this week?
1894: This letter could have been written in almost any year between 1883, when Jewett became a regular winter resident with Annie Adams Fields and 1894, when Holmes died. In some years, she was not in Boston in January.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Miller Library, Special Collections, Colby College, Waterville, ME: JEWE.1. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Mary Hartwell Catherwood
Jan. 31.
Dear Miss Jewett: --
I have lost your Boston address, and send this note care of the publishers.
I expect to be in Boston about the end of the first week in February, and exceedingly hope that I may then see you.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
My darling: Your letter last night was the greatest comfort [ deletion ] the one from Wells I mean. It was all most interesting. How glad I am you went. I had been alone all the evening on the piazza after the storm -- no, not alone! in the sense of being very lonely nor in any sense, but I was sitting there in the moonlight and I was more than glad to have my dear [ darling ? ] speak to me -- It is exquisite here this morning -- I am so sorry that my darling did not have a letter too last night.
Fuffy* sends her a few lines to read --
Notes
1908: In the absence of more details, this letter could be dated any time after Jewett and Fields traveled to Europe in 1882 and 1908, the last year Jewett was able to travel in good weather.
The holder of the manuscript of this letter is unknown, but it is likely to be the Houghton Library of Harvard University.
This transcription is from a photocopy held by the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Box 2, Folder 99, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. This folder contains other letters from Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence. bMS Am 1743.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz to Sarah Orne Jewett
Quincy Street,
Cambridge.
[ End letterhead ]
Dear Sarah ( will you not put me on the list of friends who have a right to call you so ? )* -- did you perhaps drop the enclosed as you left the other morning?
My waitress thinks so. [ Unrecognized word ] she says you let something fall & neither she nor you
could find it at the moment. Afterward she picked up this dollar bill among the [ fine leaves ? ] at the side of the steps, and thinks it must be yours --
If not, it must go into the poor box for no one else admits
any claim to it.
How much I enjoyed that little glimpse of you & Mrs Fields,* how delightfully the morning lingers with me I cannot say, -- With love & thanks to you both
In a note yesterday
Mrs Shaw* says "I am so glad that Miss Jewett liked her "bunny" --
Notes
1883-1885: The earliest Agassiz letter mentioning Jewett so far collected is dated near Christmas of 1886. In that letter, Agassiz addresses Jewett indirectly as "dear Sarah." Almost certainly, then, this letter was composed before that date, but after the Jewett - Fields relationship was well established in 1882.
so: The question mark has been corrected so that it is not certain whether Agassiz intended it to appear.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs Shaw: This transcription is not certain, and there were several "Mrs Shaws" among their common acquaintance. One strong possibility is Pauline Agassiz (1841-1917), Louis Agassiz's daughter from his first marriage. She married Quincy Adams Shaw. See Find a Grave.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, James Thomas Fields papers and addenda mssFI 1-5637, Box 1. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 1883-1894 ]*
I am so hoping you can get here tomorrow -- though I believe you never have approved the day before. I am just back from Dr. [ Dane ? ]* and am scribbling a few moments before [ luncheon ? ]{.} No news from C.* yet!
Yesterday good Mifs Freeman* -- Mr. Hale's* Mifs F -- came on an errand and asked to be remembered -- ---- a dear good soul --
In the afternoon two of the queerest old applicants for help sent by J. W. Howe* -- dear thing -- that you ever saw -- They had evidently made a list of ladies they wished to see, as
well as of their [ own ? ] misfortunes and thus nobly armed they were voyaging. It was a chapter out of the old time stories, sallying forth well armed with petitions into the wild wood of the world -- They were [ hot foot ? ] for Princess* [ Easton ? ] in a [ place corrected ] when they were through with me but I told them she could not be found{.}
I will wager that her chance of escape is small however --
how good!
A --*
I think Helen* ill. [ May ? ] drop
1894: If the letter does mention Celia Thaxter, then it was composed between 1883 and August 1894, when Thaxter died. The tone of this note suggests it was written closer to 1894 than to 1883.
Persons named in this letter:
Dr. Dane: This transcription is uncertain, the person not yet identified.
C.: Possibly, this is Celia Thaxter. See Key to Correspondents.
Mifs Freeman: If Mr. Hale is correctly identified below, then this would be American botanist and conservationist Harriet Elizabeth Freeman (1847-1930). Wikipedia.
Mr. Hale's: Probably, this is Edward Everett Hale. See Key to Correspondents.
J. W. Howe: Julia Ward Howe. See Key to Correspondents. The visitors Howe sends to Fields may be raising funds for a cause, but more likely they are seeking aid from the Associated Charities of Boston, in which Fields was an officer.
Princess: I could not transcribe this person's name. She may be fictional.
Helen: Possibly Helen Choate Bell. See Key to Correspondents.
Mary: Possibly Mary Greenwood Lodge. See Key to Correspondents.
A. In another hand after this, "Mrs. Fields."
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence I. Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett. Fields, Annie (Adams) 1834-1915. 16 letters; 1894-1901 & [n.d.], 1894-1901 bMS Am 1743 (Box 2: 64).
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mabel Lowell Burnett
Dear Mabel, I found the son of the other box so I send it along for Christmas -- with love from S.O.J.
Notes
1898: To date, the earliest letter we have between Burnett and Jewett is from 1883. Burnett died in 1898.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. 2 A.L.s. to Mabel (Lowell) Burnett: South Berwick, 11 Jul 1891. Box: 4 Identifier: MS Am 1659, (397-398).
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Unknown Person
South Berwick.
Maine.
Notes
1883-1902: Inferences about a more exact date, the addressee, and the context are difficult. While this has the look of a public announcement that might appear in a magazine, it seems odd that she offers her address. While it is possible the note was composed at any time in Jewett's writing career, it seems more likely to come from the latter portion of that period, when she had become well-known.
The manuscript of this letter is held in the Joseph Benson Gilder papers. Manuscripts and Archives Division. The New York Public Library. Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
Dearest! I found the enclosed bill blowing across the floor! The wind here searches every corner and plays pranks with everything. I would pay it, but who knows.
This is Monday and I was surprised by your beloved voice this morning. Give my love to Mary* and say that next week I hope she will have a cool day and will come to me for a night and day or two at the end of [ deletion ] her town labors. Rose* turned up this A.M. and goes to the Shoals* on Thursday this week. She has found it warmer at the Winthrop's.*
A nice letter from Georgie* too today from Chamonix -- Full of its glories -- and very happy.
Dear heart: I must not write any more now.
Notes
1908: Fields and Jewett were acquainted with Rose Lamb from the beginning of their relationship. Therefore this letter could have been written almost any time in late spring or early summer between 1883 and 1908, the last spring and summer when Jewett was healthy enough to receive this letter.
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Rose: Rose Lamb. See Key to Correspondents.
Shoals: The Isles of the Shoals.
Winthrop's: Presumably the Winthrop Hotel on Bowdoin Street in Boston.
Georgie: Probably Georgina Halliburton. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence I. Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett. Fields, Annie (Adams) 1834-1915. 16 letters; 1894-1901 & [n.d.], 1894-1901 bMS Am 1743 (64).
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
Two fragments
Monday --
Dearest Fuffy* I cant help laughing at the [disaster corrected] of the pennyroyal! I am perfectly willing that you should burn the back (after you read the housekeeping chapter which is very wise!) Poor Fuffs! but Pin* is very sorry, and will lend no more herbs, only these were such fresh little green sprigs and had such a good sniff to them . . . Do forgive Pin ? ? ? ? ------------------ Your letter containing these melancholy
came round by the way of Berwick and reached me this morning. It is very lovely here today and I found a horse shoe in the road pointing straight at me, so I must be going to have a bit of luck. Anybody more tired of life and miserable than poor Julia Nont* would be hard to find, and I am so glad that she is going back again soon -- I am sorry for her, but I don't believe anybody can help her, and her farm is really the best thing after all. I dont
2nd Fragment
to stay when we were little children -- We used to call Miss Rice Aunt Anna,* and think she was quite adorable for her kindness, dear old lady! I was made to think of Lady Ferry by what I remembered of those early visits, and it was the first I knew of the tide and a great river and of many other pleasant things. The house is deserted now and we looked in at the windows, and could
almost see the ghosts walk about in the empty sunshiny rooms. The garden [ is corrected] still alive (though at a great age! --) and we walked up and down and looked at the peach trees and rose bushes and saw how the sweet clover was coming up -- [Two lines marked in another hand with parenthesis in the left margin.] Somebody told us it was to let for [eight corrected] dollars a month -- [End parenthesis, probably in another hand.] I wish I knew some dear people who would like to make a
summer home of it -- and who would love it and take care of it kindly -- It is a large rambling old place. you go up
[ Page 3 ]
[Penciled begin parenthesis in left margin before the next line.] How are you dear darling? Does the medicine do you any good yet, and are
you getting over your cough?
I am thinking about you all the time, and wishing I could see you{.}
Evening The books and pictures came all right. I sent the expressman for them to day and I hope he carried
Notes
1883 - 1908: These fragments contain no information that has yet proven useful in dating them more precisely than during the time of the Jewett-Fields relationship.
Fuffy: Nickname for Annie Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Pin: Nickname for Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Julia Nont: This person has not been identified, and the transcription of the last name is uncertain. This may be a person Fields is assisting through Associated Charities of Boston.
Aunt Anna: In Sarah Orne Jewett (1994), Paula Blanchard identifies Anne Rice as an elderly relative of Jewett, heiress to a wonderful house that became the setting for Jewett's story, "Lady Ferry" (1879) . Blanchard says that Miss Rice owned a fearsome dog (pp. 39-40).
Mr. Childs: This person has not been identified.
The manuscript of these two fragments is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. 40 letters to Annie (Adams) Fields (no date). Sarah Orne Jewett additional correspondence, 1868-1930. MS Am 1743.1 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Eva von Blomberg*
Thursday --
[ 1883-1908 ]*
I shall be most happy to accept your invitation for Saturday evening, and I hasten to tell you so by return post! Love to Adelheid --
Notes
Blomberg: Von Blomberg is the only correspondent whom Jewett was known to address as "Eva." Her sister was Baroness Adelheid. See Key to Correspondents.
1883-1908: This letter was composed between the 1883, when Jewett first began frequent stays with Annie Adams Fields at 148 Charles St., and early 1909, when Jewett became fatally ill. See Key to Correspondents.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Helen Williams Gilman Nichols*
Wednesday
[ 1883 - 1908 ]*
Dear Cousin Nelly
I remembered just too late that I have left my umbrella in your hall and I hasten to ask you not to take any trouble about sending it in for I shall try to go to Cambridge again within a week or so and I can stop and take it then. Mary* and I
had a delightful little visit. I wish that we all saw each other oftener!
I was sorry that we had promised to stay when I found that it was such a busy day with dress-making and all -- but you gave us such a dear welcome and so much pleasure that I cant bring myself to regret it!
Notes
Nichols: It is not certain that this letter is addressed to Helen Nichols, but this seems likely. She was the daughter of Jewett's aunt, Helen Williams Gilman (see Key to Correspondents), and she resided with her husband, Dr. John T. G. Nichols, in Cambridge, MA.
1883 - 1908: Unfortunately, Jewett offers few clues for dating this letter. It must have been written after Jewett began regular stays with Annie Adams Fields at her 148 Charles St. Boston address and before her final illness began early in 1909.
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the University of New England Maine Women Writers Collection, Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence Box 2 Folder 147
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Phoebe Gardiner Horsford
[ 1883 - 1890 ]*
Mr. & Mrs. Botta* will pass next Sunday Evening with us and we should be very glad to see you & your husband.
I consider the great distance at which we live apart sufficient excuse
Sincerely
Notes
1883 - 1890: This letter may have been composed during the period after Fields and Sarah Orne Jewett began the friendship that included Jewett staying frequently at Fields's Boston home and before the death of Anne Botta. However, dating it actually is quite difficult. Fields's friendship with the Bottas precedes by decades her relationship with Jewett, and it is possible this letter is from before 1883. When she says "we," she may refer to herself and her husband rather than to herself and Jewett.
Phoebe Gardiner Horsford was the second wife of Eben Norton Horsford. See Key to Correspondents.
During this period, the Horsfords usually would reside in nearby Cambridge, MA during Harvard University semesters and at Shelter Island at the east end of Long Island, NY during summers.
Fields has placed two dots beneath her superscript, which I have interpreted as underlining.
Botta: American poet Anne Charlotte Lynch Botta (1815- 23 March 1891) of New York City was an old friend of Annie Fields's. Her husband was an Italian-born professor of Philosophy at the University of the City of New York, Vincenzo Botta (1818-1894).
The manuscript of this letter is held by Archives and Special Collections, Folsom Library, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY. MC50 box 44, folder 13. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Lilian Aldrich
Dear Lilian:
Will you and Mr. Aldrich come to dine with us tonight at six o'clock?
It will be "Sadie's"* first dinner down stairs -- Celia Thaxter and I think of going to the play afterward so if you are thinking
of that same thing we still might have our dinner together.
Annie Fields.
Notes
1894: The time during which this letter could have been composed is limited by the beginning of the Jewett-Fields relationship, the death of Thaxter, and the months Thaxter spent in Boston during those years. While many months would be impossible because one of the three women was away from Boston, still almost any of those years includes time when all three could have been present.
Sadie: A nickname for Sarah Orne Jewett used by the Aldriches, Jewett and Fields, a reference to the American actress Sadie Martinot. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: MS Am 1429, Box 6, Items 1446-1538. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Lilian Aldrich
Dear Lilian:
Sarah* thought the dinner a great success and described its glories with enthusiasm -- My part of the things to eat was nectar and ambrosia -- how good of you ^to send over just then.^*
After such a festival you will hardly feel like [ even more ? ] gathering, but will not you and dear Duke* come to tea at six on Sunday when I expect the friendly [ Langs ? ]*
Notes
1883-1906: Fields was acquainted with Benjamin Lang and his wife as early as 1882, but Jewett and Fields were not so closely associated until after their 1882 trip to Europe. This letter could have been composed almost anytime between 1883 and the death of T. B. Aldrich in early 1907.
Sarah: Sarah Orne Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
just then: This line may have been inserted later, but this is not certain.
Duke: The Aldriches were nicknamed by close friends as the Duke and Duchess of Ponkapog. See Key to Correspondents.
Langs: This transcription is uncertain. If it is correct, Fields probably refers to Boston musician Benjamin Johnson Lang (1837-1909) and his wife, the singer Frances Morse Burrage (1839-1934).
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: MS Am 1429, Box 6, Items 1446-1538. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mrs. Rice
South Berwick, Maine
[ End letterhead ]
[ 1883 - 1891 ]*
My dear Mrs. Rice*
I am so very sorry that I am to be in the country this week and must miss the great pleasure of seeing you again. If my chance I should return to Mrs. Fields's,* where I have been staying, by the week's end, I shall at once send you word for
Saturday is the day, when my hostess stays at home and it would be so very nice if you and Mrs. Hamlin* would come for a cup of tea, though I should try to be in season to go to see you for a few minutes first -- if no longer! I am very much tied down to some work this winter which has now been much delayed by illness and my conscience attacks me as I make these plans. Please let me know when you come to town again if I do not
manage to see you now. And believe me
Sarah O. Jewett
I have often wondered if you got your lantern, though Mr. McIntire,* its artist, reassured me from time to time and was believed to have sent it while I was away last year.
Notes
1883 - 1891: A weak clue for the composition date is the death of Angelica Rice (see below). If the letter is indeed addressed to her, then it was composed before 1892. As it is clear that Jewett is spending time at the Annie Fields home in Boston, it must have been composed in 1883 or later.
Another clue is Jewett's noting that she expects to be in South Berwick working during the week of 19 February. This places the letter before September 1902, when a debilitating carriage accident brought an end to her writing career.
The only strong clue for the date is Jewett's mentioning that she was away during the previous year when her gift of a lantern was to be delivered. This actually reveals little, though it hints at the years following Jewett's trips to Europe, which took place in 1882, 1892, 1898 and 1900. However, speaking of a gift in February suggests that the lantern was a Christmas present, and Jewett was never in Europe during the Christmas season.
Mrs. Rice: Mrs. Rice has not yet been identified. It is probable that she a relative of Jewett's friend, Cora Clark Rice. See Key to Correspondents. Cora Rice's mother-in-law died in 1868, long before this letter could have been composed. However, her husband's uncle, Henry Rice (1818-1869) also had lived in the Boston area, as did his second wife, Angelica Talcott Devens Powell (1815- 7 February 1892). Almost certainly, Jewett was acquainted with her and it is possible this letter was addressed to her.
Fields's: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Hamlin: Mrs. Hamlin has not yet been identified. A likely candidate is Elvira J. Patrick Hamlin (1823-1908). She was married to Emmons Hamlin (1821-1885), a Boston area businessman and inventor, specializing in musical instruments. He was a founder of the Mason & Hamlin Organ Company in Boston. Like Angelica Rice, Elvira Hamlin moved in the same circles as Fields and Jewett and is likely to have been known to them, making it possible but far from certain that Jewett refers to her in this letter.
Mr. McIntire: This person has not yet been identified.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Eben Norton Horsford
Dear Prof. Horsford
We have come up to town, and so your note which went first to Manchester -- reached me too late -- I should have liked very much to see your distinguished friend and I need not say that I am sorry to have missed such a pleasant evening -- I [ wish ? ] too that*
I am always your affectionate
148 Charles St.
Saturday
Notes
1883-1892: Probably this letter was composed between Jewett and Fields's 1882 voyage to Europe and Horsford's death on 1 January 1893.
that: Jewett's final sentence is unclear, in part because of the uncertain transcription of "wish." This letter may be a fragment with missing material between pages 1 and 2.
The manuscript of the letter is held by the Fales Library and Special Collections, Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, New York University. Sylvester Manor Archive 1649-1996, MSS.208, IV: Horsford Family, Box 63: Folder 41. Jewett, Sarah Orne: Maine & Massachusetts. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Eben Norton Horsford
148. Charles Street,
Boston.
[ End letterhead ]
I am continually finding cause my dear friend to thank you and to be grateful to you, and this last remembrance had all the charm of unexpectedness{.}
I am looking for Sarah* on Saturday and one of the early treats we are going to give ourselves is a
visit to you in Cambridge.
With my love to your dear household
I often wish ou could follow your benefactions and enjoy their results
half as much as I do. I have almost more than my share of good out of them!
Notes
1883-1892: This letter must have been composed after Jewett and Fields were regularly spending time together in Boston and before Horsford's death on 1 January 1893. Presumably Fields is thanking Horsford for one of his frequent gifts in support of the Associated Charities of Boston.
Sarah: Sarah Orne Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of the letter is held by the Fales Library and Special Collections, Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, New York University. Sylvester Manor Archive 1649-1996, MSS.208, IV: Horsford Family, Box 59: Folder 35. Fields, Annie Adams: Connecticut, Maine & Massachusetts. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
As for Mrs Forbes* dearest I think you must write that I cannot go to her.
So many persons are coming here just now (for a person who is not strong) that I have no reserved
force for a visit -- Sometime perhaps -- and I sincerely hope but I cannot say now that I will go -- If I could go anywhere I should be going to you for the dear birthday* -- so please decline ----- Dear heart! I fear it seems to you unkind about the birthday but ----- even my tiny round leaves me sometimes spent, and I
Notes
August 1883-1908: Though some years, such as when they were traveling in Europe, are impossible, this letter could have been written in August of almost any year during this period.
Mrs Forbes: This could be Edith Emerson Forbes (See Key to Correspondents) or, possibly Sarah Hathaway Forbes (1813-1900), wife of John Murray Forbes (1813-1898).
birthday: Jewett's birthday was 3 September.
The manuscript of the letter is held by the University of New England Maine Women Writers Collection MWWC0196_02_00_004_01. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett (fragment)
the [ nations ? ] of the earth loose in a box, & shake them up now & then, & take which ever comes out first to talk about & worry about -- And the [ head ? ] conspirators come & go across the sea, & Heaven lets the "nations imagine vain things"* ---
So, good night, dear -- write to me, & come me --
Notes
1904: The known span of Whitman and Jewett's correspondence.
vain things: See the Bible, Psalm 2: 1.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 5, Item 234.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett
I am quite sure that there never was such [ unrecognized word ] lilies as these -- with what might be called the [ pride ? ] of [ swift ? ] [ surrender ? ] in their [ gentle ? ] bells. I love them & I thank you, dear friend.
On the [ deletion ] wings of my gratitude I send also messages
to all the households -- whom I wish to see, but "holding the fort" does not allow much leeway -- [ three unrecognized words ] that if I take the children to [ unrecognized word ] then I shall miss them -- the dear Sarah & Dora* utterly. If they should drive past this morning, they would surely stop, wouldnt they? My love to them -- & to you.
Notes
1883-1904: These are the years of the known correspondence between Whitman and Jewett.
At the top of page 1, in another hand and darker ink appears this quotation:
"St. George! A stirring life they lead,
That have such neighbours near." Marmion.
Marmion (1808) is an epic poem by Scottish author, Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832). The quotation comes from Canto 1.
Sarah & Dora: Almost certainly the sisters, Sarah Chauncey Woolsey and Dora Walton Woolsey. Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 5, Item 234.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett
Darling. Cant you go to Katy's tomorrow, (10.57) from Beverly) to see the [ unrecognized word ] Play & return at 7.30 from Portsmouth?
O please do!
Notes
1883-1904: These are the years of the known correspondence between Whitman and Jewett.
Katy's: It is not yet known which of the Katys this may be among those known to Whitman and Jewett.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 5, Item 234.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 1883-1904 ]*
Dear. --- I have word from William James* that he & Mrs James will come for Monday's luncheon -- and I hope that a brief & [ small ? ] occasion will only be like lunching at home: the River [ or ? ] the Hill,* as it were!
Yours with my love [ unrecognized word ]
Notes
1883-1904: In the absence of other clues, one cannot identify a more specific date within the 20-year correspondence of Jewett and Whitman.
William James: The American philosopher-psychologist, William James (1842-1910) and his wife Alice Gibbens (1849-1922). See Key to Correspondents.
the Hill: Whitman refers to the two homes of Annie Adams Fields, on Charles Street in Boston, next to the Charles River, and on Thunderbolt Hill in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Whitman, Sarah (Wyman) 1842-1904. 92 letters; [1884]-[1903] & [n.d.] Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Sarah Orne Jewett additional correspondence, 1868-1930. MS Am 1743.1 -107. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[ 1883 - August 1887 ]*
Dearest darling -- I had the Saturday letter first, and that was lovely, and just now the other came, and you make me wish to fly to you -- Do you believe that I am so busy that I really couldn't stop ^now^ to read my other letters! Mr. Aldrich* hurried me up about the club things{.}* I haven't felt like them and I knew that he had the waxwork one
[ Page 2 ]
[ Page 3 ]
you [ unrecognized, possibly deleted word ] to [ seen ? ] by the next [ deleted word ] mail. You will never see that dear smooth lovely white-pine square picture-box any more. I was suffering all the time I did it but I had to break it all apart to get the pictures out! I have carefully preserved the materials, and I should like to put it together again so much! I dont know why I haven't sent the trunk back, but anybody was "blessed" who didn't "expect" anything from me
[ Page 4 ]
[ this corrected ] last fortnight. (I can feel you shake me and [ hear corrected ] you say why dont you do your writing and not stop to say these things that can wait to be said?) -- How Charming [ unrecognized word or name Grimaldi ? ]* is! -- and I read yesterday, beside that, a very delightful article about William Blake -- Gail Hamilton's in an old Atlantic* -- and I dont believe she ever wrote anything so good{.} It was good enough to be yours and I somehow felt as if I were reading it over
[ Page 5 ]
your shoulder. Do you remember it? Oh my darling good bye for a little while -- and you wont think I dont look for the dear letters because Cora* is here, will you?-- She comes at half past three and I shall be so glad to see her -- but some how the world twisted its ankle and doesn't go right because I didn't spend Sunday along of you -- If you please I wrote that nice writing. I admired it
[ Page 6 ]
beyond everything -- It looks as if I did it with a pin. I must have been behaving beautifully that day. Now it is twelve o'clock and I have just two hours -- The house is so still and the sun shines in in a lovely way and I wish you were here in the window-seat -- My darling, do you know you are always helping me? and I amH* [ unrecognized word, looks like Essueng ? ]
Notes
1883 - August 1887: This letter offers few clues to a specific date. It seems clear it was composed after Jewett and Fields traveled in Europe in 1882 and before Jewett and her sister, Mary, moved into "the old house" in 1887. See notes below.
Mr. Aldrich: Thomas Bailey Aldrich. See Key to Correspondents.
club things ... waxwork one: Probably, Jewett refers to a piece for the Contributor's Club at Atlantic Monthly, anonymously published short essays appearing in each issue. Jewett is known to have contributed in 1882-4 while Aldrich was editor. However, none of her known contributions during that period contain the word "wax," and no anonymous essay dealing with wax or waxworks appears in Atlantic during 1882-1887, the probable period of composition of this letter. It appears, therefore, that Jewett's "waxwork one" probably was not published.
old house: Mentioning the window-seat locates Jewett in the Sarah Orne Jewett House, where she was borne and where her Uncle William Jewett resided until his death in 1887.
Grimaldi: This transcription is doubtful, but if it is correct, then perhaps Jewett is reading about the British actor, Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837). A title that might have interested her and Fields was Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi (1832), to which Charles Dickens was a contributor.
William Blake -- Gail Hamilton's: Mary Abigail Dodge ( 1833 -1896) an American author who wrote under the name, Gail Hamilton, published her "Pictor Ignotus," a review of Alexander Gilchrist's The Life of William Blake (1863), in Atlantic Monthly, April 1864. It was collected in Skirmishes and Sketches (1865). Rita K. Gollin, in Annie Adams Fields (2002), recounts the story of how Fields began a review of the same biography, at the suggestion of James T. Fields, and then abandoned it upon the appearance of Hamilton's piece (p. 88). Jewett suggests here that she has read Fields's unpublished draft.
Fuff: Nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Cora: Cora Clark Rice. See Key to Correspondents.
H: Jewett signed a letter to Fields from March 1889 with "H.E." What this means is not yet known.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Annie Fields (Adams) 1834-1915, recipient. 194 letters; 1877-1909 & [n.d.] Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett
Sw
O how tempting it was to stay tonight!
But I [comed ? ] away/
Notes
1889: This date range is that of the known correspondence between Jewett and Whitman.
Olivia Ward: A somewhat wild guess is that this could be Olivia War Bush-Banks (1869-1944), African American journalist and author, who grew up in Providence, RI, and lived much of her life in New England. Because she married in 1889, it seems likely that this letter was written before that year. However, she was only 20 that year.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 5, Item 234.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 1883-1904 ]*
Your little note was just what I wanted to get, this dull morning! and now! I am contemplating you, darling, with "2 feet down" instead of my absurd foot up, and taking great comfort: although I feel that you have had some [ luck ? ] of escape, I know not what, that has just set you off. Well, I am thankful: & I long to have a telescope which would look in at Charlie Street.* As for me, I { am } able to do whatever can be done from the precinct of a chaise longue -- but no foot steps out. I guess [ deletion] several days longer. But as I get the more philosophical the longer I continue to sit still, I think I may change my profession from art to Ethics & stay here! Thank that beloved A.F. for roses, messages & the [ word ? ] of Help & comfort. The class was charmed with her ministrations.
SW
Notes
1904: Though almost certainly this letter was written late in their friendship, I see no clue here that would specify a year in the Whitman-Jewett correspondence.
Holiday: 22 February is the birthday of George Washington, first U.S. President.
Charlie Street: 148 Charles Street, Boston, the home of Annie Adams Fields (A.F.). Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 5, Item 234.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[ 1883 - 1889 ]*
Dearest Fuffy*
Pinny a beautiful time and is just being started to see a cranberry bog and an oyster bed at the side of which she is to lunch! It is perfect weather and a hundred vessels in the sound and the
[ Page 2 ]
[ Page 3 ]
see you and tell you every thing about the caper and how dear and sweet Marigold* has been and how I keep wishing for you to see everything that is nice -- But someday we will go to the other side of the cape to the little sandy fishing towns -- and
[ Page 4 ]
have a splendid time. (Dont send my letters, only if you want me to get anything and do anything (in town send around to Coras* and I shall get it Saturday morning
The Marigold sends her love --
Notes
1883-1889: Fields has penciled a note at the upper right: "188". The letter must have been composed between 1883, after Jewett and Fields spent the summer of 1882 in Europe, and December 1889 when Mary Greenwood Lodge died.
Jewett has written this letter in pencil. Parenthesis marks in this manuscript were penciled by Fields.
Fuffy: Nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Pinny: Pinny Lawson (Pinny / Pin) was an affectionate nickname for Jewett, used by her and Annie Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Woods' Hole: Woods Hole is a village at the south end of Cape Cod in the town of Falmouth, MA. It is on Vineyard Sound, and across from New Bedford on the west and Martha's Vineyard to the southeast.
Richard Cary writes "Miss Jewett periodically visited the family of John M. Forbes, the railroad builder, who owned his own island [Naushon Island] off the coast of Massachusetts. [ Ralph Waldo] Emerson's daughter Edith was married to Forbes's son William. The island was a haven for summer and autumn guests who entertained themselves at boating, fishing, riding, and hunting. Miss Jewett relished most the invigorating cruises along the Maine coast in the Forbes majestic sailing yacht, Merlin" (Letters of Sarah Orne Jewett, 86).
While Jewett does not mention the Forbes in this letter, her report of her activities puts her close to Naushon Island, which is just south of Woods Hole.
Marigold: Mary Langdon Greenwood (Mrs. James) Lodge. See Key to Correspondents.
Coras: Cora Clark Rice. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Annie Fields (Adams) 1834-1915, recipient. 194 letters; 1877-1909 & [n.d.] Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
148 Charles Street
28 January
[ 1883 - 1891 ]*
Dear Mr. Houghton
I was very much interested about this boy of whom Mr. Horace Lamb* reminds me -- His great ambition and entire devotion to the idea of being a Riverside Press printer and no other! roused my esprit de corps* at once!
How many such appeals
you must get every week! but perhaps there might be a vacant place by and by, and John Mackay* -- care of Mr. H. A. Lamb 69 Chauncy Street might hear of it -- Do not give yourself the trouble of making any reply to this note.
----- I know that you are glad to hear that Mrs. Fields is [ deleted letters gain ? ] gaining [ strength corrected ], though it is so very slowly. I
Believe me
Sarah O. Jewett.
My best regards to Mrs. Houghton, please
Notes
1883 - 1891: This letter must have been composed after Jewett became a frequent resident at the home of Annie Fields, 148 Charles St. Boston, and after their 1882 trip to Europe, and before the death of Nancy Wyer Manning Houghton on 13 April 1891.
In the upper left corner of page 1, underlined in blue ink and in another hand: Sarah O. Jewett.
At the bottom right of page 1 and again at the bottom left of page 3, stamped in dark black: HOH.
Jewett has turned page 3 to the left 90 degrees before writing her text.
Horace Lamb: Almost certainly, Jewett refers to Horatio Appleton Lamb (1850-1926), son of a prominent Boston merchant, Thomas Lamb (1796-1887), and brother of painter and Jewett correspondent, Rose Lamb. See Key to Correspondents. Horatio Lamb was a wholesale merchant and then treasurer of Simmons College. Two of his daughters became art collectors and patrons of the arts: Aimée (1893-1989), also a painter, and Rosamund (1898-1989). See also Back Bay Houses.
esprit de corps: French: pride and loyalty in a group membership. Jewett appears to have written "esprit du corps," but this is not really clear.
John Mackay: This person has not been identified.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University in Houghton Mifflin Company correspondence and records, 1832-1944, Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. 68 letters from; 1870-1907 and [n.d.]. MS Am 1925 (962). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
Fragment
Notes
Saturday: Above this word, between lines, Jewett has inserted "Georgie will be there". Presumably this is Georgie Halliburton. See Key to Correspondents.
Parenthesis marks in this manuscript were penciled in green by Fields.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Annie Fields (Adams) 1834-1915, recipient. 194 letters; 1877-1909 & [n.d.] Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilian Woodman Aldrich
Friday [ 1883 - 1901 ]
Dear Lilian
I was sure of leaving here earlier than this when I saw you last but Mrs. Fields* is having to stay later on account of carpentering &c. besides the inducement of the lovely weather -- So instead of the 29th as you promised why wont you come the
next week. Wednesday say, or any day you choose afterward? If I were just away visiting I would not think of putting off your visit, but it is pretty lonely here at night and I shouldn't like to go away before A.F. is ready.
-- I know you will understand dear Lilian -- I
am looking forward to your coming with such pleasure and Mary* has been writing about it too. I was in town day before yesterday but I didn't get time to see you --
Yours ever
S. O. J.
Notes
1883 - 1901: This date range is bounded by Jewett's beginning to stay regularly with Annie Fields in Boston and Manchester, MA, and her nearly fatal carriage accident in September 1902. As it seems late in the season, this letter probably is from September or October of the year in which it was written.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Bailey Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2732.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilian Woodman Aldrich
[ 1883 - 1902 ]*
When I got here yesterday I found that A.F.* had asked somebody to come to luncheon here
rearrange her! --
I do hope that neither you nor T.B.A.* got cold = dont believe that there is always such weather at the corner!
With love from A.F. & me
S. O. J.
I hope that you had a dear day on Thursday.
Notes
1883 - 1902: These boundary dates begin with Jewett's regular stays with Anne Fields and end with Jewett's near fatal carriage accident in September 1902. It is possible but less likely that Jewett wrote this letter after 1902.
A.F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
T.B.A.: Thomas Bailey Aldrich. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Baily Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2716.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Georgina Lowell Putnam
Dcer 26th
[ Letterhead upper left -- red stamped circle containing overlapping initials: S O J ]
My dear Mifs Putnam
Thank you so much for my pretty Christmas candlestick, and for the dear card that you wrote with it -- I was in town before Christmas and over Christmas eve, and I was hoping always to get to see you -- and was disappointed. However, I am coming back early
[ Page 2 ]
next week and then I shall be sure! I have thought of you so much especially since your letter came, and you got home.Sarah O. Jewett
Notes
1883-1908: The Huntington Library holds a group of four letters in which Jewett thanks Putnam for Christmas gifts. Two of these refer to 1902 and 1903. This letter, can be from any other year, though probably no earlier than 1883, when Jewett began to be integrated into the circle of friends and acquaintances of Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, in the Spence and Lowell Family Papers: mss SL 262 (1-4). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Anna Eliot Ticknor
[ 1883-1908 ]*
Miss S. O. Jewett sends her best thanks to Miss Ticknor, but she must return this ticket with regret as she will be away from Town on the nineteenth --
January 17th
1908: This letter could have been written at almost any time after Jewett became close friends with Annie Adams Fields and before the final year of her life.
It is not certain that Anna Eliot Ticknor is the recipient of this letter. This seems rather a formal letter between these correspondents. See Key to Correspondents.
This manuscript is held in the Alice French Papers at the Newberry Library, Chicago, IL, Modern Manuscripts, Series 1: Correspondence, approximately 1892-1932: File — Box: 1, Folder: 13.
This transcription is from a photocopy held by the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, the Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Georgina Lowell Putnam
[ 1883-1908 ]*
Maine.
[ End letterhead ]
My dear Mifs Putnam
This is the first pen and it is all you said it was! I have learned long ago that some pens have a motive power of their own, and some have [ to corrected ] be driven wearily along the page -- But oh! what a dear [ and corrected ] charming box you put them in with an S.O.J. that can never
[ Page 2 ]
leave any doubt of the proud and happy owner. I love to have associations with the things I keep on my desk -- all my little tools! and this will often and often remind me of you with such a happy thought of your remembrance.-- Our dear old cook Katy* just came by -- and said with such feeling = " well now Miss Sarah; there's no doubt
[ Page 3 ]
[ Page 4 ]
in my eyes! -- Please take my most affectionate
thanks dear Miss Putnam and many good wishes for the near year
that is coming along so fast -- I hope that I shall see you
again before many of its days go by.
Sarah O. Jewett
Notes
1883-1908: The Huntington Library holds a group of four letters in which Jewett thanks Putnam for Christmas gifts. Two of these refer to 1902 and 1903. This letter, can be from any other year, though probably no earlier than 1883, when Jewett began to be integrated into the circle of friends and acquaintances of Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Katy: Information about Jewett family employees has proven difficult to obtain. Possibly, Jewett refers here to Catherine Drinan (see Key to Correspondents) who was Irish born, but she was eight years younger than Jewett, making it inaccurate to describe her as old, unless she means that Katy has long been the family cook.
Jacky: Jacky has not yet been identified.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, in the Spence and Lowell Family Papers: mss SL 262 (1-4). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilian Woodman and Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Mrs. Fields* says this morning that she wishes to see you so much and will be so glad if you can come before long. I think that the best time is late in an afternoon and I send the lady's bidding with [deleted word ] her love and mine.
148 Charles St.
Saturday --
Notes
1883-1908: An invitation by Jewett to the Fields him almost certainly would occur after their 1882 European tour. The Houghton library identifies the recipients of the letter as the Aldriches.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Baily Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2677.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilian Woodman Aldrich
Christmas night
[ 25 December 1882 - 1908 ]
Dear Lilian
To thank you for many things and much dear kindness and then for such a dear spoon! I like it very much -- I hope that I can spend some days in
town next week, and than I shall see you if I can.
S. O. J.
Notes
1882 - 1908: Probably this letter was composed between the 1882 Jewett-Fields European tour and Jewett's final Christmas in 1908.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Baily Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2674.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Edward Henry Rollins
South Berwick, Maine February 23
[ Before 1889 ]
My dear Mr. Rollins
I shall certainly do whatever I can in regard to the matter of the Hale property,* both for the sake of those good ladies our friends, and because I agree with you that such a beautiful old estate ought not to fall into unappreciative or unworthy hands, for their sakes or its own. I am sending your letter to some friends who have had the matter in mind and who already know about the place, since they may be able to do more than I can just now.
We must both wish that the land between the house and the river had not been sold, but that cannot be helped now. Neither can we bring back the old warehouse! The exquisite old garden can be brought back, however, and I hope that we can find the right persons to do it.Believe me,
S. O. Jewett
Notes
Before 1889: The letter must have been
composed before the death of Senator Rollins. Notes on
this transcription read: ROLLINS ESTATE [letter owned at
"Three Rivers Farms" by the heirs of Edward Henry Rollins, U.
S. Senator (b. Rollinsford, 1824;
d. Isles of Shoals, 1889)].
Hale property: It seems possible that Jewett
refers to the property of the Portsmouth Manufacturing Company in
South Berwick, formerly owned by Samuel Hale and his son
Francis. This includes what is now the Counting House
Museum of the Old Berwick Historical Society. See also "The Landing Mill and its Time" by Annie
Wentworth Baer.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in
the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New
England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 72,
Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more
information about the individual transcription, contact the
Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda
Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilian Woodman Aldrich
[ Top left partially circled to be read at leisure! ]
[ Summer 1883-1889 ]
My dear Lilian
We are so sorry to go, and so little while before you come! I know that you will have the best of good times and I [ wish corrected ] that we were going to show you some of the delightful corners we have found -- these three weeks and two days. We have found
some delightful Buffalo people who wish to know you both (or course!) and you will find them most companionable as we have -- Mr. & Mrs Rumsey and their niece Mrs. Wilcox.* Mrs. Rumsey is deaf, but a great book-lover and really charming person. And I have asked my dear little Miss Lovering to put some flowers in
your room for me, and I want you to know her too -- she is with the Rumseys but is a Boston girl or rather Milton: cousin of the Shimmins* &c. &c! We did so hope you would come this week when we decided to stay so long, but indeed we have stayed longer that we could!
I forget whether you care much for sailing but it is
very smooth and good in the bay: a first rate wind almost always, and no roughness. We could have had such larks together, but we ^(A.F.* & I)^ groan about going and leaving you. But you see we started at only a day's notice and really thought two
"Sadie"*
Notes
Summer 1883-1889: This speculative date derives from the notes below. The letter would have to be composed after the 1883 marriage of Mary Rumsey Wilcox. If the guess about Miss Lovering's identity is correct, it would have to be written before her death in 1890, but not in 1890, when Jewett was traveling in Europe.
Mr. & Mrs Rumsey and their niece Mrs. Wilcox: Mrs Wilcox is Mary Grace Rumsey (1855-1933), daughter of Dexter Rumsey (1827-1906) and Susan Fiske (1857-1941), who in 1883 married Ansley Wilcox (1856-1930) of Buffalo, NY. Her uncle and aunt were Bronson Case Rumsey (1823-1902) and Evelyn Hall (1823-1900) of Buffalo. Bronson and his brother, Dexter, were the owners of Aaron Rumsey & Company, a leather tanning firm. They were extremely successful, becoming the principal property owners in Buffalo.
Miss Lovering ... cousin of the Shimmins: Identifying Miss Lovering exactly has not proven possible. The "Lovering" name is remembered in Bronson Rumsey's elder daughter, Mary Lovering Rumsey (b. 1851), suggesting some connection between the Rumseys and a Lovering family. Back Bay Houses records that Frederick Alexander Lovering (1833-1885) and Julianna Maria Shimmin resided on Clarendon Street in 1873 and also maintained a home in Milton, MA. They had two daughters, Julia Eliza and Sarah Charlotte (1850- 11 November 1890). Sarah Charlotte resided in Milton after 1885.
While it seems reasonably likely that Sarah Charlotte is the Miss Lovering Jewett mentions, she would be a daughter of a Shimmin whom the Aldriches and Jewett might know, though perhaps a cousin to other Shimmins known to them.
A.F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Queen of Sheba: Thomas Bailey Aldrich published his novel, The Queen of Sheba in 1877.
Sadie: One of Jewett's nicknames. With the Aldriches, this would have been Sadie Martinot, after the actress of that name. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Baily Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2672.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilian Woodman Aldrich
Dear Lilian
I have been hoping to see you to thank you for the charming Christmas present you gave me but the bad weather has kept me in so far. So I send this written word just to say ^thank you^ for A.F. and myself were as delighted as we could be with*
not only the Russian treasure but your dear kindness --
"Sadie"*
Notes
1883 - 1908: Jewett could have composed this letter almost any winter, beginning as early as January 1883, after which time she often stayed at Annie Fields's Boston home.
A. F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Sadie: One of Jewett's nicknames among her friends.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Baily Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2661.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilian Woodman Aldrich
Dear Lilian
We shall take great pleasure in dining with you tonight, but I am afraid I cant lunch with you tomorrow I am so busy just now -- I saw dear old Mrs. Hall* a week or [ two ? ] ago. So, I shall be*
all the sorrier to miss her --
Sarah
Notes
after 1888: The earliest letter we have to date in which Jewett addresses Mrs. Aldrich as "Lilian" is tentatively dated from June 1883, though Jewett's acquaintance with the Aldriches dates from Mr. Aldrich becoming editor at Atlantic.
Mrs. Hall: This person has not been identified.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Baily Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2664.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[ Winter-Spring, 1883 - 1897 ]*
Dear Darling
Here is a nice letter from Travers! Clara Potter's* illness makes me very sorry -- she is such a good little thing -- and has been doing so many sensible bits of work before she broke down in this way -- It is a funny springlike day and I have been out [ both corrected ] driving and walking -- Carrie* did not go to Boston today either. She seems to be quite unstrung for some reason or other and has
[ Page 2 ]
[ Manuscript breaks off. No signature. ]
Notes
1883 - 1897: No evidence clearly places this letter more exactly within the period between Jewett's return from her first European trip near the end of 1882 and the death of her sister, Carrie, in 1897.
Travers ... Clara Potter's: Susan B. Travers. See Key to Correspondents.
Probably Jewett refers to the painter Clara Sidney Potter Davidge (1858-1921), the daughter of Episcopal Bishop of New York, Henry Codman Potter. Late in her life, she married the painter Henry Fitch Taylor (1853-1925).
Carrie: Carrie Jewett Eastman. See Key to Correspondents.
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Pin: Pinny Lawson (Pinny / Pin) was an affectionate nickname for Jewett, used by her and Annie Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
T.L.: Nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Annie Fields (Adams) 1834-1915, recipient. 194 letters; 1877-1909 & [n.d.] Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilian Woodman Aldrich
148. Charles Street,
Boston.
[ End letterhead ]
Dear Lilian
[ Three unrecognized words Dont it pour! ? ] A. F.* accepts with pleasure though she is afraid she may be tired after a meeting which will keep her nearly to the dinner time. Now, call Sadie* a good girl because she has not told the Charming Secret -- and you will have one other person to surprise!
A. F. hopes I am right in telling her that it is not to be a large formal party because she cannot come home to dress again after "Ward 9"* proceedings.
Dear Lilian I hope you will have a very good time yourself. I am sure everybody else will --
S. O. J.
Notes
1883 or later: Almost certainly this letter was composed after Jewett and Fields toured Europe in 1882.
.
A. F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Sadie: One of Jewett's nicknames. With the Aldriches, this would have been Sadie Martinot.
"Ward 9": Jewett sometimes says that when staying with Annie Fields at 148 Charles Street, she would be in Boston's ninth ward.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Baily Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2666.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilian Woodman Aldrich
[ Autumn 1883 or later ]
Dearest Duchess
I hope that the headache was lost off the cars between Boston and Ponkapog and that you have let yourself get rested and well again -- It was lovely to be with you but I think I was a dismal visitor. I am not apt to be such a coward either when I dont feel well, but life looks much brighter now and
All the maple leaves have suddenly taken it into their heads to come out in bright colors after all, and Berwick is very pretty. I am
walking in with the green dress on! Yours always
Notes
Autumn 1883 or later: To date, the earliest Jewett letter addressed to Lilian Aldrich as the Duchess is dated 27 July 1881. However, this letter seems to have been sent from Boston, probably from the home of Annie Fields. In the autumn of 1882, Fields and Jewett were in Europe, so the earliest date for this letter probably is 1883.
Duchess: The Aldriches were affectionately known among their friends as the Duke and Duchess of Ponkapog. See Key to Correspondents.
next time: Jewett seems to be playing on the familiar wedding vows, in which the partners take each other for better and for worse.
'our own conveyance': Why Jewett puts this phrase in quotation marks is unknown.
Dundee and St. Martin's: Dundee is a Scottish psalter tune to which various appropriately arranged psalms and other hymns might be sung. St. Martin's (1740) is similar in it uses, but has a known composer, William Tans'ur (c. 1700-1783).
Rabini: This piece of silliness, as Jewett labels it, seems to be about the Aldriches current dog, but this has not been confirmed. If she does refer to a dog, she may also allude to Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, in which Shylock is at least once compared to a dog (Act 1, Scene 3).
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Baily Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2668.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Edward Henry Clement
[ 1883 - 1908 ]*
Maine.
Dear Mr. Clement
I draw this bow at a venture -- Perhaps the Listener* can use the enclosed letter, and further its plea by some comments -- Whether for or [ against corrected ]! --
Please return the letter to me at 148 Charles Street
if you think it unwise to put into print.
S. O. Jewett
Notes
1883 - 1908: Jewett could have written this letter in almost any January after she began spending portions of her year in the home of Annie Adams Fields in Boston and sharing Fields's acquaintance with prominent Bostonians. Even as early as 1881, when Clement became editor of the Transcript, Jewett had a number of prominent friends in Boston.
Listener: "The Listener" was a column in the Boston Evening Transcript, where Clement was editor-in-chief 1881-1906. He is known to have written the column from 1901 until 1920. See The Boston Transcript: A History of Its First Hundred Years (1930), Chapter 14, by Joseph Edgar Chamberlin. Clement engaged in a number of political and social controversies during his editorship and in his column after he retired from editing the paper. Which of these Jewett wrote about is not yet known, nor has her proposed letter been discovered.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the University of New England Maine Women Writers Collection, Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence Box 3 Folder 190b. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
but won't we be quiet in Sepr [ about here." ? ] I trust so -- and really do some work --
Your ever loving A.F.
Notes
1892: This letter could have been composed almost any August in the Jewett-Fields Boston marriage before the death of Whittier in 1892.
Pinny: A Jewett nickname.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
My darling! It is a most lovely soft cool afternoon and I have been rambling about "over everything{.}" Such blackberries! O tell Mary* they are in perfection and she must not be too late or they will disappear -- We have had two and three quarts twice and you would think they had never been touched --
The Claflins* and [ Mrs Ellis ? ] came to tea last night
and they sent their love to you -- tonight Mrs Bullard and Mrs Guild* come because it is Mrs Guild's last night -- It is just as well for me that these visitors happen along while I am otherwise alone. The evenings would seem rather solemn but I was really so tired Heaven knows with what! that the silence is recuperative and every hour of stillness is good. I have everything
to talk over with you, but I grudge every beautiful scene while you are away --
My darling, God bless you! do not hurry but you know
A.F.
Notes
1883-1896: This letter could have been composed almost any summer in the Jewett-Fields Boston marriage before June 1896, when Mary Claflin died.
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. Key to Correspondents.
Claflins: The family of Mary Bucklin Davenport Claflin. Key to Correspondents.
Bullard: Probably Mrs. Bullard is Fields's neighbor in Boston and Manchester by the Sea, Elizabeth Eliot (1831-1895), who married Stephen Hopkins Bullard (d. 1909). She was a sister of Harvard University President Charles W. Eliot (1834-1926). Find a Grave.
Guild: This person has not been identified. A Back Bay neighbor of Annie Fields was Fannie Carleton Guild, who was the principal of Guild's and Evans' Commonwealth Avenue School in Boston.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
Here is your dear Sunday letter full of heat, and today is cool and clouded -- How reviving it is.
I was delighted to see all the fascinating letters -- glad to hear all about the Howells.* I wrote
Mrs Dresel* & I passed the whole morning yesterday with the twins* and at "The Cliffs". The dear twins were enchanting{.} Minnie has named this place "Tree Tops" -- isnt that quite perfect in its way and Anna Dresel adds the motto
Über alle Gipfein
Ist Ruh* [ an apostrophe ? ]
"over all the (3 [ unrecognized word ] tree-tops) is rest"
There is a package of paper [ & ? or ? ] books for you here -- shall I send
[ Letter ends here, without a signature ]
Notes
1883-1896: This letter was composed between the beginning of the Jewett-Fields Boston marriage and the death of Anna Loring Dresel in March 1896.
Howells: William Dean Howells. Key to Correspondents.
Dresel: Anna Loring Dresel, mother of Louisa Dresel. Key to Correspondents.
twins: The sisters, but not twins, Helen Choate Bell and Miriam Foster Pratt. Key to Correspondents.
Cliffs: "The Cliffs" was the summer home of Alice Greenwood Howe. Key to Correspondents.
Ruh: Dresel quotes from German poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), "Wanderer's Nightsong II. The short poem as a whole seems to suit Dresel's purpose well.
| Über allen Gipfeln Ist Ruh, In allen Wipfeln Spürest du Kaum einen Hauch; Die Vögelein schweigen im Walde. Warte nur, balde Ruhest du auch. |
O'er all the hilltops Is quiet now, In all the treetops Hearest thou Hardly a breath; The birds are asleep in the trees: Wait, soon like these Thou too shalt rest. Translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow |
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilian Woodman Aldrich
[ 1883 or later ]
Dearest Lilian
Thank you and the Duke* for your dear presents which we have taken to our hearts. I dont see how you could give away that cup but I think the more of myself because it came to me.
The books are both beautiful -- -- but I wish you were across the street for a day so I could go across to kiss you and thank you and gossip with you. T. L.* sends her dear love and thanks. And we both hope to see you soon --
Sadie*
Notes
1883 or later: Almost certainly this letter was composed after Jewett and Fields toured Europe in 1882.
Duke: The Aldriches were affectionately known among their friends as the Duke and Duchess of Ponkapog. See Key to Correspondents.
T.L.: A nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Sadie: One of Jewett's nicknames. With the Aldriches, this would have been Sadie Martinot. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Baily Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2667.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ Spring 1884-1890 ]*
The change came at night with a vengeance -- and yet we were spared a great tempest. I was thankful for that. I awaked most peacefully thinking of the flowers -- about to be! and presently heard the wind and knew the great sea breath was blowing [ over us ? ] and through the house.
Good about Mary's* dress. Tell me if Mifs Cohen* was successful in making the changes --
If you have a good chance in talking with Mr. Howells* sometime will you give him my love and say I think it is too much of a journey to invite him over here for luncheon{.} But anytime when he feels like coming and will telephone or send me a line you know nothing will give me greater pleasure (or few things)
than to see him here when he feels like an excursion with or without friends or [ John a for and ? ] Pilla --
There's a message for you !!!!
I write this note on the [ Page's ? ]* wedding cards which must be answered at once.
A letter from Loulie* says they had a fairly good voyage{.}
your own
Annie
Notes
1890: The earliest known correspondence with Louisa Dresel is from 1884. By 1890, John Howells, son of William Dean Howells had finished college.
Mary's: Mary Rice Jewett. Key to Correspondents.
Mifs Cohen: This dressmaker has not yet been identified.
Howells ... John ... Pilla: William Dean Howells and his children. Key to Correspondents.
Page's wedding cards: This reference has not yet been identified.
Loulie: Louisa Dresel. Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Norton
Your letter, dearest Sally, your ever so charming impression of a very [ shining ? ] pleasure awaiting [ me ? ]: & though the [ getting ? ] away grows more & more difficult, I feel now as if nothing would compel me to yield our
link of the glorious chain which binds us to Ashfield!* So on the 22nd, in the 10:45 train, as you bid, I shall embark. It must be a brief joy, for [ Grants ? ] will arrive for the [ Sunday ? ], & I must return & [ 3 or 4 unrecognized words ] on Friday [ unrecognized word ] --
But, how delightful it will be to see you all!
Notes
1904: Probably this letter was composed between 1884, year of the earliest known correspondence between Sara Norton and other members of Jewett's circle, and 1904, the year of Whitman's death.
Ashfield: The home of Sarah Norton and her family, the the Berkshires of western Massachusetts.
The holder of the manuscript of this letter is unknown, but it is likely to be the Houghton Library of Harvard University.
This transcription is from a photocopy held by the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Box 2, Folder 99, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. This folder contains other letters from Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence. bMS Am 1743.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to the Editors of the Critic
I am glad to tell the Editors of the Critic that I shall spend most of the summer at my home here, going later to Manchester by the Sea to stay with Mrs Fields through the early autumn --
I have no work in hand except some
short stories which have been promised to different magazines --
With many thanks for the The Critic which I always read.
S. O. Jewett
22 May --
Notes
22 May: This letter must have been written after Jewett and Fields became close friends and before Jewett's carriage accident of September 1902.
A photocopy of this manuscript is held by the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, the Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. The location of the original is as yet unknown. Trafton's notes suggest it may be at the New York Public Library, but the effort to locate it there has failed.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Louisa Dresel
Saturday mg
[ Begin deleted letterhead ]
[ End letterhead ]
[ Christmas 1884-1907 ]*
My dear Loulie
I am afraid that this bad weather will reach you at home, today, so that I must send one word to thank you for your note -- I should like very much to take lunch with you next Saturday at 1.30 & to meet Mrs. [ Gerichs ? ], and
I accept with pleasure. I have been ill at home for a fortnight with a very uncomfortable attack of grippe and only got here yesterday afternoon, quite battered and I am writing this sad looking letter in bed (I hasten to explain!) Otherwise you would have heard
loud outcries of joy and amazement over my
which is fairly wonderful. I hope to see you soon to speak of everything.* I go to Mrs. Cabot's* on Monday.
S. O. J.*
Notes
Christmas: That this letter was composed in the Christmas season is supported by Jewett discussing gifts. In the absence of other clues, this letter could have been composed in almost any year after Jewett and Dresel became acquainted in about 1884 and before the death of Susan Burley Cabot, at 34 Beacon St. in Boston, in March 1907.
Gerichs: This transcription is uncertain, and this person has not yet been identified.
most: Jewett has underlined this word 3 times.
blowhard: What Jewett means by this word is not yet known.
everything: Jewett has underlined this word twice.
Cabot's: Susan Burley Cabot. See Key to Correspondents.
S. O. J.: Written in the center of the page in blue ink and another hand: Sara O. Jewett.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Morgan Library & Museum. MA 2932. Purchase, Acquisitions Fund; 1976. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Mary Rice Jewett to Louisa Dresel
[ Winter-Spring, between 1884 and 1889 ]
Dear Loulie:
[ Letterhead of MRJ superimposed within a circle.] Sarah just called me to her and said "do tell Loulie how amused I am at the idea of Rog's* being such a savage protector of her"! It did amuse her very much. Surely, She had several comfortable days in succession but weather has not been kind to her. Yesterday and last night. The worst thing now is her lack of appetite, which condition
comes and goes by turns. Of course it makes her weak and poorly, and troubles us much until she can bear the sight of food again. We brought her down to the library one day last week thinking the change might do her good. And it certainly did her no harm that we could see.
She sends you dear love and thanks for your letter. You did have Friday's luck in the moving didn't you? I hope all is well now
Winter-Spring, between 1884 and 1889: As the note below indicates, it seems likely this letter was composed between 1884 and 1889, and the years 1884 and 1889 seem equally probable.
Rog: This seems likely to be Jewett's dog, Roger. Sarah Orne Jewett's letters mention him between 1881 and 1889. During those years, the most serious bouts of illness Sarah Orne Jewett reports are in letters of 22 February 1882, 22 April 1884, and 6 May 1889.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Columbia University (New York) Library in Special Collections, Jewett. Transcription from a microfilm copy and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Maria Porter Brace*
My dear Mifs Brace
I sincerely beg your pardon for my apparent neglect of my invitation to you last Wednesday -- I am usually 'engaged' every afternoon except Saturday, but today I had said nothing to the little maid who
sent you away quite on her own responsibility.
I ought to have remembered to revoke my usual order ^but I always take pains to say I can see no one when that is really the case^ and must say in excuse for good Katy,* that I was sitting here at my desk when she last saw me earlier in the
afternoon -- I am very sorry to have missed seeing you, and I hope you quite understand that it was ^not!^ [ artful ? ] on my part?
Mrs. Fields* had to go out soon after breakfast about some charity business but she hoped to return in
time to see you -- I did not have half time enough with you the other day and I have been counting upon seeing you today --
Believe me with much regret yours sincerely
15 February --
Notes
1884 - 1891: This range assumes that the letter's recipient was Maria Porter Brace (see notes below). It is bounded by the year after Jewett began regularly residing with Fields during winter months and Brace's February 1892 marriage. While 1883 is a possible year, it appears that Jewett was not in Boston in mid-February that year. In 1888, Fields was seriously ill, and in 1890, Fields and Jewett were in Florida during February.
Brace: It is not certain that this is the Miss Brace to which this letter is addressed. It is possible, for example, that Jewett and Fields were entertaining one of the daughters of the philanthropist Charles Loring Brace (1826-1890), founder of the "orphan train," and his wife Letitia (d. 1916), with whom Fields was acquainted.
The content of the letter seems to indicate that Miss Brace is not well-known to them, not a Boston neighbor, and that she is a person of some consequence.
Maria Porter Brace Kimball (1852-1933) was an American elocutionist and teacher, based in New York, for some time at Vassar College and at the Brearly School. She had several connections with Boston, having studied at the Boston School of Oratory in the 1870s, visiting the city regularly and summering at Nantucket later in her life.
Katy: An employee of Annie Fields.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA: Sarah Orne Jewett Papers, 1849-1909 Series 1: Correspondence, MC 128 Box 1, Folder 9.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Notes
1884 - 1891: This estimate is based upon Theodore J. Eastman being considered a reading little boy between the ages of 5 and 12.
nephew: Theodore Jewett Eastman. See Key to Correspondents. It would seem likely that the book is The Story of a Bad Boy (1869).
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Baily Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2678.
Annie Adams Fields to Lilian Aldrich
My dear Lily:
I was sorry you did not feel like staying this afternoon. Mrs Shaw* only stopped fifteen minutes after you left. She has a little child and was eager to get home, but she was to tell me first that she was to pass the [ season of or at ? ] Manchester less than a mile from me --
Now this note is to ask you if you will
come to supper very soon with me alone -- when we may talk out many things (By the way do you know of anyone who would like a young man and his wife to take care of their house ^or^ live in two rooms for the summer without pay. I know him as honest and excellent. I have never seen the wife but they are not of the servant class at all -- nor yet afraid of work){.}
But now for [ that ? ] evening -- Shall it be Saty or Sunday -- or this very next Thursday [ unrecognized punctuation ].
I am returning your
delightful letters.* I have had copies made of such as we can use and I am returning all the originals. 7.30 is our evening hour except Sunday when we are ready for tea at Seven lacking one quarter!
You shall telephone [unrecognized word or words ] -- 742 Haymarket --
A. F.
Notes
After 1884: While this is not certain, Fields seems to have had a telephone as early as 1884.
Mrs Shaw: This person has not yet been identified.
letters: Fields probably was collecting letters for one of her biographies. Without a definite date, it is impossible to know for which one.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: Thomas Bailey Aldrich Papers, MS Am 1429, Box 6, Items 1446-1538. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Emily Marshall Otis Eliot*
Thursday Evening
[ 1884 - 1906 ]*
Dear Mrs. Eliot
This is not only to remind you of the Lunch Club = I have been wishing so much to thank you for my great pleasure on Sunday! You can hardly know what a pleasure it was -- and is!
Thank you from my heart; and I shall be looking for you on Monday next,
Sarah O. Jewett
Notes
1884-1906: These dates mark the known period of Jewett's correspondence with Eliot.
Eliot: It is likely but not certain that Jewett addresses Emily Eliot. See Jewett to Eliot of 2 April 1903. Jewett participated in various clubs during her lifetime, and it is not yet known which club she refers to here.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections; Cairns Collection of American Women Writers, Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Louisa Dresel
34 Beacon St.
[ 1884 - 1907 ]*
The gilly flowers are Jack & Gilly flowers! -- Jack & the Beanstalk* ones: a new combination! Ellen* brought them to me when they came this morning and I did so delight not only in my pleasure but in hers -- There never were such splendid things.
Thank you dear for the note most of all, it is
S.O.J.
1907: In the absence of other clues, this letter could have been composed in almost any year after Jewett and Dresel became acquainted in about 1884 and before the death of Susan Burley Cabot, at 34 Beacon St. in Boston, in March 1907. See Key to Correspondents.
Beanstalk: In the English folktale, "Jack and the Beanstalk," magic bean seeds produce a stalk that grows above the clouds, reaching into a world that is the home of a giant.
Ellen: Two mutual friends and correspondents were Ellen Frances Mason and Ellen Tucker Emerson. Probably Jewett refers to one of these people, but that is not certain. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Princeton University Library, Princeton, NJ: Robert H. Taylor Collection of English and American Literature RTC01, Box 10, Folder 12. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 1885-1890 ]*
Dearest Pinny:
It was Mabel and Jo without Jim* who came last night -- She seems very tired and worn and I am afraid she will be homesick alone with me; and she has unwillingly left both her photograph camera and her little girl because the foolish women at home thought she ought to rest -- just as if the things she likes to do could do her harm! Well, "what a world it is --" !!
We had a severe thunderstorm in the afternoon yesterday which struck one of the new houses on the point* -- No damage was done but the fact is startling to the owner of a new house I should say. [ It corrected ] would be to me{.}
Mabel says her father got home after a five days visit here apparently glad to return though he enjoyed his stay too. He was sorry he did not see you !!! Such is life.
He does talk of going back to England but does not really know what he wants or where to go --
She says he is such a creature of habits --
Thankful to get your note dear.
gratefully
-- your
A.F.
Notes
1885-1890: This letter was written after James Russell Lowell had taken up his final residence in the United States and before his death in 1891. In that period, Mabel Lowell's daughter was still quite young.
Pinny: A Jewett nickname.
Mabel and Jo without Jim: Mabel Lowell Burnett. Key to Correspondents. The two older of her sons were James (1873-1947) and Joseph (1874-1909). Her youngest child was a daughter, Esther (1879-1966).
point: Fields writes from Manchester by the Sea.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 1885-1908 ]*
Mrs Pierce* rings the telephone sending thanks to you and a Merry Christmas to both and I thank her for the gifts to us both{.}
The bell rings one steady
call as it were --
Boylston Beal sends me a perfect autograph of Mrs Piozzi* written when she was 80!
Such a nice present -- Mifs Rogers* sends you & me a beautiful [ symetrical so spelled ] bough of cedar or juniper -- F. Parkman* and Mrs [ unrecognized word ? ] our gifts &c. &c. I begin to wish they would stop!
Notes
1885-1908: This letter could have been composed at almost any Christmas between 1883 and 1908. However, it seems that Boylston Beal would have to be an adult to be able to gift Fields with a famous literary autograph. See notes below.
Mrs. Pierce: This may be Stella Louise Pierce, sister-in-law of Jewett correspondent Ella Walworth Little. Key to Correspondents.
Boylston Beal ... Piozzi: Boylston Adams Beal (1865-1944) was Fields's nephew. See Fields in Key to Correspondents.
Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi (1741-1740) was a Welsh-born author, socialite, and patron of the arts who befriended British author, Samuel Johnson, and wrote, among other works, a memoir about him. Wikipedia.
Rogers: This person has not yet been identified.
F. Parkman: This reference has proven mysterious. The historian Francis Parkman (d. November 1893) is possible, but he was a widower after 1858. Mary Frances Parker Parkman, also is a possibility, but her mother-in-law was deceased, and her mother, Elizabeth Stites Parker, was, of course, not named Mrs. Parkman. However, the mysterious word after "Mrs." in the final paragraph may begin with a capital P, and could, therefore be an initial for Parker. Key to Correspondents. Wikipedia.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Frances Jennette Dyer
Boston 20th May
[ 1885 - 1897 ]*
Dear Mifs Dyer
Your letter happens to find me in town and -- it gives me great pleasure that you should remember me and write so kindly. I am sorry to disappoint you, but I have a great deal of work ahead just now and I am trying
to lessen my engagements instead of adding to them. From what I remember, too, my prices would not agree with those of [ the corrected ] Congregationalist,* and so I must not promise you anything for this summer, but I thank you all the same!
Sarah O. Jewett
Do you have Mrs. Laura E. Richards* of Gardiner on your list? Beside her charming gift for writing verse, I delight in her short papers on literary "home" subjects -- always most refined and thoughtful.
Notes
1885 - 1897: Jewett almost certainly wrote this letter after her final contribution to The Congregationalist in October 1884 and before the end of Dyer's term as editor there in 1897.
Congregationalist: An American weekly newspaper of the Congregational Church, published during much of the 19th century and into the 20th.
Laura E. Richards: See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections; Cairns Collection of American Women Writers, Comprehensive collection of works by Sarah Orne Jewett. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Lilian Aldrich
Wednesday
[ 1885-1898 ]*
My dear Lilian:
If you and dear T. B. can find it convenient to come in Saturday at five o'clock you will find "Sadie"!* and Mrs. Hodgson Burnett* who happens to be in town, ^&^ has been friendly enough to promise to come.
We should be very glad to see you and to know that you are better. I think still with dismay of the story of your illness.
Annie Fields
Notes
1885-1898: In Sarah Orne Jewett to Fields believed to be of August 1885, Jewett indicates that she has had little recent contact with Hodgson Burnett; therefore this letter must come from after that date. And it must have been written before Mrs. Hodgson Burnett divorced her first husband. There were years during that time when Burnett was not in the United States, but this letter could have been composed in almost any other year during this period.
"Sadie": A nickname for Sarah Orne Jewett used by the Aldriches, Jewett and Fields, a reference to the American actress Sadie Martinot. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Hodgson Burnett: Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright, best remembered for children's novels, Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886) and The Secret Garden (1911).
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: Thomas Bailey Aldrich Papers, MS Am 1429, Box 6, Items 1446-1538. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ a-slorming ? ] in Hartford
[ Begin letterhead in red ]
Nook Farm,
Hartford, Conn.
[ End letterhead ]
Think of my [ little ? ] note here, you darling! -- I didnt send it to bring you into the place with me, & to
find you here of your own accord, but O it was dear to get it. ----- Bless you with a great blessing.
Its just after luncheon: two or three guests: Mrs Cable* full of gayety, Mr Warner away, after all. That's the point of regret but all are so kind that I [ feel ? ] not [ deletion ] to mind.
On the way I did lots of re-casting of my [ unrecognized word ], & its better now than it was -- which [ might ? ] well be alas!
but what I want is to see you on the front seat.
Notes
1904: This date range is a guess, but the letter almost certainly was written after 1885, when the Cables moved to Massachusetts.
Warner's: Susan Lee Warner, spouse of Charles Dudley Warner. Key to Correspondents.
Cable: Louisa Stewart Bartlett, spouse of George Washington Cable. Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 5, Item 234.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Grace Norton
[ 1885-1907 ]*
34 Beacon Street.
[ End letterhead]
Dear Mifs Norton*
I have put off writing this note because I hoped that I could come some afternoon as you so kindly asked me, to hear the first essay. I am afraid that I cannot feel sure enough of any day this week, -- my dear old friend* here has been really ill with a cold and I am
always worried about her -- The chief value of my being here is my being here, and I dont care to make any promises ahead for afternoons or evenings, lest she should miss me at the wrong time.
I am counting upon Thursday morning however if nothing untoward
happens in the mean time
-- Believe me always
Sarah O. Jewett
Notes
1885-1907: It is not yet known when Jewett first met Mrs. Cabot, from whose home she wrote this letter. The earliest mention of her so far found in Jewett's correspondence is in a letter to Annie Adams Fields dated "Late Wednesday Afternoon," probably in 1885. It is possible, then, that this letter was composed at almost any time between 1885 and Mrs. Cabot's death in March of 1907.
Norton: Though there are three strong candidates for the recipient of this letter -- the sisters Sara and Elizabeth Norton, and their aunt, Grace Norton, it seems most likely that this letter is addressed to Grace Norton. The main supporting clue is that Jewett has been invited to listen to a "first essay." Grace Norton was a scholar and translator of French literature, particularly of the French essayist, Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). She regularly gave public lectures on French literary topics. See all three women in Key to Correspondents.
old friend: 34 Beacon St. in Boston was the address of Jewett's close friend, Susan Burley Cabot. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the University of New England Maine Women Writers Collection, Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence Box 2 Folder 138
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Louisa Loring Dresel
[ 1887 or later ]*
I thank you most lovingly for the flower which kept me company in the most friendly manner all yesterday afternoon while Mrs. Fields* was away.
Do come to see me sometime today or [deleted letters] tomorrow [deleted letters] if you can -- the sooner the better!
S. O. J.
one small note . . .*
Notes
1887 or later: To date, the earliest known letter between Jewett and Dresel is from 1887. Written in another hand at the top left of page one is the date 1885, but no rationale is given.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
small note: On the manuscript, the two sets of deleted letters make dark blots.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Small Library, University of Virginia, Special Collections MSS 6218, Sarah Orne Jewett Papers. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Professor Robinson*
26 June
[ 1887 - 1908 ]*
Professor Robinson
My dear Sir
I send you* --and this bottle of water from the well. It has been better for some time, but the fall rains have given it the same bad taste again. The extremely bad condition of the winter was partly caused by a very heavy
top dressing put on the grass about the house. We have taken care of course about using it -- getting water from a spring.
I also send a second bottle taken from a pond a few miles from here which is being talked of for supplying a
part of the village. It is entirely fed by springs and is very deep -- will you please analyze both at your convenience and let me know the amount of your bill --
Sarah O. Jewett
Notes
1887 - 1908: This date range is probable but not certain. To date, there is little evidence of Jewett's direct involvement in property maintenance. Her sister, Mary Rice Jewett, typically handled such issues. See Key to Correspondents.
Jewett could not have written this letter after June of 1908, being fatally ill the following June. It is unlikely that she wrote before 1887, the year that she and Mary Jewett moved into the original Jewett home, where she was born. If the letter's recipient has been identified correctly below, then it seems likely that she would have written after receiving her honorary degree from Bowdoin on 21 June 1901, when she had opportunities to meet Bowdoin faculty, especially those who would have known her father, when he served on the medical faculty, such as Franklin Clement Robinson.
Robinson: While this letter provides little information about Professor Robinson's identity, it is of interest to note that Franklin Clement Robinson (1852-1910) was Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy, and Josiah Little Professor of Natural Science at Bowdoin College, where he taught courses in Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis. He taught at Bowdoin from 1874 until his death. While we cannot yet be sure this is Jewett's Professor Robinson, the odds would seem strong.
you: Jewett seems to have omitted something here.
148. Charles Street.
Boston.
[ End letterhead ]
Friday
[ 1887 or later ]
Dear Loulie
When I went out this morning to take my walk I was sure that I should not come in again without going to see you to thank you for the lovely flowers. Mrs. Fields* and I have had a beautiful time with
them and they add another pleasure to the many you have already given me. I am sorry I have [written over had] to write this instead of saying it! but I got quite hot and tired out of doors. However I shall hope to see you very soon.
S. O. J.
' next door '
1887 or later: To date, the earliest known letter between Jewett and Dresel is from 1887. A partly readable date in another hand appears at the top left of page 1, asserting that the letter is from the 1880s.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Small Library, University of Virginia, Special Collections MSS 6218, Sarah Orne Jewett Papers. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
148. Charles Street.
Boston.
[ End letterhead ]
Friday
[ 1887 or later ]
My dear Loulie
If you thought I was unmindful of the flowers night before last, you were quite wrong, that's all! I wish the little dark one need never go out of bloom -- -- it never will either, for I shall always remember it -- I meant to
send these loving thanks to you yesterday but somehow I didnt feel like doing anything at all, and now I thank you twice over. Do come whenever you can my dear little neighbor!
S. O. J.
Notes
1887 or later: To date, the earliest known letter between Jewett and Dresel is from 1887. Written in another hand at the top left of page one is "1885 or '84", but no rationale is given.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Small Library, University of Virginia, Special Collections MSS 6218, Sarah Orne Jewett Papers. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Isabella Steward Gardner to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ After 1887 ]*
My best love, dear --
After the Sad Good Friday, comes the happy Easter*
Isabella S. Gardner
Notes
After 1887: Currently available evidence suggests that correspondence between Jewett and Gardner began in about 1887.
Good Friday ... Easter: For Christians, Good Friday is the anniversary of Christ's crucifixion, and Easter of His resurrection.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, bMS Am 1743.1 (37). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Isabella Steward Gardner to Annie Adams Fields
Green Hill
Brookline Mass.
[ End Letterhead ]
Dear Mrs. Fields
You are very good & kind to me -- but alas, I cannot profit as I must come back here from my Pride's Crossing* visit, next Monday.
I am due at [ Medfield ? ].* I am very sorry, but I do hope I may at least be able to get over to see you & Miss Jewett -- I long for a sight of you both.
With a great deal of love I am as always
Isabella S. Gardner
Notes
1887-1890: The date range is highly speculative. Currently available evidence suggests that correspondence between Jewett and Gardner began in about 1887, though Gardner and Fields are likely to have met earlier. If the visit to Medfield was, indeed, to Dennis Bunker (see below), then this range is probably close.
Pride's Crossing: A neighborhood in Beverly, MA, not far from Manchester-by-the-Sea, where Annie Fields had a summer home.
Medfield: Though this transcription is uncertain, Gardner had some acquaintance in Medfield, MA, including the painter, Dennis Miller Bunker (1861-1890) and Eleanor Hardy (1869-1953), whom he married shortly before his death in 1890.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, bMS Am 1743 (295). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Sarah Cabot Wheelwright
Wednesday
[ Autumn 1889 or later ]*
[ Letterhead at left margin consisting of the initials SOJ overlapping inside a circle ]
Dear Sarah*
I tried to find you this morning at Lincoln by telephone but you were not there -- Tonight I thought you would be tired. I am going down to Naushon tomorrow for two nights and home on Saturday so that I fear that I shall not have a chance to see you now. Wont you or Mary* send a postcard to South Berwick
so that I shall find it on Saturday and know that you got home all right?
- Mrs. Fields* came up from Manchester yesterday -- a very good 'moving' but the house looked quite sad as we drove away -- it was an enchantingly beautiful morning. This is just a word to carry my love to all three.
Mrs. Fields sends love.
Notes
1889 or later: Mrs. Fields is known to have had a telephone as early as 1884. As of this writing, the earliest known reference to Mrs. Wheelwright in Jewett's letters is in 1889. Presumably, then, this letter was composed in that year or later.
Sarah: The microfilm copy of this letter suggest that it is written on two sides of a half sheet.
Mary: Mary Cabot Wheelwright. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Small Library, University of Virginia, Special Collections MSS 6218, Sarah Orne Jewett Papers. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
[ October 1889 - 1904 ]*
Dearest Fuff*
Wouldn't you love to be [ deletion ] footing it along the shore at Manchester this morning in the sun and salt wind! I find myself thinking of the pastures down by The Cliff* at York and other nice lonesome out-of-door places where there are plenty of gulls and crows -- Perhaps I can go down to Pine Point* horseback !!! but there are so many other
things to do -- ^it^ being the day after the fair as well as Indian summer.*
The fair was a great success after all, with a favoring mild night and a [ moon corrected ] so big and bright that all the people came in from the farms. I really enjoyed it ever so much and didn't get to bed until after one with being wide awake and sitting up to read awhile.
I have been reading that
nice story -- Sir Charles [ Danvers ? ]* and find it really charming and a clever picture of English Country Life. It is not a great story but uncommonly good. I think you would like it. When like Mrs. Battles* you unbent your mind over a book! Here is Mr. Morse's letter* to which I sent an answer and the other was from Mr. Copeland who has his interesting points
and really does good work. I find that people talk about the Post books notices and recognize that he does not always praise.
In the meantime I wish I could hear of another edition pretty soon as Christmas draws on --
with best love from your
( mersenary ) Pinny*
Notes
1889-1904: This letter was composed in 1889 or later, the publication date of Sir Charles Danvers. Probably it was written before 1904, when Fields arranged to loan a copy of that novel to Robert Collyer. See notes below.
This manuscript contains editorial marks, presumably by Annie Adams Fields as she considered including this in Letters of Sarah Orne Jewett (1911).
Fuff: A nickname Jewett used for Annie Adams Fields -- also Fuffatee. See Key to Correspondents.
The Cliff: Though sometimes identified as Bald Head Cliff in Ogunquit, ME., Jewett seems clear about placing this cliff in York, ME. Presumably she refers to what is now the York Harbor Cliff Walk.
Pine Point: This point on the New Hampshire side of he Piscataqua River forms the southern end of Stiles's (St. Alban's) Cove. Jewett mentions this location in at least two of her works, The Tory Lover (1901) and "River Driftwood" (1881).
Indian summer: In the U.S., a warm period after the first hard frost of autumn, typically in October. At this time of year, New England churches often held fairs, sales of crafts and food, to raise money for Christmas charity.
Sir Charles Danvers: Sir Charles Danvers (1889), was a novel by British author Mary Cholmondeley (1859-1925). Wikipedia.
It is not perfectly clear that Jewett wrote "Danvers," but this seems likely. Robert Collyer to Annie Adams Fields of 13 September 1904 indicates that Fields facilitated loaning a copy to him.
Mrs. Battles: British author Charles Lamb (1775-1834) wrote Essays of Elia (1823), which includes "Mrs. Battle's Opinions on Whist." Sarah Battle, he writes, thought the game of whist her true business in life, and after a session, she would unbend her mind over a book. Wikipedia.
Morse's: This may be Edwin W. Morse. See Key to Correspondents.
Mr. Copeland: Probably this is Charles Townsend Copeland (1850-1952), American author, poet, theater critic and academic. Wikipedia.
( mersenary ) Pinny: A nickname for Jewett.
The meaning of "mersenary" here is uncertain, and it is not clear whether Jewett or Fields wrote the parentheses.
The manuscript of this letter appears in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Annie Fields (Adams) 1834-1915, recipient. 194 letters; 1877-1909 & [n.d.] Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Harriet Jackson Lee Morse*
[ 1889-1908 ]*
[ End letterhead ]
Dearest Mrs Morse
I hoped so much see you before this and especially to see you this week, but I fell ill a week ago just as I was leaving town where I had been for two or three days, and all my proceedings have been much curtailed! I counted my ailments as only an attack of rheumatism but I think that over Sunday
I had a little bundle all done up and in my hand to carry to you and dear Fanny which I am sure Mrs. Fields* will send on to you. I saw a little Shetland shawl while I was away and I thought it would be such a warm little
thing for you to keep in your bedroom -- perhaps for chilly nights and mornings at Beverly! It is a very homely little possession as you will see, but I took a great liking to it --
I cannot say here how often I have had you in my thoughts of late and I have so much wished to see you! I send you a great deal of love
Sarah
Notes
Morse: See Frances (Fanny) Rollins Morse in Key to Correspondents.
1889-1908: In the absence of helpful evidence, I am able only to place this letter within the known period of the Jewett-Morse correspondence.
Fields: Annie Adams Fields. Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743.1 (123) Box 4, II. Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Sarah Perkins Cabot Wheelwright
Tuesday
[ 1889 or later ]
get back to Charles Street for a few minutes between. Oh how nice to think of seeing you!
Thursday. 1.30 +*
Notes
1889 or later: As of this writing, the earliest known reference to Mrs. Wheelwright in Jewett's letters is in 1889. Presumably, then, this letter was composed in that year or later. Working from a microfilm copy, this letter appears to be on half a sheet.
73: According to Clark's Boston Blue Book (p. 224), in 1907, the Wheelwrights resided at 73 Mt. Vernon Street in Boston. The length of their residence at this address is not yet known. On the basis of this information, I have presumed that this fragment is addressed to Mrs. Wheelwright.
Thursday. 1.30 +: Presumably, Jewett is repeating the projected time of her arrival.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Small Library, University of Virginia, Special Collections MSS 6218, Sarah Orne Jewett Papers. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[ Before August 1891 ]*
My Dearest Fuff*
.
.
.
.
.
.
. . . . . . . . . I have come across an enchanting book
called Forty Years in a Moorland Parish* -- the
Parish of Danby not far from Whitby. I dont think it is
your kind of thing but I love it and find so much in it that
is curiously familiar in works & ways to a Berwick
herron.* I must ask Mr. Lowell if he knows anything
about him if he feels like talking when I see him again.
I mean to try to get out there this week.
Goodnight
darling
Notes
The ellipsis in the transcription indicates that this is a
selection from the manuscript.
1891: That she implies James Russell Lowell is
chronically ill suggests that this is the final year of his
life. He died in August 1891.
Fuff: Nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Forty Years in a Moorland Parish: John Christopher Atkinson (1814-1900)
was an English Anglican priest, writer and antiquary. "His
best-known work ... was a collection of local legends and
traditions which he published in 1891, with the title Forty
Years
in
a Moorland Parish." He served the Parish of Danby
(Yorkshire) from 1847 until his death.
Berwick herron: Is this a misspelling? What
Jewett refers to remains mysterious.
Mr. Lowell: James Russell Lowell. See Key to Correspondents.
Pinny: Nickname for Sarah Orne Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 72, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to John Greenleaf Whittier
Thursday [ Spring before September 1892 ]*
I sent you a bottle of medicine yesterday afternoon -- for I think it will do you good to "take a little somethin' " as the old farmers say! I think that two or three teaspoonfuls several times a day in a little milk would be a good prescription.
I am so glad to have seen
you and to know with my own eyes that you are on the mend. I think with sorrow of being far away from you, and then I remember how near we all are who love each other -- and the time will fly fast at any rate until I am back again.
Mary* and I had a dear call to remember
and we both send you much love and to Mr. & Mrs. Cartland and Mrs Pickard* if she is still there. Dont try to write until by and by when you feel stronger. Wait until the robins come and bring you a new pen! Yesterday I was out driving and we thought we heard one and stopped the horses in the woods with
great interest and then found that it was only the whiffle-tree* squeaking!!
Sarah.
Notes
before 1892: This letter must have been composed between 1877, when Jewett and Whittier became acquainted, and September 1892, when Whittier died.
Upside down in the bottom right corner of page 4 is penciled: "Sarah Jewett".
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. Key to Correspondents.
Cartland ... Pickard: Richard Cary says that Joseph Cartland (1810-1898) and Whittier's cousin Gertrude Cartland (1822-1911) accompanied Whittier on his summer vacations in Maine and New Hampshire for five decades, and Whittier lived in their home at Newburyport, Massachusetts most of his last fifteen winters.
See Samuel Thomas Pickard in Key to Correspondents.
whiffle-tree: Wikipedia notes that this is the name for the mechanism in a horse-drawn conveyance which enables teams to pull evenly.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, Pickard-Whittier papers: Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. 12 letters to unidentified persons; [n.d.]. Box:12 Identifier: MS Am 1844, (8616).
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
October. [1882 or after; before January 1888 ]*
The two notes you sent me tonight
are very dear prints of your footsteps along the path of life.
A sentimental Pinny to express herself so, but she feels it to
the bottom of her heart. Miss Grant# is in the full tide of
successful narration. She described an acquaintance this
morning as a "meek-looking woman, but very
understanding!" I have not been writing today. I should have
been called off at any rate a good deal, so I did some
hammering and housekeeping this morning, and "box-pleated"
sixteen breadths of silk ruffle this afternoon. (I think we
shall have the little lace frock. It is not going to be a
great deal of work, and is getting on capitally.)
Fields's note
# the village dressmaker.
Notes
This letter appears in Annie Fields, Letters of Sarah Orne Jewett (1911), Transcribed by Annie Adams Fields, with notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Unknown Recipient
[ 1882 or later ]
[ Letterhead at left margin consisting of the initials SOJ overlapping inside a circle ]*
My dear, this picture is delightful! You were so good to send it and I shall often ^and often^ look at it and "keep company." We are packed all but the last button and string and postage stamp, and go at 10.45
tomorrow, pretty tired I must say but rejoicing to think of a salt breeze and a good sized moon. We did really get to Concord yesterday, and had a perfect visit to 'Miss Ellen{.}'* The old house was never so beautiful to me or the green fields about it. With love to the picture girl and boy I am their
Notes
1882 or later: It appears Jewett is at the beginning of a long sailing trip. She took several to Europe and into the Caribbean between 1882 and 1900. That she speaks of "we" being packed would tend to confirm that she will travel with someone, typically Annie Adams Fields, sometimes with her sister, Mary Rice Jewett. As "we" also has visited Ellen Emerson in Concord, MA on the day before departing, this would suggest that the sailing departure point is Boston and that this letter precedes one of the trips to Europe: 1882, 1890, 1892, 1898, 1900.
'Miss Ellen': Ellen Tucker Emerson of Concord, MA. See Key to Correspondents.
circle: Working from a microfilm copy, this letter appears to be on half a sheet.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Small Library, University of Virginia, Special Collections MSS 6218, Sarah Orne Jewett Papers. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to "Abby" [ Abby
Adeline Manning ]*
148 Charles St.
Thursday morning [After 1882]
Dear Abby
I look forward to the tea-party on Sunday with great
pleasure.
Yours affectionately
Sarah O. Jewett
P. S. I hope that you're not going to make your little round
balls of minced meat exactly by Mrs. Masel's recipe! too
much
onion!!!!!
Notes
Abby: While there is as yet no way to achieve
certainty about the recipient's identity, the number of
Jewett's known acquaintances in Boston who were named "Abby"
is few. Therefore, a likely prospect is Abby Adeline
(Addy) Manning (1836-1906), the partner of the American
sculptor, Anne
Whitney. (1821-1915). Paula Blanchard says that
the couple were early friends of Annie Fields, and later of
both Fields and Jewett (p. 215).
Britannica.com
says that Whitney maintained a studio in Boston after
1876. See Manning in Key
to
Correspondents.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
Tuesday morning. [ Spring after 1883, probably before
Whittier's death on 7 September 1892*. ]
It seems as if two leaves for one had suddenly come out on the trees. Yesterday afternoon I went to the funeral of an old patient of my father on one of the old farms -- where the neighbourhood minister preached and the old farmhouse was crowded with people -- and then we all walked out, two by two, across a broad green field, with old-fashioned pall-bearers carrying the coffin by hand and changing, -- first four would take it, and then four others who went before, just as it must have been in England two hundred years ago. There was such a long procession, a hundred and thirty or forty, and all in little flocks, -- the father and mother and their big and little children, by twos, following them, and then another father and mother and their children. Somehow it looked quite scriptural! and the burying-ground was a little square out in the middle of this great field, with tall high-standing trees shading it. The whole scene was most touching and simple and curiously archaic. Usually the farming people have the hearse come and do all the things that village people do.
I have been reading a really wonderful little book by poor Richard Jefferies. I had never even heard of it - "The Story of My Heart," he calls it, but it is really the expression of his religious growth and aspiration toward higher things.* He finds little in conventional, or rather formulated religions, but everything in an eager belief in higher forms of life and unrevealed wisdom. He comes closer to these in out-of-door life, as one might expect who knows his other books, but his ability to put into words the consciousness of life and individuality and relationship to eternity is something amazing. I have never known anything just like it. I thought of "thy friend"# as I read it, and of "Phantastes,"* which I haven't read since I was growing up. There is a queer touch of Tolstoi's creeds now and then. This copy was printed in '83, -- how strange that I never knew anything of it!
Tonight I saw the dear little new moon through the elm boughs; and have read part of one of Hawthorne's American Journal volumes but didn't care for it as much as I used to. On the contrary, I found the "Rambles about Portsmouth" a mine of wealth. One description of the marketwomen coming down the river, their quaintness and picturesqueness at once seem to be so great, and the mere hints of description so full of flavor, that it all gave me much keener pleasure than anything I found in the other much more famous book. This seems like high literary treason, but you wait and see. This was a volume of Hawthorne's younger journals, a conscious effort after material and some lovely enough notes of his walks and suggestions for sketches; but these last lack any reality or imagination, rootless little things that could never open seed in their turn, or make much of any soil they were put into, so "delicate" in their fancy as to be far-fetched and oddly feeble and sophomorish. You will find it hard to believe this without the pages before you as I have just had them. But oh! such material as I lit upon in the other book! one page flashes into my mind now as 'live as Kipling and as full of fresh air, and all the touches of brave fancy and quiet pathos. Let an old fellow like Brewster keep at it as he did, and he quietly brings you a ruby and a diamond, picked right up in a Portsmouth street.* Such genuine books always live, they get filled so full of life: it's neither Boswell nor Johnson* who can take the credit, but the Life on the pages.*
"Too useful to be lonely and too busy to be sad."
That is the most lovely thing that Miss Phelps ever said or wrote.*
Fields's note
#Whittier.
Notes
poor Richard Jefferies. ... "The Story of My Heart": Richard Jefferies (1848-1887) was an English writer and naturalist, best remembered for his nature writing. The Story of My Heart (1883), perhaps his most famous work, caused some scandal upon its publication; it is a spiritual autobiography that tells of his growth into a kind of transcendentalism that rejects traditional Christianity.
"thy friend" ... and of "Phantastes": "Thy friend" is John Greenleaf Whittier, the Quaker poet. Phantastes: A Faery Romance for Men and Women (1858) is by the Scot, George MacDonald (1824-1905).
one of Hawthorne's American Journal volumes ... "Rambles about Portsmouth" ... Brewster: Nathaniel Hawthorne's (1804-1864) American Note Books appeared in several editions and forms beginning in 1868. Charles Warren Brewster's (1802-1868) Rambles about Portsmouth: Sketches of Persons, Localities, and Incidents of Two Centuries: Principally from Tradition and Unpublished Documents appeared in 1859 (First Series) and 1869 (Second Series). The account of the market women is in "Second Series," Ramble 132. Jewett drew upon this description in Chapter 7 of The Tory Lover.
Boswell nor Johnson: James Boswell (1740-1795) published The Life of Samuel Johnson in 1791. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) was one of the most prominent English literary figures of the eighteenth century.
"Too useful to be lonely and too busy to be sad." ... Miss Phelps: Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (1844-1911) was the author of Dr. Zay, a novel about an aspiring woman doctor, like Jewett's A Country Doctor. She probably was best known for her Spiritualist novel, The Gates Ajar. On-line searches for this quotation show it being repeated often soon after the publication of this letter, which suggests that few readers had seen it before 1911. Perhaps Phelps spoke this to Jewett or wrote it in a letter to her?pages: This paragraph appears in a letter to Fields tentatively dated December 1893.
This letter appears in Annie Fields, Letters of Sarah Orne Jewett (1911), Transcribed by Annie Adams Fields, with notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Unknown Recipient*
[ Summer after 1883 ]*
My dear Friend, your letter has followed me to Manchester so I am a day late in answering. No, it is the 5th that I go to the Parkmans,* and Wednesday the 10th (?) that I come to you if you still find it convenient. I am looking forward to seeing you with the greatest pleasure -- and I am
getting such a sense of adventure ahead, that you may find some morning ^that^ your schooner has slipped her moorings and I have sailed away a Bold Pirate!
-- Mrs. Fields* sends her most affectionate remembrance to you. I just came over for two or three days as I found she was to be alone and I
should not have the chance again for some time. Rose Lamb* was to be here just now, but she has not been well and had to give up a visit here and one to Mrs Winthrop --*
No more letter now -- but wont we talk about things when I am there! I had a delightful little visit to Helen Merriman* after my week with Miss Wormeley*
which was delightful too. The difficulty will be in ever settling down again after such excitements but it is very pleasant, after my last four years to enjoy so much.
Yours always with love to all three
SOJ to unknown recipient: The recipient of this letter is not indicated. If Jewett speaks literally of a schooner she may pirate, then perhaps her recipient is Celia Thaxter, who used a schooner to move between Portsmouth, NH and her residence on Appledore in Isles of the Shoals. If she is not speaking literally and actually referring to a yacht owned by her recipient, then she may be writing to Mrs. John M. Forbes, on whose family yacht, the Merlin, Jewett was a frequent guest after 1903. Also in her later years, she was a regular guest of Sarah Cabot Wheelwright in her family yacht, the Hesper.
Summer after 1883: Without knowledge of either the date or the recipient, working out the other is more difficult. This letter must have been composed after Jewett and Fields's summer 1882 trip to Europe.
Parkmans: Probably Mary Frances Parker Parkman. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Rose Lamb: See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs Winthrop: Jewett was acquainted with Cornelia Adeline "Adele" Granger (1819/20 - 16 June 1892), widow of John Eliot Thayer (1803-1857), who was the third wife of Robert Charles Winthrop, an American lawyer, politician, and philanthropist. Representing Massachusetts, he was Speaker of the House of Representatives, 1847-49. Her parents were the politician Francis Granger and Cornelia Rutson Van Rensselaer. See also Wikipedia.
However, it is possible that this letter was composed after the death of Cornelia Winthrop, in which case, Mrs. Winthrop may be the wife of Robert Charles Winthrop, Jr. (1834-1905), Elizabeth Mason Winthrop (1844-1924).
Helen Merriman ... Miss Wormeley: Helen Bigelow Merriman and Katherine Prescott Wormeley. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Small Library, University of Virginia, Special Collections MSS 6218, Sarah Orne Jewett Papers. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Louisa* was here yesterday but I was out. -- I met Miss Baker in front of the State House* yesterday and she thought for some time that I was you and speaked on that affectionate basis, and then discovered of a sudden that I was I and had to begin all over again holding fast my hand all through -- so that I saw her some time in both capacities!
Notes
Sunday After 1883: This surmise arises
from Blanchard indicating that the Jewetts first began to know
Charlotte Alice Baker in 1883.
Handwritten notes with this transcription
read: [to Mary] [Sunday]
Louisa: Probably Louisa Dresel, though possibly Louisa Putnam Loring. See Key to Correspondents.
Miss Baker ... State House: Miss Baker may be
the American historian, Charlotte Alice Baker (1833-1909).
According to Paula Blanchard in Sarah Orne Jewett
(1994), the Jewett's became close to Baker and to the artist
Susan Minot Lane (1832-1893) during the mid-1880s.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Louisa Loring Dresel
Dear Loulie
Thursday shall be the day if you still wish, and I shall try to be prompt at one o'clock --
S. O. J.
Notes
1884 or later: As of this writing, the earliest letter of Jewett to Dresel is dated in 1884.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Columbia University (New York) Library in Special Collections, Jewett. Transcription from a microfilm copy and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Louisa Dresel
[ 1884 or later ]*
[ Begin letterhead ]
148 Charles Street
Boston.
[ End letterhead ]
Dear Loulie
I think it will have to be next time! for I haven't an afternoon to my back and I must go home on Friday morning.
S.O.J.
( In haste! )
Notes
1884 or later: As of this writing, the earliest letter of Jewett to Dresel is dated in 1884.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Columbia University (New York) Library in Special Collections, Jewett. Transcription from a microfilm copy and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Louisa Dresel
[ 1884 or later ]*
Dear Loulie
I return "the other sketch" with many thanks for its company since Christmas but I love the new one and thank you for it twice over and over. A. F.* likes it so much too. I was sorry to miss you yesterday and now I am going home tomorrow but only for
a week or so. I had a very nice time in Newport but I am pretty lame this day and so you must forgive my bad writing also a short note --
With love to Mrs. Dresel*
I am so glad to have seen the sketches the other day --
Notes
1884 or later: As of this writing, the earliest letter of Jewett to Dresel is dated in 1884.
A. F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Dresel: For Mrs. Dresel, see Louisa Loring Dresel in Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Columbia University (New York) Library in Special Collections, Jewett. Transcription from a microfilm copy and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Louisa Loring Dresel
[ 1884 or later ]*
[ Begin letterhead ]
South Berwick, Maine
[ End letterhead ]
Dear Loulie
Thank you so much for your note and the kindest of messages from 'Mamma' -- I am afraid that we cannot come for the little visit because we have promised to go to the mountains for two or three days -- and must leave Mrs. Cabot's Thursday
to go there from here on Friday. But the luncheon would be delightful and you can ask Mrs. Cabot
And you must come and call
very early! -- I have to write this in a hurry to catch the morning mail but I shall save the rest of my letter to talk about next week.
S. O. J.
Notes
1884 or later: As of this writing, the earliest letter of Jewett to Dresel is dated in 1884.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Columbia University (New York) Library in Special Collections, Jewett. Transcription from a microfilm copy and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Louisa Loring Dresel
Thursday --
[ 1884 or later ]*
Dear Loulie
I have been spending two days in Exeter and when I came home last night I found your dear sketch which I like very much -- oh very much, and I like the little note on the pasteboard cover, and I think that I can 'tell' you better when I see you than I can in a letter [ two deleted words ]
[ deleted word ]
Somehow eyes that are very poor for reading and writing, take great pleasure in pictures. I dont know when I have enjoyed ours so much as in these winter days when I have often sat idly in my chair. But dear friend you are always so thoughtful, and such
a friend to my little and great pleasures! A.F.* and I sometimes turn thoughtful into thinkful, which has a meaning that will please you when you come to think of it! I mean true sentiment when I say that the little picture indeed is a new window set open. I shall not forget to look out of it. You must tell
me still more about the place when I see you again. That will be next week. I h;pe to go to town Tuesday or Wednesday --
Yours with a great deal of love.
Notes
1884 or later: As of this writing, the earliest letter of Jewett to Dresel is dated in 1884.
A. F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Columbia University (New York) Library in Special Collections, Jewett. Transcription from a microfilm copy and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Nancy Manning Houghton*
Dear Mrs. Houghton
Mrs. Fields and I were very sorry to miss your pleasant reception on Thursday evening and I am sorry to be so late in writing about it. The truth is that the last one of my succession of illnesses seems more provoking than my earlier ones,
but I hope soon to be quite well again and able to do what I please.
I envy you your pleasure in having Miss Murfree and Miss Mary Murfree* for your guests{.} Please give them my kindest remembrance.
I thought of you very often while you were on your Southern
journey and I hope it was as pleasant as I fancied it all the time.
Sarah O. Jewett.
Monday --
Notes
after 1885: According to Wikipedia, Mary N. Murfree first revealed to Thomas Bailey Aldrich at Atlantic that she was Charles Egbert Craddock in 1885. It would seem, therefore, that any reception for her and her sister would have to occur after that date.
Houghton: Mrs. Houghton is the wife the Jewett's publisher, Henry Oscar Houghton. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Miss Murfree and Miss Mary Murfree: Fanny Noailles Dickenson Murfree (1846-1941) was the American author of Felicia (1891), a novel that began in July 1890 in The Atlantic. Her younger sister, Mary Noailles Murfree (1850-1922), published under the name, Charles Egbert Craddock.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Small Library, University of Virginia, Special Collections MSS 6218, Sarah Orne Jewett Papers. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Arthur Griffin Stedman
Tuesday March 12th
[ Between 1885 and 1897 ]*
Dear Mr. Stedman
I am sincerely sorry that you have been ill and that you should have had to go out after the story when I am afraid you were not fit to do so. I did not have 'The Syndicates' *address at hand -- and with us the postman always brings
a registered parcel -- at least I cannot remember having to take so much trouble as I fear I have given you.
I hope that you will soon be well -- for I know that ones eyes do not get back their freedom easily --
S. O. Jewett
Notes
Between 1885 and 1897: As indicated below, Jewett's correspondence with Stedman is known to have taken place between 1885 and 1897.
the story ... 'The Syndicates': Lacking a definitive date for this letter, the story cannot be identified. Jewett corresponded with Arthur Stedman about contributions to the Bacheller Syndicate from its beginning in 1885 through at least 1897.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Columbia University (New York) Library in Special Collections, Jewett. Transcription from a microfilm copy and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Arthur Griffin Stedman
[Between 1885 and 1897]*
Dear Mr. Stedman
I am so glad that you like the little story{,}*
In haste with sincere regard
South Berwick
[26 ? ] September
Notes
Between 1885 and 1897: Jewett's correspondence with Stedman is known to have taken place between 1885 and 1897.
little story: Lacking a definitive date for this letter, the story cannot be identified.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Columbia University (New York) Library in Special Collections, Jewett. Transcription from a microfilm copy and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Isabella Stewart Gardner
[ Begin letterhead ]
South Berwick.
Maine.
[ End letterhead ]
Dear Mrs Gardner
I have been trying to discover some box* for you, and I hasten to tell you at last that there was an old garden in Hampton (New Hampshire on the Eastern railroad) which had some very good large plants seen not long
ago in excellent order. "The Old Toppan Place"* was quite deserted and falling to pieces, so that it seems to me you would have little trouble in getting anything from the tangled garden. My sister* saw it last summer in driving from Rye,* but I know
well how such old places are left untouched for years together. I think if you should write to the postmaster to ask the name of the owner of the Toppan place that you could easily find out about it -- or you ^could^ send one of your men down -- it is not far from the station.
I had a delightful day with you. You do not
know how many times I have thought of your garden and of all my pleasure in it.
With best thanks I am every yours most sincerely
Sarah O. Jewett
1887 or after: Shana McKenna, archivist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, believes that Jewett speaks of developing the extensive formal gardens Gardner established at her summer home, Green Hill, the Brookline, MA estate her husband inherited in 1884. The earliest likely date for this letter would be 1887, which is currently the earliest year in which Jewett and Gardner are believed to have been acquainted. Jewett's friend, Louisa Dresel (See Correspondents), photographed the house and grounds of Green Hill between 1890 and 1905.
box: evergreen shrubs of the genus Buxus, sometimes used for hedges in the United States.
The Old Toppan Place: This location has not been identified.
my sister: Mary Rice Jewett. See Correspondents.
Rye: Rye in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, south of Portsmouth.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA. Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[ 1887 or after ]
Oh dear Fuff*
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I have been writing Marigold* today and telling her we are going. What rainsome weather it is nowadays though I did get quite a walk up the street and was chased by a shower and felt so much better for it -- just before dark. John* hovered about the house this morning after giving delightful hints about the high surf that must be beating the Wells shore, and the cliff but I was afraid to risk the dampness and at last consoled him by saying that we had seen it splashing over the Cliff* as high as ever it went and we smiled together and contented ourselves with reminiscences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Your own
S. O. J.
Notes
1887 or after: As of this writing, the earliest known
instance of Jewett using the nickname "Marigold" for Mary
Greenwood Lodge occurs in 1887.
The ellipses in the transcription indicate
that this is a selection from the manuscript.
Fuff: Nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Marigold: Mary Langdon Greenwood (Mrs. James) Lodge. See Key to Correspondents.
John: John Tucker. See Key to Correspondents.
the Cliff: York Harbor, ME is known in part for "The Cliff Walk ...an ancient shoreline path lined with beach roses, [that] winds along Eastern Point ledges above the surf." The surrounding area has long included summer residences.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 72, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[ 1887 or after ]
Dear Mary
………I think that D. Merriman D. D.* had better make a sermon on one of the ten commandments saying that we mustn't work, but never saying that we mustn't play. I do believe myself that judging from both the Old Testament and the New that we have got Sunday all wrong!
Notes
The line of points presumably indicates an omission from the manuscript.
1887 or after: The earliest mention of the Merrimans in Jewett's letters appears to be 1887.
D. Merriman D. D.: Daniel Merriman. See Helen Bigelow Merriman in Key to Correspondents.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Samuel Wesley Marvin
2nd April.
[Between 1886 and 1897
Dear Mr. Marvin
How much trouble you have taken for me! -- I am not going to be tempted by the Atalanta* -- to tell the truth I care a great deal more for the original gold and white cover, in this
case, than for the best binding of any other sort.
Mrs. Fields* had it once and was foolish
enough to let it be used up at the press in making a new
American edition and I have heard her lament the [ loss corrected
] of it, and so I thought it would be a jolly bit of a
surprise
to hunt up another copy and leave it on one of the shelves
to be discovered.* -- I think $15 is all the price I ought
to put on my enjoyment -- and I beg you not to hunt for the
book, only if [ a corrected ] copy comes in your way
at any time I should like to have it -- You see
I am beginning to catch the "first edition" fever a little
-- from being in this well-stocked house I
suppose!
-- I am just going southward for a while for I have been
ill (and half well) for ever so many weeks, and I hope
to be able to spend a few days in New York on my way
home.* I like to hear about Miss Eleanor Marvin* and I
should like better to see her --Yrs sincerely S O Jewett
Notes
Between 1886 and 1897: See notes below for
evidence that this letter probably was composed within this
period.
Atalanta: British poet Algernon Charles Swinburne
(1837-1909), Atalanta in Calydon (1865). Wikipedia.
The British first edition had a white cover with gold
decoration. The first U.S. edition was published by Ticknor
and Fields in 1866.
Fields: Annie Adams Fields. Key to
Correspondents.
southward for a while: To date, there is only
one record of a trip south undertaken by Jewett for her own
health, when she and Fields traveled to St. Augustine, Fl
arriving in February 1890. Unfortunately, the dates of
that trip do not match well with the April date of this
letter. Other documented, health related trips to less
distant places, but in a generally southward direction
include:
August 1886: Richfield Springs, NY
October 1893: Richfield Springs, NY
August 1894: Richfield Springs, NY
March 1897: Hot Springs, VA
These also fail to match up with the April date of this
letter. However, they place such trips within the same
decade, and all follow the birth of Eleanor Marvin.
Miss Eleanor Marvin: The Marvins had four
children, including Eleanor Sands Marvin (18 Aug 1885
- 19 December 1975). She married Fred Schrater in
1919. Find a Grave.
New transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to the Editors of the Critic
I am glad to tell the Editors of the {"}Critic" that I shall spend most of the summer at my home here, going later to Manchester by the Sea to stay with Mrs Fields through the early autumn --
I have no work in hand except some
short stories which have been promised to different magazines --
With many thanks for the The Critic which I always read.
Very sincerely,
S. O. Jewett
22 May --
Notes
22 May: This letter must have been written after Jewett and Fields became close friends, and probably after she completed her two novels of the 1880s, and before Jewett's carriage accident of September 1902.
The manuscript of this letter is held in the Joseph Benson Gilder papers. Manuscripts and Archives Division. The New York Public Library. Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Margaret Fuller Channing Loring to Sarah Orne Jewett
July 28th
[ 1880-1908 ]*
BROOKLINE.
My dear Mifs Jewett.
As I passed thro' your town the other day I thought how very much I would like to see you, & know you more, & wondered if you would not come over here & pass a day & night with me -- I am boarding to be sure,
[ Page 2 ]
Margaret F. Loring.
direct to "The Arundel"
Notes
1908: The date range here is from Mrs. Deland's marriage in 1880 until Jewett's last summer in 1908. It is likely that this letter was written after 1886, when Deland had established herself as an author.
Deland: American author, Margaret Deland (1857-1945). Wikipedia.
There is a puzzling page in this folder that may be associated with the above letter. It contains two pieces of text.
Ethel Margaret Arnold
Dublin
Please give my dear love to Sarah if she is with you{.} I'm going [ seemingly unfinished sentence, with an unrecognized mark at the end. This is followed by several lines of empty space, and then the following.]
v My Sister Mary Ward is coming over to us for next week & there is to be grand family consultation in which perhaps something may [ may repeated ] be done{.}
This life in lodgings
This life in lodgings is indescribably [ sentences ends ]
Ethel Margaret Arnold ... Mary Ward: For Mary Augusta Ward, see Key to Correspondents. Her sister, Ethel Margaret Arnold (c. 1864-1930), became a noted journalist, author and lecturer on female suffrage.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 3, Item 138 I. Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
I went to Mrs. Cabot’s* to dinner yesterday and we settled almost everybody down hard, and if they had been flies on the wall they would have known very well what to think of themselves. Then I went to see about the green curtains for the Library and found a nice little man who remembered all about the others and he is coming down Monday morning next so we must remember about telling Rose* when I get home.
Notes
1888 or later: A handwritten note on this
transcription reads: To Mary Thursday evening This guess
at the date is based on the probability that the Jewett
sisters are decorating their home after the death of their
uncle William Durham Jewett in 1887. Renovations on the
house were under way in the spring of 1888, while Jewett was
traveling in the south. However, curtains for the
library could have been bought at any time from 1888 on.
Mrs. Cabot's: Susan Burley Cabot. See Key to Correspondents.
curtains for the Library ... Rose: The Jewetts may
be purchasing curtains for the library in their home, but this
is not yet certain, nor has Rose been identified.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Katharine and Louisa Loring
[ After Christmas, 1888 or later ]*
Wednesday
Your dear presents came straight to my heart and I thank you both very much. I thought of you, too, though I gave no sign of it -- When I came to town a few days before Christmas I was full of Plans but it was a joggling car ^that brought me^ and set the pain in this old head going and I meekly retired to bed . . . All right now, thank you! (though more or less damaged as a general thing) and wondering
if you wont be coming to town some day so that I can see you. Neither Mrs. Fields* nor I can remember or guess just who Louisa's lovely French Diana is and familiar as she is already -- and seemed to be at first glance -- we dont know her proud name. I like her very much. And dear K's letter case is what I like. I 'find' this as our French friends say, a great beauty -- it somehow goes with my best purse and I should like to see them together ----
I hope you had a happy Christmas but you did because you made one. -- I thought many times of you with the sea and the winter woods, and I could believe -- almost -- that I was walking along the avenue to see you and hearing ^the noise of^ the brook now and then in the stillness.
Many a day I think of you both and send you my love and blessing, dear friends!
Sarah ---------------
Mrs. Fields sends her love too and asks me to tell you how pleased she is with the cover for her dressing table. She took a great liking to it and loved to have you remember her --
Notes
After Christmas, 1888 or later: This letter offers little information for determining its date. We know from Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett, St. Augustine, Monday [March 4, 1888], that Jewett and Fields became acquainted with the Loring sisters and their father while traveling in Florida and South Carolina in March of 1888. However, they may have met earlier.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Carrie Jewett Eastman
[ 1888-1896 ]*
Dear Carrie
I found your two beloved lettys here and also one from S.W.* and one from Katy Coolidge* wanting me to come down. I had a lovely day yesterday down about Plum Island* -- we were gone all day long and the skipper made a chowder! which took place at the far end of Plum Island over toward Ipswich, a picturesque little old place call The Bluffs.* I wonder if you were ever there [deletion perhaps a blotted question mark ] but I dont remember your sailing while you were at Plum Island.
I asked Mary* to send you the letter I have just written her, though it is but a poor letty. I am sort of tired and sleepy in the salt air and have got to get a nap! I am so glad that Mary is having such a nice time. I know Mr. Rice* will get on: artists always can! and you and Theodore will perhaps like to take note of his sketches -- it is such fun to see anyone work. ------------- especially if you know the place & subject well. I haven't heard anything of Mrs. Black, but Mrs. Cabot's* lilies were all right. It was a great disappointment to Mrs. Fields* like a little girl! but we thought the sun may have got at that box in the
express car and not the others. I saw them all shut up and much mourned! Mr. & Mrs. Trimble* who are at Mrs. Cabots came down yesterday but of course we were away. It is lovely to get back this afternoon. [two deleted words ] I wish you were here. The letter I wrote Mary has [ seeds ? ] in it.
I send you this nice & pleasing letter from Hetta Ward* which you can send on to Mary. I had got her envelope sealed up when this came. Oh Carrie, dont you think we had three quarters of an hour for [Almys ?] in Salem
between trains and we were playing chooses* outside the window for some time and dallying before we started to go and when we got to the store door it was locked and it said Closed on Friday afternoons! It was very trying. There were some little gray soup bowls ^in the windows^ with covers Carrie, & a green edge -- but we dont know how much they cost. Should you like some if they are both pretty and cheap? Love to Susan and Frances. & Mrs. Fields sends love
Notes
1888-1896: This range of dates is based upon other letters in which Jewett signs herself "Seddie" and that mention the Black and Trimble families.
S.W. ... Katy Coolidge: Sarah Wyman Whitman and Katherine Coolidge. See Key to Correspondents.
Plum Island: Jewett refers to Plum Island, MA,a barrier island north of Cape Ann.
The Bluffs: Probably, Jewett means Ipswich Bluffs.
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Mr. Rice: Though Jewett has friends and relatives named "Rice," it seems clear that this Mr. Rice is a painter. A likely candidate is the Boston watercolorist, Henry Webster Rice (1853-1934).
Mrs. Black ... Mrs. Cabots: For Susan Burley Cabot, see Key to Correspondents. Mrs. Black probably is Mary E. Peters Black (1816-1902). Her son, George Nixon Black, Jr. (1842-1928). The son was a prominent philanthropist and the builder of Kragsyde (1883–85, demolished 1929), "a Shingle Style mansion designed by the Boston architectural firm of Peabody & Stearns and built at Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, with landscaping by the Olmsted firm.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Mr. & Mrs. Trimble: This family remains unidentified, though their name appears in several Jewett letters. Prominent New York Trimbles of Mrs. Cabot's generation would be the banking family of Merritt Trimble (1824-1903) and Mary Sutton Underhill (1826-1908). Their son was Walter Underhill Trimble (1857- 8 September 1926). Though, no connection between them and Mrs. Cabot has been found, Annie Fields was acquainted with them.
Hetta Ward: Sister of Susan Hayes Ward and William Hayes Ward. See Key to Correspondents.
Almy's: Almy, Bigelow & Washburn was a department store with buildings in Salem, Beverly and Gloucester, MA, founded by James F. Almy in 1858.
playing chooses: These words are lightly underlined, and it is unclear whether this was Jewett's intention. Though it is difficult to be certain, the best-known game of "Chooses" also is known as Odds & Evens, in which each of a pair of players chooses even or odd. Then each simultaneously holds up 1 or 2 fingers. The winner is determined by whether the total number of fingers is even or odd.
Susan and Frances: Susan may be Susan Marcia Oakes Woodbury, and Frances is likely to be cousin Frances Fisk Perry, daughter of Lucretia Morse Fisk Perry. See Key to Correspondents.
Seddie: One of Jewett's family nicknames. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by Historic New England in Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett to Caroline Augusta Jewett Eastman, Jewett Family Papers: MS014.01.01.04. Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller. Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 1888-1897 ]-
The Tusseauds* came yesterday. They were friendly & good company as ever. She has been ill and looks older but she is of great spirit. I think they may settle in Manchester [ for corrected ] a few
weeks if they cannot get away to Paris. And this does not look possible --, but they wish nothing said. The Judge Lorings* brought them over and dropped them{,} Mrs Loring saying she would come herself another time. Rose* went to town yesterday and came back quite exhausted. I hope you are safe at home again{.}
What a good thing it was for you to go!
Your loving
A.
Notes
1888-1897: Jewett and Fields became friends of the Loring family in 1888, and Judge Loring died in 1897.
Tusseauds: This reference remains obscure. One may wonder whether John Theodore Tussaud (1858-1943) ever visited Boston. He was the third generation manager of Madame Tussaud's wax museum in London. Wikipedia.
Judge Lorings: The family of Jewett correspondents Katharine and Louisa Loring. Key to Correspondents.
Rose: Rose Lamb. Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Louisa Loring Dresel
148 [Charles street]
Thursday [ Between 1888 and 1904 ]
Dear Loulie
I wonder if you have got home yet? I am afraid I shall miss
seeing you after all for I must go home tomorrow but I shall
very soon bee becoming [so transcribed]
down again -- I may say of the buttons that they shine so in
the skies of my imagination that I easily mistake them for
planets. To day is the day of Mrs. Whitman's fair.* How I wish
I could see you coming in! I shall be there until early
afternoon and again this evening.
With love
S. O. J.
I had such a nice time with Ellis* the other day!
Notes
1904: Correspondence between Dresel and Jewett
seems to begin in 1888 and continues until Jewett's
death. Mrs. Whitman died in 1904.
Mrs. Whitman's fair: Sarah Wyman Whitman; See Key
to
Correspondents. Whitman was very active in her
church and in volunteer community service, which included
organizing fund-raising fairs.
Ellis: Ellis Dresel, Louisa's younger brother. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is in the collection of the Miller Library of Colby College, Waterville, ME. The transcription first appeared in Scott Frederick Stoddart's Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign: Selected Letters of Sarah Orne Jewett, copyright by Stoddart, 1988. Annotation is by Terry Heller, Coe College.Sarah Orne Jewett to Louisa Loring Dresel
Sunday afternoon [Winter between 1888 and 1909]
Dear Loulie
I started out this afternoon to go down to see you but I did
not feel quite well enough to stay "out and about" so long and
had to come home again. I begin to think that the grippe
must be going to assail me annually! I have felt like a second
edition of it lately -- and the little snow storm also proved
unkind -- I am going away tomorrow for the night, but I shall
hope to see you when I come back, I was very sorry to miss you
yesterday.
Yours affectionately
S. O. J.
Notes
1909: Correspondence between Dresel and
Jewett seems to begin in 1888 and continues until Jewett's
death.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[ 1890s ]*
Dearest Annie
Here is Saturday again, and
Frances and Mary* are
[ Page 2 ]
[ Manuscript breaks off. No signature. ]
Notes
1890s: The only support for this date is that Fields groups her quotation from this fragment with others letters of the 1890s in her collection.
Frances and Mary: Frances is likely to be Jewett's cousin Frances Fisk Perry, daughter of Lucretia Morse Fisk Perry.
Mary Rice Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Phelps: Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (1844-1911) was the author of Dr. Zay, a novel about an aspiring woman doctor, like Jewett's A Country Doctor. She probably was best known for her Spiritualist novel, The Gates Ajar. On-line searches for this quotation show it being repeated often soon after the publication of this letter, which suggests that few readers had seen it before 1911. Perhaps Phelps spoke this to Jewett or wrote it in a letter to her?
Fields includes this passage in her 1911 collection, p. 73:
That is the most lovely thing that Miss Phelp ever said or wrote.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[ April 1890 - 1908 ]*
[ A fragment with missing material at the beginning ]
dresses to be made for mother and I am going to get at my Satine,*
[ Page 2 ]
Notes
1890 - 1908: This date range is bounded by the recognition of the Aladdin Cooker as an improved kitchen stove in the early 1890s and Jewett's final year as an active correspondent.
Fields has noted in the upper right corner of the first page: "
Satine: Probably Jewett means "sateen," a soft cotton satin fabric.
Aladdin Cookers: A kitchen stove and oven that used minimal power for cooking, both invented in 1886 by Edward Atkinson (1827 - 1905). See also Atkinson, "Scientific Cooking Exemplified," in Good Housekeeping 10 (1890) pp. 51-4. By the early 1890s, it appears that Atkinson's stove and oven were coming into reasonably high use.
Sleeping beauty: "Sleeping Beauty" is a fairy-tale of a young woman who, with all her household, is put under a spell of sleep for many years until a Prince finds and awakens her with a kiss. It was originally published by Charles Perrault in 1697.
Fuffs: Nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Fields seems to have deleted this word, using pencil.
Pinny: Pinny Lawson (Pinny / Pin) was an affectionate nickname for Jewett, used by her and Annie Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Annie Fields (Adams) 1834-1915, recipient. 194 letters; 1877-1909 & [n.d.] Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[ 1890 - 1908 ]*
(Thank you for that charming note from Mr. Collyer,* and there is another thing we must be sure to do! == I am as glad as you are to think that the meeting* is over.) You are like my monkey and the jack-in-the-box with your meetings! Someday you will get up a big one that will scare you to death -- but all we see we need not say. ( Her majesty) is but a child! So good night from the Colonel)
[ Manuscript breaks off. No signature. ]
Notes
1890 - 1908: This date range is limited by the earliest known mention of Robert Collyer in the Jewett correspondence in 1890 and Jewett's final year of active correspondence before her death.
The opening parenthesis mark was penciled by Fields. The others appear to be by Jewett.
Mr. Collyer: Robert Collyer. See Key to Correspondents.
the meeting: That Jewett speaks of a meeting of the board of the Associated Charities of Boston is shown by a drawing Jewett has placed at the bottom left of this page, showing a young girl in bonnet and apron holding a large frowning doll labeled: "Ass! Charities -- !!" An image of the page may be viewed here: Page Image 190/613.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Annie Fields (Adams) 1834-1915, recipient. 194 letters; 1877-1909 & [n.d.] Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
Tuesday morning, [1890 or after]*
What do you think I am reading but "Middlemarch," though I confess that I have to make skips often. How much more she dwells and harps than in "Adam Bede" and "Silas Marner."* She draws her characters so that they stand alive before you, and you know what they have in their pockets, and then goes on for three pages analyzing them and their motives; but after all one must read them with patience for the sake of occasional golden sentences, that have the exactness and inevitableness of proverbs. Perhaps I read my "Middlemarch" too late in the evening, but I find very dull stretches in it now and then. But think of Mr. Casaubon being but forty-five at the time of his marriage! I think of him as nearly seventy and old for his years at that, and indeed be must have been growing old since he was born, and never have had a season of merely ripening. It is a wonderfully drawn character to me, the pathos and reality of it. How I should like to go on talking about it.
Well, I mustn't write about folkses
this busy morning, but tell important tales about my walking
up the garden yesterday afternoon, and hearing a great
buzz-buzzing over among the apple trees, and seeing the whole
air brown with a swarm of bees, and rushing for one of the old
hives and trying to take them; but off they went, leaving part
of their company about some comb which they had fastened on a
bough of a tree, a thing I never saw before. Minnie, who is an
experienced country person from Bantry Bay, as we have long
known, came out ringing a bell as if she were one of those who
took the bees in that pretty "Georgic" of Virgil.* There never
was anything simpler or prettier. We got the remainder bees
and their pieces of white new comb into the hive, and there
they are, I suppose, in all the rain. I coveted the big swarm
that went away. It was such a pretty, lucky thing to go out
and find them.
Notes
1890 or after: This is a composite letter,
drawing upon several others, some of which have been located
in manuscript and dated. These will be found in their
proper places.
"Middlemarch" ... "Adam Bede" ... "Silas Marner": George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans, 1819-1880) wrote the novels Adam Bede (1859), Silas Marner (1861), and Middlemarch (1871-2).
Minnie: The Trafton Collection transcription of
the final paragraph (see below) adds the information that
Minnie is an employee in Carrie Eastman's household.
More information is welcome.
The Trafton collection includes a transcription of the final paragraph of this letter; this varies in many details from the Fields transcription. His transcription reads:
Well, I mustn’t write about folks in this busy morning, but tell important tales about my walking up the garden yesterday afternoon and hearing a great buzz-buzzing over among the apple trees and seeing the whole air brown with a swarm of bees, and rushing for one of the old hives and trying to take them, but off they went leaving part of their company about some comb which they had fastened on a bough of a tree, a thing I never saw before. Carrie's Minnie who is an experienced country person from Bantry Bay as we have long known! came out ringing a bell as if she were one of those who took the bees in that pretty "Georgic of Virgil". There never was anything simpler or prettier . We got the remainder bees and their pieces of white new comb in to the hive and there they are I suppose in all the rain. I coveted the big swarm that went away! It was such a pretty lucky thing to go out and find them.There is also a signature:
from your
Pinny
The Trafton text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, folder 63, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
This letter appears in Annie Fields, Letters of Sarah Orne Jewett (1911), Transcribed by Annie Adams Fields, with notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Sunday noon
[ Probably after 1890 ]
Dear Mary
But as for Brother Robert* we must be having other privileges. You never heard anything so dear as he was after I came yesterday -- telling A. F.* all over again about going to Berwick last summer. "They put on the beautiful old blue china" he said -- "all their beautiful things; they didn't say to themselves 'Oh its only old Robert Collyer and his folk' -- no, they had everything beautiful!" "Best they'd got", I said, and he gave one of his funny laughs, but he did speak with such feeling Mary. I was all of a choke so we couldn't continue the conversation.
Notes
Probably after 1890: Robert Collyer first appears in a Jewett letter in 1890.
Brother Robert: Dr. Robert Collyer. See Key to Correspondents. It is not yet known in what year he visited South Berwick.
A.F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Lucy Elliot Keeler to Sarah Orne Jewett
My dear Miss Jewett:
I have just had a most subtle compliment which I should be shabby not to share with you, though my telling it must begin to give the emphasis of the original -- as it came from the awe-struck voice and serious nod of a little, old-fashioned neighbor of mine.
She is about ten, I fancy, and needed no encouragement to sit down on my piazza steps for a chat. She
"The book can't be very old!" Voila! my dear Miss Jewett; and I beg you to believe me
Lucy Elliot Keeler
Fremont, Ohio,
March 23.
Notes
1909: This letter must have been composed after the 1890 publication of Jewett's 1890 novel, Betty Leicester: A Story for Girls.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 3, Item 122 I. Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to the Editors of the Century
Will the Editors kindly return this story, in case it is not available, to 148 Charles Street. Boston? The price is $200. ---
May 5th
Notes
1902: Jewett first appearance in Century Magazine was in 1890. She ceased writing for publication after her 1902 carriage accident.
With this letter in the Houghton folder is an envelope addressed "To the Editors of The Century, New York. It has neither stamp nor cancellation.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 5, Item 254. II. Letters by Sarah Orne Jewett.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Wednesday
[ 1890s before 1896 ]
Dear Mary
We are going to the funeral* now and how hard it does rain! a real north easter, when yesterday was such a lovely day. I was hard at work writing until afternoon when we went to walk and met Mrs. Bell and Mrs. Pratt* who had much to say. I meant to write you a good long letter in the evening but I got reading by the fire and forgot it and then went off to bed early.
I have got a long list of things to do in town but it is so
wet that I dont know how are I shall get along. Mrs.
Fields is going to Chardon St.* The corduroy is 27
inches wide -- cant you measure somewhere near allowing a good
bit over for new arms and a cushion? It isnt likely we
can match it easily. Please let me know as soon as you
can. This is but a poor letty but it is an early
morning.
Sister
Notes
1890s before 1896: A handwritten note on
this transcription reads:189-? Though the rationale for
this guess is not known, to date there are no references to
Mrs. Ellerton Pratt in Jewett's letters before 1888; Pratt
died in 1896.
funeral: It is not yet known to which funeral Jewett
refers.
Mrs. Bell and Mrs. Pratt: The sisters, Helen Choate (Mrs. Joshua) Bell and Miriam (Mrs. Ellerton) Pratt, both were members of the Fields-Jewett circle of artistic friends. See Key to Correspondents
Mrs. Fields is going to Chardon St.: Annie
Adams Fields. See Key
to
Correspondents. Chardon Street in Boston, is the
location of the Charity Building, where among other offices
were those of the Associated Charities.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Henry Oscar Houghton
7 November [ After 1891 ]*
Dear Mr. Houghton
I wonder if this would not be the best time for you and Lizzie to make your long planned little visit to me even though the village looks unexpectedly wintery and not in its best dress? My sister and I are both at home, and we should be so glad to see you any day in the
You can take the one o'clock train on the Western Division ( B & M) getting out at Salmon Falls just across the river from here or the Eastern Division train at 3.30 to South Berwick getting here at [ deletion ] six o'clock.
With thanks for your letter and a hope that you are already much better and that nothing will prevent you and Lizzie from coming.
Notes
1891: Written at the top left, in another hand: Sarah O. Jewett.
Though the letter almost certainly was composed after the 1891 death of Jewett's mother, when Mary Rice and Sarah Orne Jewett resided together, there are few usable clues for dating this letter more precisely.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: Henry Oscar Houghton papers III. Letters to H. O. Houghton from various persons, Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. 7 letters; 1894 & n.d. Box: 9 MS Am 1648, (513).
This transcription is from a photocopy held by the Maine Women Writers Collection, Burton Trafton Collection, Box 2, folder 88.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Margaret Deland to Sarah Orne Jewett
Dear Miss Jewett --
Thank you very much -- It will be delightful to meet [ LG ? ], -- on Monday at one [ oclock so written ] --
Notes
1891-1908: While the transcription of LG is is very uncertain, if it is correct, Deland may refer to Louise Guiney. See Key to Correspondents. At this time, the earliest known letters between Jewett and Guiney are in 1891. Guiney resided abroad during some of the years between 1891 and 1908.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence I, Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett.
Deland, Margaret (Campbell) 1857-1944. 2 letters; 1904 & [n.d.], bMS Am 1743 (44).
This transcription is from a photocopy held by the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Box 2, Folder 99, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[ 1891-1902 ]*
I had such a nice time with Mr. Howells.* He is going back to New York in a day or two to come back very soon with Mrs. Howells & Pilla{.} Mrs H. is better than for years. He hopes to see you while you are here & Madame
[ Page 2 ]
with love
your Pinny*
1891 - 1902: In the absence of more clues, about the best we can do is to place this letter in the decade between when William Dean Howells moved to New York City and when he purchased a summer residence in Kittery Point, ME. During that decade he made a number of visits to towns along the Maine coast near South Berwick. The occasion of this letter would seem to be one of those visits.
This note is written on two sides of a monogrammed card. The monogram appears at the upper left of the first page: SOJ initials superimposed inside a circle, stamped in green ink.
Mr. Howells: William Dean Howells and his family. See Key to Correspondents. Howells took up residence in NYC in 1891; he purchased a Kittery Point, ME summer home in 1902.
Fréchette: The American author and editor, Annie Thomas Howells Fréchette (1844-1938) was a younger sister of William Dean Howells. She married Achille Fréchette (1847-1927), who was chief translator for the Canadian House of Commons, on 29 June 1877. During the time this letter was composed, her residence was in Ottawa, Canada.
Fuff: Nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Pinny: Pinny Lawson (Pinny / Pin) was an affectionate nickname for Jewett, used by her and Annie Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Annie Fields (Adams) 1834-1915, recipient. 194 letters; 1877-1909 & [n.d.] Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Thursday evening
[ Summer between 1892 and 1896 ]
Dear Mary
There are those who are dressing themselves for tea in a
room over head so sweet and contented, and the tide is out and
all the pretty seaweed showing in nice colors. I thought
you would like to know… Oh such pretty stories of Bar
Harbor life* have been going on all day, and Carrie* & I
laughing so and wishing that you were present to have the first
freshness. I met A.F.* at the train and I happened
to say something that you said, as we came along, and she
turned to me with such an eager look: Oh is Mary here?
and was so disappointed
[rest of letter missing]
Notes
Summer between 1892 and 1896: A handwritten note on
this transcription reads: 189-. This date range is
determined by the death dates of Carrie and Ned Eastman.
See below.
Bar Harbor life: Bar Harbor, ME is a resort
town on Mount Desert Island, near what is now Acadia National
Park. It is not yet known when Jewett may have visited Bar
Harbor with his sister Carrie, but presumably this would have
been between the death of Ned Eastman in March 1892 and her
own in April 1897.
A.F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 73, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.Sarah Orne Jewett to Louisa Loring Dresel
South Berwick
14th October
[ Between 1892 and 1899 ]*
Dear Loulie
I wonder if you can come over to Manchester on Monday? Perhaps you will send a line. I shall have to come back on Tuesday -- so that I am planning out my time with as much care as possible. I had a cheerful laugh over
the likeness of Loulie and the poor thin pussy! I should long to know how much more
from it, so if you really care to have it back again you may! But I feel as if I had had a very nice glimpse of you. Do bring the mountain sketches.
S. O. J.
I am to have my nephew* with me and he has not been quite well of late, so that I shall have to stay by and not be quite so free as usual.
Notes
Between 1892 and 1899: While it is possible this letter could have been composed any time between Jewett opening correspondence with Dresel around 1884 and Jewett's death in 1909, the more likely period is between the death of Theodore Eastman's father in 1892 and Theodore starting college in 1897.
nephew: Theodore Jewett Eastman. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Columbia University (New York) Library in Special Collections, Jewett. Transcription from a microfilm copy and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 1892-1904 ]*
Dearest: I fancy that Frances* came and went! at least I trust she came. At one I am looking for Sarah W. and Mary.* You will tell me how your Mary* is when you write. Slowly the numbers of small things on my desk are beginning to be answered and this morning for the first time I begin to see my way a little more clearly {--} also to feel that when the time comes for Mifs Cohen* I may be equal to it and happy to make [ "the firne" ? ] -- all of which looks more like
forwardness. Yesterday Mr. Frost from Berea* came to call. You remember him doubtless. Dear S.W. was kind to him and saw him along{,} also the Pickerings* -- The latter were substantive helpers. I found him very [ interesting corrected ] -- kept him to tea -- and have a picture of the whole work in my mind which will not fade out. He talked of Mifs Murphree,* though he has never seen her, but he reads her much to his people from time to time who like [ her ? ] work but not J. Fox who came to see about them to write ^tales^ they say -- T.B.A.* and bride came to dinner. She was bright and pretty and very happy. He was excessively tired poor boy. The interrupted cars make it very difficult to cover ground in any given time, nowadays -- and they were late -- Good bye dear from your own A
Notes
1892-1904: This letter was composed between 1892 when William Frost became president of Berea College and 1904 when Sarah Wyman Whitman died.
Frances: It is difficult to know which of the several "Franceses" this is among the Fields and Jewett correspondents, assuming this is one of the correspondents.
Sarah W. and Mary: Sarah Wyman Whitman.
Which Mary is meant is difficult to determine, but probably Mary Greenwood Lodge.
Key to Correspondents.
your Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. Key to Correspondents.
Cohen: Though nothing else is yet known about her, Mrs. Cohen probably was a dressmaker.
firne: This is what Fields appears to have written, and its meaning is elusive.
Mr. Frost from Berea: William Goodell Frost (1854-1938) was president of Berea College 1892-1920. Wikipedia.
Pickerings: Probably this is the John Pickering family of Salem, MA. Fields was acquainted with the family of Robert Sturgis Grew (1834-1910), including his sister-in-law, Mary Goddard Wigglesworth (1838-1909) and her husband, Henry Pickering (1838-1907).
Murphree: Probably, Fields means Mary Noailles Murfree. Key to Correspondents.
J. Fox: This may be American author John Fox, Jr. (1862-1919). Wikipedia.
T.B.A.: Thomas Bailey Aldrich and Lilian Woodman Aldrich. Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mrs. Field*
Friday 18th Septr
[ 1892-1908 ]*
My dear Mrs. Field
Thank you for the pretty card and your kind words -- I have hoped very much to get to Poland Spring -- (I did not forget about the third week!) but it has seemed impossible to carry out my plan without disappointing a friend who
counts upon my coming another way. I shall have to wait again before I see you and the pleasant top of the great hill -- I am really sorry that I cannot come.
Notes
Field: The recipient of this letter has not yet been identified.
1908: This letter probably was written no earlier than 1892, which is the first year that Jewett mentions Poland Spring in her correspondence, and no later than 1908, the year before her death.
The manuscript of this letter is held in Special Collections at Wellesley College Library: Autograph letter signed Sarah O. Jewett to: "My dear Mrs. Field."
This transcription is from a photocopy of this card held by the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, the Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection.
The card is stamped upper left with "SOJ" -- the initials overlapping inside a circle.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[ 1892-1908 ]*
Dear Mary
It does seem funny to write to you -- it is a wonder that I didn’t forget for it seems as if you must be here. I hope that you got home all right with the Daphies. Mary Garrett came down just after you had gone with her mind intent upon taking you down to the station -- and she wished me to tell you how sorry she was not to see you again though you had said good bye. She is inclining toward Mrs. Wilson* but there is another very nice person whom she is to see
again. Mrs. Wilson wants to go very much, I fancy, from what I ^can^ [ hear corrected from her ? ]. At any rate Mary feels that it was a great thing to come on, and seems so cheerful this morning. A. F.* had a little ’somewhat of a cold’ and* was hoarse last night but I gave her some ammonia and she thinks that the cold is all gone this morning, but she is staying in bed awhile. I do hope that she is all right and as she insists but I can tell better when she gets up. . . The
meeting yesterday was very prosperous and all went well -- it took from four to six -- and now I shall be done with that, for a while at any rate. We had a good quiet evening but we missed you, and we were all from one reason and another glad to go to bed early. Thank Becca* for her letter. She was very kind to write yesterday --
Notes
1892 - 1908: In the absence of more helpful information, this range of dates is based upon the span of Jewett's known acquaintance with Mary E. Garrett. See Correspondents.
Mrs. Wilson: Mrs. Wilson has not yet been identified.
A.F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Correspondents.
and: In this letter, Jewett usually indicates "and" with a long-tailed "a."
Becca: Rebecca Young. See Correspondents.
The manuscript of the letter is held by the University of New England Maine Women Writers Collection, item MWWC0196_02_00_088_01. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[Friday morning, 1892 or later]
I am so beat by “Liz Frances’s”* will! Old whoppet* -- why didn’t she do well by little Mary instead of Daddy Street* and others! -- and he having a saintly smile of vain satisfaction already!! Your sister is very mad and after all their attention and affection all these years to leave little Mary with a lot of bother on her hands. Well, she will have her part that’s all I can say. It mortifies your sister. We must accept John’s letter* and send him something at new Year or some other time. So no more at present from
Your affectionate
S. O. J.
With a beautiful letter from Therese.*
Notes
1892 or later: The earliest letter collected at
this writing that refers to Marie Thérèse de Solms Blanc
simply as "Therese" rather than "Madame Blanc" is from
1894. However, it seems likely that Jewett may have used
her first name any time after their first meeting in 1892.
Handwritten notes with this text read: [to
Mary] [Friday Morning].
“Liz Frances’s” will! ... Old whoppet ... little Mary ...
Daddy Street: The people and incident to
which Jewett refers are not yet known.
Jewett appears to have invented the word
"whoppet" as a negative description of Liz Frances. The
word does not appear in contemporary dictionaries or in the
OED. Twenty-first century usage seems clearly
irrelevant.
John's letter: Normally, a reference to John would be John Tucker, but that is not really clear in this letter. See Key to Correspondents.
Therese: Marie Thérèse de Solms Blanc. See Key to Correspondents.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 74, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett and Carrie Jewett Eastman
[ Spring between 1892 and 1894 ]*
It is such a great rain that I dont believe you can start Mary, with the stage ride in view! but there is one comfort -- it will be much pleasanter afterward. It bears the marks of being very dry here ---- My train didn't stop at Beverly so I had to go on to Salem and there I refreshed myself with orange soda (Stubby* knows where!) and took the electric car and came to Beverly and got a conveyance from old Mr. Murphy* which took me to Mrs. Cabots.*
She wasn't quite dressed
but had me up and gently detained me to dinner and it being past two by that time I was glad to stay. She looks a little pale
from New York are making her a good visit so she wont feel the
There was the funniest little gell [meaning girl] on the electric car [unrecognized word] as we were
starting out of Salem -- with a red dress and ^a^ cropped head. She had reached the age of some six years and sat up so prim and neat -- but when the conductor came along she wasn't prepared with her fare, and looked so pleasant and told the passengers she was going to Beverly Cove* to a picnic. The conductor laughed and we all did and she was so pleasant all the time looking round and bobbing her head like a bird and being ascertained to live in Derby St.* was set off there with best wishes from the crowd and she stepped off as prim and little! a funny Pinny* as I ever saw. She really made me think of myself running away
at her age; that sense of enjoyment and all! Beverly Cove looked quiet as I came through. I dont believe there was any picnic going in any direction. Well little John* will be going and I must get my letter ready. I hoped to get over to see Alice Howe* today but I shall have to keep me in out of the wet. Love to all not forgetting Susy and Frances.*
Sarah.
Greenheads* entered the train in large numbers --
Notes
Spring between 1892 and 1894: Blooming lilacs indicates late spring. As the letter does not refer to Theodore's father, it seems likely the letter was composed after Edwin Eastman's death in March 1892 and before the death of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes in October 1894.
Stubby: Theodore Eastman Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
old Mr. Murphy: This person has not be identified.
Mrs Cabot: Susan Burley Cabot. See Key to Correspondents.
The Trimbles ... from New York: This family remains unidentified, though their name appears in several Jewett letters. Prominent New York Trimbles of Mrs. Cabot's generation would be the banking family of Merritt Trimble (1824-1903) and Mary Sutton Underhill (1826-1908). Their son was Walter Underhill Trimble (1857- 8 September 1926). Though, no connection between them and Mrs. Cabot has been found, Annie Fields was acquainted with them.
Victoria: A victoria is an "elegant" four-wheeled open carriage, to be drawn by horses.
Mrs. Fields and Dr. Holmes: Annie Adams Fields and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. See Key to Correspondents. They are on the piazza at Mrs. Fields's Gambrel House on Thunderbolt Hill in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.
May Wigglesworth: This may be Henrietta May Goddard Wigglesworth (1804- February 15, 1895), wife of Edward Wigglesworth (1804-1876), a Boston merchant, philanthropist, and man of letters. Among their children was Dr. Edward Wigglesworth (1840-1896), who served as a Union medical officer in the American Civil War, before becoming a professor at Harvard Medical School and a specialist in skin disease.
Beverly Cove ... Derby St.: Beverly Cove is a small inlet in Beverly, MA, a few miles west of Pride's Crossing, where Susan Burley Cabot resided. Derby Street in Salem, includes the location of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, roughly parallel to Salem Harbor. The runaway six-year-old, then, was not able to get far from home on her street-car adventure.
Pinny: A Jewett nickname. See Key to Correspondents.
little John: Presumably a Fields family employee.
Alice Howe: Alice Greenwood Howe. See Key to Correspondents.
Susy and Frances: Susy may be Susan Marcia Oakes Woodbury, and Frances is likely to be cousin Frances Fisk Perry, daughter of Lucretia Morse Fisk Perry. See Key to Correspondents.
Greenheads: Jewett probably refers to an abundance of biting greenhead horseflies, a summer nuisance in coastal areas of New England.
The manuscript of this letter is held by Historic New England in the Jewett Family Papers MS014.02.01. Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Thursday morning
[ After September 1892 ]
…..…Yesterday I read and set on the piazza and finished covering a cushion that A. F.* had begun and late in the afternoon we walked over to the Towne place, and saw the new people MacMillian* -- who owns it and have made the house much larger. It looks very much handsomer and pleasant. There is a new piazza on the end this way which is a great piece of sense -- the other was almost always too windy. The people havent moved in yet but we had a few minutes with them and were all friendly together.
Notes
A transcriber's note with this text reads: [Manchester, Mass., Ju --- SOJ to MRJ So. Berwick, Maine]. The line of points presumably indicates an omission from the manuscript.
A. F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Towne place ... MacMillian: Benjamin Hill's The North Shore of Massachusetts Bay (1881), mentions the charming English villa in Manchester-by-the-Sea, summer residence of Mrs. John Henry Towne of Philadelphia (p. 51). Maria R. Tevis Towne (1822 - 12 September 1892) . John Henry Towne (1818-1875) was an engineer who was successful as a designer of heavy steam ships and a major contributor to University of Pennsylvania science programs. In Memories of a Hostess, Fields recalls a call by Mrs. Towne at Manchester by the Sea in August of 1872.
The identity of the new owner, MacMillian, is unknown.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilla Cabot Perry
Dear Mrs Perry
Mrs Fields asks me to say, with best
thanks for all three of us, that we have an engagement just
at the time of your music this afternoon -- and that we
regret having to decline so great a pleasure --
Yours sincerely
Sarah O. Jewett
Sunday noon --
Notes
1891 -1897, or 1901-1905: According
to Wikipedia,
Lilla Cabot Perry spent a significant portion of her career
abroad, mainly in France (1887-1891) and then in Japan
(1897-1901). She was in France again, beginning in
1905, not returning to Boston permanently until 1908.
Associated with this letter is an
envelope addressed to Mrs Perry, but without stamp or
address, indicating that it was delivered by hand.
Charles Street, Boston to Mellen Chamberlain
John Alden says this letter regards "a young Irish-American whom the two ladies wished to befriend, named Henry Coyle.* Nothing appears to have come of their efforts, but Coyle himself achieved a worthy career in Catholic publishing and charitable circles in Boston, in addition to publishing several volumes of poetry:
NotesMrs. Fields has just come up stairs to me to ask if I will not write this note for her to you about a young man who has come to her for help. He has done some very good work in verse and considering his youth, shows a touch of real promise but the poor fellow is so beaten back by illness and poverty that he is in a sad way. His disabilities hinder him in what he is trying to make of himself as a compositor. Mrs. Fields thinks that you may know of something to recommend to him in library channels familiar to you, where his acquaintance with books and his carefulness with his pen may be of use. He spoke of you gratefully in answer to her mention of your name, as "a kind and approachable man" -- so that we are following our own instinct in sending him to you. We shall try to do what we can for him too.
I wish that we might sometimes see you. I have not been in town this winter however except for some brief visits.
Henry Coyle: Biographical
information about the poet, Henry Coyle, seems scanty.
The following biographical sketch appears in Donahoe's
Magazine 39 (1898) pp. 74-5.
WorldCat gives his birth year as 1865 and lists the following publications:
The
Promise
of Morning (poems, 1899)
Our Church, Her Children and Institutions (1908).
(Link
to
Volume
1 of 3)
Lyrics of Faith and Hope (poems, 1913)
This biographical sketch appears in The
Poets
of Ireland (1891) p. 85.
COYLE, HENRY. -- The Promise of Morning,
poems, Boston, Mass., 1899.
Born at Boston, Mass., June 7, 1867. His father was a
Connaught man, and his mother from Limerick. He is
self-educated, and has written frequently for American
journals, including verse for Harper's Bazaar, Detroit
Free Press, Boston Transcript, Catholic
Union and Times (Buffalo), and Boston Pilot. Is
now assistant-editor of Orphan's Bouquet, Boston, of
which James Riley {q.v.) is editor.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett [ fragment ]
O darling -- it made me feel quite sick to hear you had had another attack! and I wish to send you love this minute. I to follow it down to Berwick too, if I only could. Do be well enough to come: and do take the greatest care too: for these things will not do. I dont see why when you look so dear and are so good [ the evil fiend ? ] should have a chance.
I am going to make a potion which shall dislodge [ unrecognized word ] permanently & this is to give notice.
----- [ $ for I ? ] had two days at Aldie:* Spring doubly distilled: and I have quite a spring set going [ unrecognized word ], as well, partly [ from ? ] [ three unrecognized words ]: partly -- I dare think -- for a deeper [ reason ? ] still. "But slow, but slow, up the great stair of [ Tirus ? ]*
of thanks & love to Theodore.* He is a comfort: & I felt a new large thing in him that night. That night also the [ clergy ? ] came for the first really into the [ family ? ]. [ I or & ] forgot that [ I or & ] must thanked & [ unrecognized word ] ill -- [ unrecognized word or two ] of.* So everything made it a good evening. And you were perfect: you darling.
Notes
1904: Whitman died in 1904. The first date in the range is just a guess, based on the letter's implication that Theodore has visited Whitman and seemed newly mature. He turned 13 in 1892.
Aldie: The estate of the Mercer family of Bucks County, PA, and at this time the home of Whitman's friend, Elizabeth Chapman Lawrence.
Tirus: The transcription of this word is uncertain. Though Whitman seems to be quoting, this sentence has not yet been identified.
Theodore: Theodore Jewett Eastman. Key to Correspondents.
of: This transcription of this sentence seems impossible, and its sense is elusive.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 5, Item 234.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Amy Marcy Cheney Beach*
Sunday
[ 1892 - 1908 ]*
[ Letterhead stamped in red ink: SOJ superimposed within a circle. ]
Dear Mrs Beach
I am very sorry that I must give up the pleasure of coming to you on Wednesday -- I have been ill, and Mrs. Fields* too -- these last days, and I do not think
that I shall be equal ^to^ the pleasure of the Club so soon, being under command of quiet and care-taking! As Mrs. Fields said yesterday; we are tied up at the wharf!
-- I remember how pleasant you made it last year and that makes me all the sorrier --
Beach: Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867-1944) was an American composer and pianist. While it is not certain to which club Beach has invited Jewett and Fields, it may have been to a recital of one of her "Beach Clubs," organizations for educating children in music.
1892 - 1908: Almost certainly this letter was composed after Mrs. Beach rose to musical prominence in Boston and before Jewett's final illness, which began in early 1909.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA: MC5 Box 1, folder 8.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Tuesday morning
[ Between 1898 and 1902
]*
Your affectionate sister encloses a little good pair of gloves and omitted them yesterday & Saturday beside only because she forgetted them. It is a very beautiful cool morning and I am going to make the most of it going on with my work until noon when we are bespoken to Juniper Hill to luncheon with Josie Dexter & Gracie Howe.* I wish that you were coming too. We had great plans laid for going over to Alice Howe’s* yesterday afternoon but a big thunder shower came up all of a sudden and then cleared away again when it was too late to start. We spent a quiet day. I had a good many letters to write early and then I went to writing on a little poor story. There were those who were very active with early walks and proper seeing to things & some company but I dont think of much to write about. I should be greatly obliged if Mr. Stubs would take off the black paint from the Viking gentleman* and should deem it a useful service in the great cause of art. I think there is something very pleasing about him -- there is a nice touch of carving about the hemlet as I used to pronounce it. I thought that Emily and Dr. Mary* were only going to pass a night but they may have designed a larger plan. I hope that they would be the kind that one could have a word, with, but I dont know that our friend returned from Foxcroft much settled. Poor Mrs. Hale has been through with many trials, and now that I think of it Mr. Hale and Mr. William Huntress* seem to have had much the same idea about public trusts! I hope that Sarah Leah* will go on with the type writing as fast as she can by day! and if by any chance she should have got it done I should like to have it. Perhaps it will be good for her after the visit. So no more at present from your loving sister with much love to Stubby, and a nice pat to Mr. T. Toes
We are going to town tomorrow.
Notes
Between 1898 and 1902: A handwritten note on
this transcription reads: 189-. This date range places the
letter between Jewett's first meeting with Emily Tyson in 1898
and the carriage accident that brought an end to Jewett's
fiction writing.
Juniper Hill to luncheon with Josie Dexter & Gracie
Howe: Josephine Anna Moore (1846-1937) was the
second wife of Chicago lawyer Wirt Dexter (1832-1890). She returned to
her Boston home after her husband's death, where she died,
though she was buried with him in Chicago.
Grace Howe (b. 1879) was the daughter of
the Philadelphia businessman and physician, Dr. Herbert Marshall Howe (1844-1916)
and Mary Wilson Fell (b. 1848), and the grand-daughter of Mark
Antony DeWolfe and Elizabeth (Marshall) Howe, his second wife.
The location of Juniper Hill, presumably in
Massachusetts, remains uncertain.
Alice Howe's: Alice Greenwood Howe. See Key to Correspondents.
Mr. Stubs ... the black paint from the Viking gentleman:
This reference is unknown. Normally, Mr. Stubs would be
Stubby or Theodore Jewett Eastman, but in this case, it may
not be. See Key
to
Correspondents. The word "hemlet" also needs
explanation.
Emily and Dr. Mary:
At
this
writing, the only "Emily" mentioned in Jewett's letters is
Emily Tyson. See Key
to
Correspondents. What is meant by Foxcroft is not
certain, but possibly Tyson has spent some time in Foxcroft
(Now Dover-Foxcroft), ME,
Dr. Mary remains unidentified.
Poor Mrs. Hale ... Mr. Hale and
Mr. William Huntress: The incident referred to
here remains unexplained and the people not identified.
It may be that this Mr. Hale of South Berwick stands accused
of some breach of the public trust, and this may relate to a
Maine Supreme Court case of the "Inhabitants of South Berwick
v. William Huntress et al." from 1864 which involved a dispute
over a bond that was delivered with blanks to be filled in (Cases on the Law of Suretyship, pp.
49ff.)
Several people named William Huntress lived
in the South Berwick area during Jewett's lifetime.
Three of them seem likely candidates: William H. Huntress
(1844-1903) and William M. Huntress (1848-1926), and his
father, William W. Huntress (1817-1894).
Sarah Leah: Sarah Leah, apparently of South Berwick, worked as Jewett's typist and is mentioned in several letters. However no details about her identity have been discovered as of this writing.
Stubby, and a nice pat to Mr. T. Toes: Theodore
Jewett Eastman. See Key
to
Correspondents.
Mr. T. Toes seems to be a family pet,
perhaps the dog, Timmy, who appears in Jewett letters from
1894 to 1903. Information is welcome.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[ 1890 - 1902 ]*
Dear Mary
That train is quite a beauty -- and gives you a good chance to come over to the other platform and* stand waiting a while before the other comes -- and my little trunk came, and everything, so that I should have been at the house [ by corrected possibly from but ] quarter past eight if Mr. P. Boyle's* old sorrel speeder hadn't tumbled down behind just as we were starting and broken the shaft so that I had to wait until another pelter* was had down from
the stable -- I found Mrs. Fields* sorrowfully eating a little late supper, and thinking that I hadnt got here -- and very low with a great cold, the copy being worse than my original. She hadn't expected me until tomorrow until my note in the afternoon, and then to be disappointed, Mary! And such reviving when she saw the Flowers, and such a bustle putting them about in big vases where they certainly did look splendid -----
She is in bed this morning but I hope that she will feel nicely by afternoon as the sneezing stage seems to be over --
I came away after all without asking John about the Academy* & if he got my letter, so will you inquire? -- I dont suppose I shall be good for any thing until I get my story along the road a piece farther!!
I had a beautiful time at home, and I am setting in to my writing this morning with high feather. Give my love to
Sadie* if this gets to you in time -- and tell her I should have been so glad to see her and to have words about old times, the Tableaux* for one thing! I think I can see her smile as I speak the word. And give my love to Frances & kind regards to Dr. Dudley* -- tomorrow --
In haste with ever so much love
Notes
1890 - 1902: This undated letter finally offers little information to establish its date. It was composed after the Jewett-Fields friendship was firmly established and while Jewett was actively writing fiction. Probably it was written after 1890, when Frances Perry and Albertus Dudley were married. As Jewett brings fresh flowers to Fields, it probably was not composed between November and March.
That Jewett appears to be corresponding with John Tucker about the Berwick Academy hints that this letter may be from 1894, when Jewett was deeply involved in the building of the Fogg Memorial Building at the Academy.
and: In this letter, Jewett sometimes indicates "and" with a long-tailed "a."
Mr. P. Boyle's: In a letter to Annie Adams Fields of late May 1887, Jewett gives his full name as Patrick Boyle. Presumably, Boyle operated a stable in Manchester by the Sea or in the nearer Boston area, but no further details yet are available.
pelter: Jewett clearly means a horse in this context. This word appears to have had a unique local meaning not reflected precisely English dictionaries. The Oxford English Dictionary offers a definition that seems appropriate here: an old, feeble or inferior horse. However, in other contexts Jewett seems to use it to refer to horses in general. See for example her letters to Mary of Thursday morning, April 1894, and to both Mary and Carrie Eastman of 12 July 1894.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Correspondents.
John ... Academy: Normally, when Jewett mentions "John" to Mary, she speaks of the long-time Jewett family employee, John Tucker. See Correspondents. However, it is not clear why Jewett would be writing a letter to John Tucker regarding the Berwick Academy.
Sadie: Probably Sarah (Sadie) Jane McHenry Howell. See Correspondents. The reference to tableaux remains mysterious. Presumably Jewett refers to a popular Victorian entertainment, the "tableau vivant," but specific instances involving Mrs. Howell are not yet known.
Frances ... Dr. Dudley: This is not yet certain, but it is possible that Jewett refers to her cousin Frances Fisk Perry, who, in 1890, married Albertus True Dudley. a teacher at Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. See Lucretia Morse Fisk Perry in Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of the letter is held by the University of New England Maine Women Writers Collection,MWWC0196_02_00_086_01 item . Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Lilian Woodman Aldrich
[ 1894 - 1901 ]
Maine.
Dear Lilian
I write this word to make sure that you know how much we look forward to coming on Tuesday and also that I have managed to make my plans so that I can stay until the end of the week instead of flying back on Thursday as I
thought I should have to [ do ? ] at first. A.F.* has gone to Nahant just now but she comes back here on Monday and we start together Tuesday morning a very happy company of two! at least in anticipation of this moment.
I shall look for Mr. Allen* at Thomaston and I can hardly wait to see you both at the journeys end.
(but not Mifs Martinot)*
T.B.* and I can go fishing for the family as we did at Ponkapog!
Notes
1894 - 1902: While it is possible that this letter was written after 1903, it is more likely to come from between the Aldriches taking possession of the Crags in 1894 and Jewett's nearly fatal carriage accident in September 1902.
A.F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Mr. Allen: Mr. Allen has not yet been identified. That Jewett and Fields will pass through Thomaston, ME, indicates that they will visit the Aldriches at their summer home, The Crags, in Tenant's Harbor, ME.
Among Annie Fields's acquaintance was the Rev. Henry Freeman Allen (1838-1914), an Episcopalian priest, and his wife Georgiana May Stowe (1843-1890), a daughter of Harriet Beecher Stowe. See Key to Correspondents.
Mifs Martinot: Sadie Martinot was a Jewett nickname with the Aldriches, presumably after the American actress and singer, Sarah/Sadie Martinot. See Key to Correspondents.
T.B.: Thomas Bailey Aldrich. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Thomas Bailey Aldrich Papers, 119 letters of Thomas Bailey and Lilian Woodman Aldrich, 1837-1926. MS Am 1429 (117). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
At the bottom left of page one, in another hand, is a circled number: 2733.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Isabella Stewart Gardner
Dear Mrs Gardner
I hoped to bring this book to you long ago, but I could not, in a winter of many disappointments! . . And I was so sorry not to see you longer on Saturday, but I knew how eagerly Mrs. Fields* was thinking of your visit -- But I was only wishing to say things that never can be said about your beautiful kindness that night she was
Notes
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA. Transcription and annotation by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Isabella Steward Gardner to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ Early 1890s ]*
152 Beacon Street.
[ End Letterhead ]
Dear Miss Jewett
"It" meets here at luncheon next Saturday at 1.15 -- & we ^all^ are devoutly praying to have you with us --
Please come --
Isabella --
Notes
Early 1890s: The "It" Club for which this is an invitation is known to have been active from about 1890 until at least 1894. Shana McKenna, Archivist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum says that "It" was a lunch club formed by Julia Ward Howe and Isabella Stewart Gardner that included a few Boston women prominent in the arts.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, bMS Am 1743 (73). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Rebecca Young to Sarah Orne Jewett
Sunday Evening
[ 1894 - 1899 ]*
My dear Sarah,
I have had a peaceful day & it has not seemed too long. I dined with Mrs. Tyler & Miss Denny* & was urged to come again to supper, but I was at home most of the afternoon, & came home early this evening.
Mrs. Rollins* came for a session on her way to the usual Sunday visit at Annie's, & later Mr. Merriman* came about some books for Mrs. Merriman. She is to go again to the hospital this week, & hearing it was Monday morning she planned to go. I went up for a brief call Sat. night. She is to go later in the week, & she seemed very bright & hopeful of re-
sults. Now I can hope for leisure to "call" & friends in another direction!
Only think of Mr. Litchfield* all [ failing ? ] up! It is such a surprise to everybody, but is really a fact & Mr. Yeaton* is trying to make a settlement with his creditors.
Every one is so sorry for him --
Mary* writes she is coming to-morrow & you will be here Tuesday.
Thursday is to be town
meeting day, & I [ fear ? ]most of the interesting [ voters ? ] will go home before you are here, but town meeting day is not what it used to be!
Annie's last letter said she had left Mrs. Pierce* & they both wept at the parting. [ The next ? ] patient was to be Mrs. Norah Bennett.* We have heard her name, & Mamie thought she was properly laid to rest!
I just gave Timmy,* who is close by, a nice pat on the black spots for her aunt. Always affly
Notes
1894-1899: This date range, as shown in the notes below, is bounded by the the first appearance the dog, Timmy, in Jewett correspondence in 1894 and the death of Augusta Tyler in 1899.
Mrs. Tyler & Miss Denny: Augusta Maria Denny Tyler (d. 15 December 1899) and her sister, Mary Harriet Denny. See Key to Correspondents.
Rollins ... Annie's: Mrs Rollins probably is a South Berwick neighbor, Ellen Augusta Lord Rollins (1835-1922). Identified by Richard Cary.
Annie has not yet been identified, though it is likely she is the Annie Baskin mentioned in Young to Jewett of 10 March 1898.
Mr. Merriman: This could be Daniel Merriman, husband of Helen Bigelow Merriman, but this is not certain, as they are not known to have resided in South Berwick. See Key to Correspondents.
Litchfield: Shop-owner Deacon Litchfield of the Baptist church in South Berwick is mentioned in Jewett to Annie Fields of Thursday Morning, April 1885. He has not yet been identified further.
Yeaton: Probably, this is George Campbell Yeaton (1836-1918), a prominent South Berwick attorney.
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs Pierce: This person has not yet been identified. A Mrs. Pierce was a South Berwick dressmaker, mentioned in Jewett family letters of 1900.
Norah Bennett ... Mamie: These people have not yet been identified.
Timmy: A Jewett family dog. He is mentioned in Jewett family letters from 1894 through 1903.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence I, Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett. bMS Am 1743 (246).
This transcription is from a photocopy held by the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Box 2, Folder 99, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to "Sally"
[ Between 1894 and 1903 ]*
Dear Sally
I was in Cambridge this morning after I
saw you and I asked Sally Norton* about the stories --
thinking there was a chance about Margaret* since she so
loves a school. And Sally at once said 'Oh Helen Child
and her sister!* -- They have a charming gift for
story telling"!
'Ten minutes at a time"*
said I -- "and* all clear and definite?" -- and she said yes. So I pass this answer on to you at once. I hope it will prove to be of some help. I think that the ballads & folk-lore they couldn't help knowing would be the best of [ funds ? ] to draw from.
Yours affectionately
S. O. Jewett
Notes
Between 1894 and 1903: Sorting out the problems of
this letter leads to tantalizing possibilities, but little
conclusive about the recipient or the date. As the letter
recounts a talk with Sara (Sally) Norton and mentions Helen
Child, daughter of Harvard professor Francis James Child,
one may infer that it was composed after the earliest letter
we have between Jewett and Norton in October 1894, and
before the death of Helen Child in 1903. However,
Jewett recounts meeting Norton in a letter to Mary Rice
Jewett of March 22, 1888, so there may be earlier
correspondence between them.
Sally: Sally Fairchild (1869-1960) is a likely
recipient, one of the few local people called "Sally," in
addition to Sara Norton, with whom there is evidence Jewett
had contact. Sally Fairchild wrote one letter to Mary
Jewett in 1924 that is held by Harvard's Houghton
Library. Also at the Houghton are letters between
Fairchild's parents (Charles and Elizabeth "Lilly" Nelson of
Boston), Jewett and Annie Fields. The Brookline (Massachusetts) Historical Society
provides this suggestive sketch of
Fairchild:
Her father was a wealthy stock broker and banker and her parents were frequent hosts of prominent artists and writers. She never married and often lived with her younger brother, Gordon: at St Paul’s School where he ran the Upper School; in the Philippines; in Japan; and, when he returned to Boston around 1930, at his house at 391 Beacon St., Boston. After he died at sea in 1932 she moved to 241 Beacon St.Sally Norton: Sara Norton. See Key to Correspondents.
She made quite an impression on some very famous people of that era. There are descriptions of her by George Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell, George Santayana, the Fabian leader Beatrice Webb, and the Shakespearean actress Ellen Terry. Shaw took several photographs of her and corresponded with her for many years. She also gave a young Ethel Barrymore a letter of introduction to Shaw. Here is a description from Gertrude Kittredge Eaton, in her Reminiscences Of St. Paul's School: "Mrs. Fairchild had at one time what might be called a salon, in Boston. She knew all the interesting people of the day. She was one of the first to appreciate Walt Whitman. John Singer Sargent was a great friend, and painted many pictures of Sally, who had lovely red hair. Red hair fascinated Sargent. She was an early admirer of Robert Louis Stevenson. When her husband went abroad one year, she told him to look up young Stevenson and have Sargent paint his portrait, which he did. Stevenson stayed with the Fairchilds in Boston, and Gordon remembered sitting on the foot of his bed while Stevenson told him stories. There are many letters to the Fairchilds in the collected letters of Stevenson."
Margaret: Probably, Jewett refers to Sarah
Norton's sister, Margaret Norton. See Sara Norton in
Key to Correspondents.
Helen Child and her sister: Almost certainly,
Jewett refers to daughters of Francis James Child,
"Harvard’s first professor of English, eminent folklorist,
and noted Chaucer scholar..." The Cambridge
Historical Society sketch continues: "In 1860, Child married
Elizabeth Ellery Sedgwick (1824-1909), daughter of Robert
and Elizabeth Dana Ellery Sedgwick. The couple raised four
children, Helen Maria Child (1863-1903), Susan Ridley
Sedgwick Child (1866-1946), Henrietta Ellery Child (b.
1867), and Francis Sedgwick Child (1868-1935). Among Child’s
close friends were his cousin and classmate Charles Eliot
Norton, the poet James Russell Lowell, and the brothers
William and Henry James.... The work of scholarship for
which Child is best known is his English and Scottish
Ballads, in which he included authentic versions of
the best-known ballads from these countries. The work
appeared in print in eight small volumes between 1857 and
1858, and included multiple versions of 305 ballads. Child
provided a full history for each ballad, noting its
manuscript source and its appearance in other European
countries. His work was so widely accepted as the canon of
folk ballads that the ballads are now known as “the Child
ballads” and scholars reference them by the number that
Child assigned them. "
and: Jewett sometimes writes "and" as an "a" with a long tail. I render these as "and."
time: Jewett's use of quotation marks is not
consistent in this letter.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Edith Haven Doe
[ 1893-1904 ]*
South Berwick, Maine
Dearest Mrs. Doe
I have been trying to find Mr. James's essay on Mrs Kemble* to send to you, but I fear that I have left it in Boston. You shall have it when I do get hold of it -- Mary* got home last night but
has gone again to Exeter today, as Aunt May Long* is very feeble. It does not sound as if she would live very long --
I had such a dear little visit to you the other day -- and it has been such a pleasure to think of ever since.
Sarah
Notes
1893-1904: Dating this letter is problematic. Jewett's reference to Henry James's 1893 essay on Frances Kemble places the letter after April 1893, when it first appeared. Her mentioning Mary Long as perhaps fatally ill could place it close to October 1904. Mary Long (1810-1904) would have been 83 in 1893, old enough that were she seriously ill, her family would have feared for her death. The letter could have been written at almost any time during these 12 years.
This manuscript is written in pencil.
In this folder appears an envelope addressed to Mrs. Doe, but with no address, indicating that it was hand-delivered. Mrs. Doe resided in Rollinsford, NH, across the Salmon Falls River from South Berwick, ME.
Kemble: Henry James's essay "Frances Anne Kemble"originally appeared in Temple Bar XCVII (April
1893) and was reprinted in Essays in London and Elsewhere (1893, pp. 81-120). For James, see Key to Correspondents. For a study of James's friendship with the British actor Fanny Kemble (1809-1893), see Tamara Follini, "The Friendship of Fanny Kemble and Henry James," Cambridge Quarterly 19 (1990), pp. 230-232. Wikipedia.
Mary: Mary Rice Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Mary Long: See Key to Correspondents. Jewett's aunt died in October 1904.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the University of New England Maine Women Writers Collection, Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence Box 2 Folder 150.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Julia Caroline Dorr
148 Charles street
Friday morning
[late winter, between 1893 and December 1898
]
[ Deleted letterhead: South Berwick Maine ]
Dear Mrs Dorr.
I thank you for your
most kind letter{.} I am so glad that you are feeling a
little better but how good it will be to have the sun shine
again!
You are so very
[ Page 2 ]
kind about the carriage and if you have no other use for it
on Monday ^or Tuesday^ and if it should be good weather I
should be delighted to go to Elmwood* in the afternoon to
see Mabel Burnett{.}*
Possibly Mrs Fields* can go too -- My long illness earlier
in the winter and absence from town later make me feel as if
winter were just beginning -- ^I have not seen Mabel for a
long time.^ -- There's one comfort, that will be a short
winter! --
= It is so interesting to know of a
possible [ relationship corrected ] and
I am most eager to welcome the thoughts -- I incline to the
belief that you must belong to the Salem Ornes however, and
I to their Portsmouth kindred[.] It was my father's mother
for whom I was named: she died when he was a baby,* and
there is no one left in Portsmouth of the family -- I must
show you the silhouette some day and ask you more about such
an interesting subject. Mrs. Fields
would be sure to send her love -- She went out yesterday morning to stop and ask for you, but the rain forced her to hurry home.
Yours affectionately
Sarah O. Jewett
Notes
Elmwood: The home of James Russell Lowell in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Burnett: Mabel Lowell Burnett (Sep.
9, 1847 - Dec. 30, 1898), daughter of James Russell Lowell
(1819-1891). See Key to Correspondents.
baby: Jewett's father, Theodore Herman Jewett
was born on 24 March 1815; his mother, Sarah Orne, died on
15 June 1819.
Fields: Annie Adams Fields. Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is in the collection of the Miller Library of Colby College, Waterville, ME. Scott Frederick Stoddart's transcription is in his Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign: Selected Letters of Sarah Orne Jewett,1988.New transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary B. Claflin
148. Charles Street,
Boston. 10 March (Before 1896)*
Dear Mrs. Claflin
Thank you for remembering me, but I am going away for a few
days for a change, and I am afraid at any rate I should not be
quite equal to the day at Wellesley -- *
Yours affectionately
Sarah O. Jewett.
Notes
Wellesley: Governor William Claflin (1818-1905)
signed the charter for Wellesley College on March 17, 1870,
paving the way for the Wellesley Female Seminary to become
Wellesley College in 1875. He and his wife, Mary Bucklin
Davenport Claflin (1825 - 1896) remained deeply involved with
the college, residing in nearby Newton, MA after his
retirement from politics. Mrs. Claflin made a number of
presentations on campus. For example the The
Wellesley
Magazine 2:3 (23 December 1893) reported that
Jewett was "present at a distance" for a December 11, 1893
reception to honor Mr. and Mrs. Richard Watson Gilder (p.
215).
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[ Before 1896 ]
Dear Mary
I have returned from Exeter and had a very pleasant little visit. Aunty of course feels Mrs. Tarleton's death* very much but she seemed very well and 'took it' with much [ intended more or much more ? ] composure than one could imagine -- but I think the people who make the least cry about such things always feel the worst. I saw the whole congregation.
Notes
Before 1896: If the letter speaks of Aunt Lucretia Perry, then it must have been composed before her death in 1896.
Aunty ... Mrs. Tarleton's death: Jewett's aunt in Exeter probably is Lucretia Morse Fisk Perry. See Key to Correspondents. The identity of Mrs. Tarleton is not yet known.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
Thursday morning. [ Summer after 1895 ]
I mourn for poor Crabby* -- poor little dog! I hate to think we shall never see him again. I never liked him so much as I have this summer, in his amiable and patient age. However, I had worried much about what should come next when he was blinder and feebler, and it is good to think that his days are done so comfortably. I am sure all the girls felt sorry as we do.
It is a grey day and looks like a
cold rain, but John and Theodore, like "Benjy" and "Tom
Brown," have gone to the Rochester fair, with smiles on their
faces that seemed to tie behind and be quite visible as they
walked away!*
I have been reading "Miss Angel." It is a most lovely historical story. If you haven't got it, I want to send my little Tauchnitz one. Venice is so exquisitely drawn in it, and afterward in London, all the life of that day. Dr. Johnson comes along the street as if one's own eyes saw him. I think you have got "Miss Angel," but perhaps you can't put a hand on it.
I took down the two Choate volumes,# yesterday, and read with unforgettable delight, -- not that it was new altogether, but somehow new then.
Fields's note
#The biography of Rufus Choate.*
Notes
Summer after 1895 ... poor Crabby: F. O.
Matthiessen in Sarah
Orne
Jewett (1909) identifies Crabby as one of Jewett's
dogs, and he describes her walking with Crabby, when he
already is an elderly dog, before her father's death (20
September 1878). If Matthiessen's memory is correct,
then that Crabby was not the "Crabby Fields" who appears in
letters of the 1890s.
As of this writing, Crabby is mentioned
latest as accompanying Jewett and Fields to Martinsville in
the summer of 1895. Therefore, this letter must have
been composed after that summer, and probably when Jewett's
nephew, Theodore, was still spending his summers in South
Berwick, through about 1901.
John and Theodore, like "Benjy" and "Tom Brown," have gone
to the Rochester fair: John Tucker, Jewett family
employee, and Theodore "Stubby" Eastman, Jewett's
nephew. See Key
to
Correspondents.
Thomas Hughes (1822-1896) was the author of
Tom Brown's School Days (1857).
The reference to Benjy is mysterious.
Juliana
Horatia
Gatty Ewing (1841-1885) wrote a popular children's
story, Benjy in Beastland, apparently first published
in Aunt
Judy's
Magazine 8 (1870). Thereafter it was
frequently reprinted in collections of children's stories.
The biography of Rufus Choate: Probably this is The
life
of
Rufus Choate (1870), by Samuel Gilman Brown.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Frances Rollins Morse
Friday
[ 1895-1902 ]*
[ End letterhead ]
Dear Fanny
You can't think how much good your dear and kind note did me yesterday after a long and tired and (I must confess it!) disappointing day! I have found it so hard to 'get at' my
story writing again that I needed just this friendly word from you -- You dont know how much it means to me --
I had such a charming call and never enjoyed being with your dear mother more but I was sorry to miss you. Mrs. Fields* and I hope
to see you once before you go away. I am so glad that you are going to have the summer abroad though I shall miss you.
Notes
1895-1902: The boundaries of this date range are the earliest correspondence we have so far between Jewett and Morse and the last year in which Jewett was actively writing for publication.
Fields: Annie Adams Fields. Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743.1 Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence II. Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, Box 4 (122).
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 1895-1904 ]*
[ Page 2 ]
Notes
1895-1904: An envelope, without postage or cancellation, possibly associated with this note-card is addressed to Jewett at 148 Charles Street. On the face of the envelope in the upper right corner is a note, possibly in Whitman's hand: "Send."
Though Whitman calls Jewett "darling" in some possibly earlier letters, the earliest letter in which "Darling" is the salutation comes from 1895.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Whitman, Sarah (Wyman) 1842-1904. 92 letters; [1884]-[1903] & [n.d.] Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Sarah Orne Jewett additional correspondence, 1868-1930. MS Am 1743.1 -107. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 1895-1904 ]*
Dearest, this afternoon at 3:30, Mrs Rogers is to bring Mrs Coles (Tilly Warren's sister { ) } to the studio to see the glass windows now about ready, & pr'haps you & dear A.F.* could look in too. Just if it came handy.
Notes
1895-1904: One sees no evidence to narrow the composition date of this letter to a range smaller than 1883-1904. An envelope without postage associated with this letter is addressed to Jewett at 148 Charles Street. I am merely guessing that this letter comes from 1895 or later.
Mrs Rogers ... Mrs Coles (Tilly Warren's sister: These persons have not been identified. There is a Jewett letter to a Mrs. Rogers from February 1895, and another from Jewett to a "Mrs. Cole" in 1903. Among Annie Fields's acquaintance was Emma Savage Rogers (1824 - 1911), spouse of William Barton Rogers (1804-1882), geologist, physicist, educator, and founder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but "Rogers" is a common surname.
The transcription of "Tilly Warren" is uncertain. Jewett and Whitman were acquainted with art collector Susan Cornelia Clarke Warren (1825-1901), but she is not known to be related to a Mrs. Coles.
A. F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Whitman, Sarah (Wyman) 1842-1904. 92 letters; [1884]-[1903] & [n.d.] Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Sarah Orne Jewett additional correspondence, 1868-1930. MS Am 1743.1 -107. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 1895-1904 ]*
Darling, I have just been to see you at 34.*
It was to bless you for yesterday: & and then to say to you & A F* that I have tickets for Olive [ Ward ! ? ] &
[ Page 2 ]
Notes
1895-1904: Though Whitman calls Jewett "darling" in some possibly earlier letters, the earliest letter in which "Darling" is the salutation comes from 1895.
With this note is what appears to be a second page, or perhaps the back of the page on which the note was written. Both pages seem to have the same watermark. The second page contains only an address to Jewett at 148 Charles St. in Boston.
34: 34 Beacon Street, the Boston address of Jewett's friend, Susan Burley Cabot. See Key to Correspondents.
A F: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Olive ... Aylie: I have not succeeded at transcribing the names Whitman gives of performers for the upcoming recital; therefore, they remain unidentified.
Basta: Italian. Enough.
Miss Morgan: This transcription is uncertain and the person has not yet been identified.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Whitman, Sarah (Wyman) 1842-1904. 92 letters; [1884]-[1903] & [n.d.] Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Sarah Orne Jewett additional correspondence, 1868-1930. MS Am 1743.1 -107. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Unknown Recipient [ Fragment ]
and have lost the gray look of winter. It is so mystical and wonderful to me: this time of year when you take a long look up past the hill tops into the sky -- and far across the snowy fields and black pines -- Agamenticus* looks like a great mountain, remote and lonely, and the world seems like a great ghost -- not material, or its everyday self at all, but the spirit that by and by will be hidden in its ^new^ body of Summer. I should like to stay a whole day in some windless place in the edge of woods. -- where you could hear a brook under the ice. ---- If I were an artist
I should be always trying to paint in winter after the sun begins to really shine. One year dies and then its ghost walks a little while and then there is a new body: it is transmigration or re-incarnation -- and next day summer fades again.
I think so often of Mrs. Thaxter* and of the islands out there in the sea. I thought I shouldn't wish to go back to Appledore for a long time but I believe I do! It is an enchanting place and if her ghost
can walk anywhere it will be there.
-- I wish you and I could go out some day. ----- But what a long letter! And I have not said the things I say often to you nowadays in my heart --
Goodbye dear with much love
S.O.J.
Notes
late winter 1895-1902: Almost certainly this letter was composed between the winter after the death of Celia Thaxter in 1894 and before Jewett's carriage accident of 1902.
My intuition and experience lead me to speculate that a likely recipient of this letter would be in intimate friend, but not Annie Adams Fields, more likely, Louisa Dresel, or Sarah Norton, or Sarah Wyman Whitman.
Agamenticus: The highest point in the vicinity of South Berwick, ME at 692 feet, Mount Agamenticus looks imposing, though it is more a high hill than a mountain..
Thaxter: Celia Thaxter. Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 - II. Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, Unidentified, recipient. 21 letters and fragments. Box 7, item 279.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ December 1895-1904 ]*
Darling, I did not know where to look for you tonight, and had [ Alma Thérèse ? ] with me; so I did not discover you.
But we shall meet and meanwhile I want to tell you of a drama enacted at 77* the Saturday night before I went away! I was to leave at 5 on Sunday: & of most of the day was [ crammed ? ] with
[ Page 2 ]
[ Page 3 ]
Pity, forgive, & tell A.F.* of my "Emotions & the moral"*
Notes
1895-1904: Though Whitman calls Jewett "darling" in some possibly earlier letters, the earliest letter in which "Darling" is the salutation comes from 1895.
Alma Thérèse: This transcription is uncertain and the person unidentified.
77: Whitman's Boston home at 77 Mt. Vernon St.
A. F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
"Emotions & the moral": This transcription is not perfectly certain. Why the phrase is in quotation marks has not been discovered.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Whitman, Sarah (Wyman) 1842-1904. 92 letters; [1884]-[1903] & [n.d.] Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Sarah Orne Jewett additional correspondence, 1868-1930. MS Am 1743.1 -107. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett
Dear, if you are driving this afternoon wont you stop for a up [ of or at ] 5 o -clk with my dear Crafts? &
Notes
1900: This guess at a date range is based upon there being other correspondence among Jewett and her friends about the Crafts. Probably the letter comes from the summer, when Whitman and Jewett would drive from their summer residences to visit each other. See note below. Note, however, that Jewett was in Europe in 1898.
Crafts: The transcription is uncertain. If it is correct, it seems likely that Whitman refers to Clemence Haggerty (1841-1912) and James Mason Crafts (1839-1917), an American chemist, who taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Jewett and Annie Fields mention them in other letters from around 1900.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 5, Item 234.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Mabel Lowell Burnett to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ Christmas 1897-1900 ]*
Cambridge.
[ End letterhead ]
Dear Sara
I wonder how you knew that I was a native of boxomania. I am rather ashamed of the fact, and I fight against the tendency as hard as I can -- if I didn't there would be no room in the [ house ? ] for anything but boxes -- [ unrecognized word ] or [ seriale ? ], nice or cheap -- there is something about a box I find it very
hard to resist, and I didn't much try to resist, until I found that Joseph* had inherited the foible. And had two or three drawers pile of empty boxes!
There wouldn't be any excess needed things, if all boxes were as pretty as [ your's so spelled ] -- and what makes it doubly valuable is, that it is almost exactly like one which used to be here, but vanished during the accursed [ rape ? ] of the Holy [ Beeles ? ].
That also had little marks inside the cover, to [ two unrecognized words ] it should be put [ in or on ] -- I knew that in vacation it would be useless to do anything about Theodore,* and later, I mean to capture him -- but it is so hard for me now, I have to do everything through somebody else -- -- and I shan't even see him when he comes here -- not that he'll mind that.
I feel that I am cheated out of your last visit,
so do come again soon -- Thank you for the booful box -- and with all good wishes for the New Year,
M.L.B
Notes
1897-1900: See notes below for support for this guess.
Joseph: Presumably Burnett's second son, Joseph Burnett (1874-1909).
[ rape ? ] of the Holy [ Beeles ? ]: This transcription is very uncertain, and the reference is mysterious.
Theodore: Theodore Jewett Eastman was a Harvard undergraduate, with Christmas vacations, 1897-1901. This would seem the most likely date range for this letter. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence I, Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett. bMS Am 1743.1 (14).
This transcription is from a photocopy held by the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Box 2, Folder 99, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[ 1897 - 1901 ]*
[ A fragment with missing material at the beginning ]
[ Yesterday I ]* read the Lacordaire* with great delight -- I dont know when a book has moved me more -- it is beautifully put together and full of beautiful things, but oh what a sad story! I mean of course on the surface for I suppose that the good man knew best how to fight himself down so that he could win the battles that he had set himself. The story of his school is a bright spot, and the sincerity of his friendship with
[ Page 2 ]
( -- This was a friendly letter from Mr. Osgood* which of course I answered in the same spirit.
Theodore* has come to the devoted reading of the works of Charles Dickens* -- a long Stubby curled up in a chair with a stout copy of Nicholas Nickleby is a pleasing sight. Chuckles ensue from time to time! --
Good bye and a dear kiss from your Pinny* -- )
Notes
1897 - 1901: This date range is based upon the guess that nephew Theodore Jewett Eastman seems to be living with Jewett after his mother's death in 1897. Probably this letter was composed before he graduated from Harvard in 1891.
Yesterday I ]: Fields has penciled in these words at the beginning of the text. Parenthesis marks in this manuscript were penciled by Fields.
Lacordaire: Jean-Baptiste Henri-Dominique Lacordaire (1802 - 1861), was a French Dominican preacher, theologian and author. Wikipedia says: "In January 1833 he met Madame Swetchine, who was to become a significant moderating influence upon him. She was a Russian convert to Catholicism who had a famous salon in Paris .... He developed a friendly filial relationship with her through an extensive correspondence."
Which book Jewett is reading is difficult to know. In her notebook of 1885, Jewett's friend Sarah Wyman Whitman recorded reading Dora Greenwell's Lacordaire, a Memoir (1867).
Swetchine's life may be Life and Letters of Madame Swetchine (1867) by Alfred-Frédéric-Pierre Falloux du Coudray.
Mr. Osgood: James Ripley Osgood. See Key to Correspondents.
Theodore: Theodore Jewett Eastman, nicknamed Stubby. See Key to Correspondents.
Charles Dickens: British novelist, Charles Dickens (1812-1870). His Nicholas Nickleby was published in 1838-9.
Pinny: Pinny Lawson (Pinny / Pin) was an affectionate nickname for Jewett, used by her and Annie Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Annie Fields (Adams) 1834-1915, recipient. 194 letters; 1877-1909 & [n.d.] Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett
Notes
1897 - 1904: It is probable that this letter was written after the death of Theodore Jewett Eastman's mother, Caroline Jewett Eastman. Whitman died in 1904.
With this letter is an envelope addressed to Miss Jewett at 34 Beacon Street. Neither stamped nor cancelled, it was presumably privately delivered.
Theodore: Theodore Jewett Eastman. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the the Colby College Library, Special Collections, Sarah Orne Jewett Materials, JEWE.1, Subseries: Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett, Sarah Wyman Whitman. Undated. 1 ALS. 1 p. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Elizabeth Agassiz to Sarah Orne Jewett
Quincy Street.
Cambridge.
[ End letterhead ]
Dear Sarah
How sweet it is to have your new [ unrecognized word ] with Xmas greeting from yourself -- I had brought it for a remembrance to my son-in-law Mr Shaw* and as I did so I said to myself "I wish some
your friend
E. C. Agassiz
Dec 27th
Notes
1908: It appears this could have been written at any time after Annie Adams Fields might have introduced Agassiz and Jewett. However, by 1897, Agassiz was addressing Jewett by first name.
Shaw: Agassiz's daughter, Pauline Agassiz (1841-1917), married Quincy Adams Shaw (1825-1908). Find a Grave.
The manuscript of this card is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 1, 3. Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Elizabeth H. Houghton
I could not answer your note at once -- but now I wish to thank you and to ask if Friday would be convenient and if you would like it as well if I came early in the afternoon or to luncheon instead of to tea or even as you so kindly ask, for the night? I have promised to go to Mifs Norton's* before 4 on ^Friday^ and I cannot very well make two days.
But if this does not fall in with your plans I can get to you for an hour not
S. O. Jewett
Notes
1897-1908: In this collection of correspondence, the earliest letter between Jewett and Sara Norton was in 1897.
Norton's: Sara Norton. See Key to Correspondents.
Katharine and Etta: The transcription of "Etta" is uncertain. Possibly she is Etta Dunham, the daughter of James Dunham of New York, and the subject of an 1895 portrait by John Singer Sargent. Also among Jewett's acquaintance with women who spelled their name "Katharine," was Katharine McMahon Johnson, spouse of Century editor, Robert Underwood Johnson, also living in New York City. See Key to Correspondents.
Alberta: Alberta M. Houghton, the middle of the three Henry Oscar Houghton daughters. See Houghton in Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: Henry Oscar Houghton papers III. Letters to H. O. Houghton from various persons, Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. 7 letters; 1894 & n.d. Box: 9 MS Am 1648, (513).
This transcription is from a photocopy held by the Maine Women Writers Collection, Burton Trafton Collection, Box 2, folder 88.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Tuesday 21s-
Dearest Fuff*
I am going to make you a handsome present of joining you to the Forestry association. I want to make up my four new members that everybody is asked to do so that they can pay a secretary all the time{,} the work having been done for love so far apparently. It is very
interesting and I think it is a good thing. You need not say you are "so unworthy" as an old woman here did when they made her in like manner a member of the Missionary society! It is a trifle at any rate. -----
How beautiful it must have been on the point Sunday! I can seem to remember it with you. I must go to the [ Aldriches ? ]* when I go over to Manchester again.
[ Letter breaks off. No signature. ]
Notes
1898-1907: This range of possible dates assumes that Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836-1907) had not yet died and that Jewett refers to the Massachusetts Forestry Association, which was incorporated in 1898 and eventually became the Environmental League of Massachusetts.
This manuscript contains editorial marks, presumably made by Fields when she was considering this letter for inclusion in Letters of Sarah Orne Jewett (1911).
Fuff: Fuff is a nickname for Annie Fields.
Aldriches: This transcription is very uncertain. If it is correct, she would mean Lilian and Thomas Bailey Aldrich. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter appears in Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Annie Fields (Adams) 1834-1915, recipient. 194 letters; 1877-1909 & [n.d.] Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[ Winter 1898 or after ]*
Dear Mary
…..… Elise* came up and made a nice little call in my room the afternoon and Mrs. Fields* was much pleased to see her too on her way down; she looked so pretty and seemed so bright -- they talked about the house party, etc. If there is sleighing which this rain doesn't look much like! -- do let her have Fanny* -- or Theodore* could drive down with the double sleigh and assist. You must let Joe* drive Fanny when you don't want her to go -- he never came to any grief with Father Gorman's* horses in long winters and if he does whirl corners remember that we have always been liable to do the same! at any rate I had just as soon let him put Fanny along a road as fast as she can go, and run the risk if there is any, rather than have you get too anxious and careful about her. So set him off, and if there's any damage I'll pay the bills; it's the only way to make any thing of a man like Joe, to trust him -- and he is very different from the days when he often had something taken, and used to urge the priest's pelters unduly “just like an Irishman”. --- I've seen him drive, and he does as well as most -- so let him go with her if it isn't very pleasant, or you can drive the other one or anything. (I hope that good Jane Ann* is well. I feel condemned for speaking of her as “the other one”.)
Notes
1898 or after: This letter must have been composed after Emily and Elise Tyson purchased Hamilton House in South Berwick. As Jewett seems to be at Annie Fields's, it is unlikely to come from 1902-3, when Jewett was confined after her September 1902 carriage accident. That John Tucker, the Jewetts's driver, is not mentioned, suggests a date after his 1902 death.
The line of points presumably indicates an omission from the manuscript.
Elise: Elizabeth Russell Tyson. See Emily Davis Tyson in Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Fanny: Presumably a Jewett horse.
Theodore: Theodore Jewett Eastman. See Key to Correspondents.
Joe: In a letter of Saturday [June 17 or 24, 1899] to Annie Adams Fields, Jewett mentions Joe, the gardener, and his "old" Mary. There it appears they may be employees of Emily Tyson.
Father Gorman: Father James P. Gorman became pastor at St. Michael's Catholic Church in South Berwick in 1892, after a decade of service at St. John the Baptist Church in Brunswick, ME, where he led in building a new church and in converting the old church into a school. See Richard Snow, Brunswick Churches and Religious Organizations, pp. 39-41. He remained at St. Michael's until 1913.
pelters: Jewett uses this unfamiliar word in a variety of ways in her letters. Here she seems to refer to horses.
Jane Ann: Another Jewett horse.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Mary Cabot Wheelwright to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ End letterhead ]
Dear Miss Jewett,
I was hoping to see you this afternoon at Mrs Fields,* but as you are away at Berwick I write to ask a great favor of you. Would it
be inconvenient or bothering if Elizabeth Cabot* and I came to lunch with you there either Thursday or Friday ^of this week^?
We both have a great desire to see Berwick and also the Tyson place in the spring and I told Lisbeth that
I was sure that you would be frank and tell me if you couldn't have us.
Just drop me a postal and don't have us if its in any way inconvenient will you? Father has proudly got into his trousers today and feels a real man again {--} he was so grateful for the Orvieto, and the lilacs.
Mother's pretty well & improving.
We're negotiating for the Richard Bradley house next the Randolph Coolidge's* at Manchester{.} I do hope we'll get it, and there'll be such chances for cruising out of Gloucester & fishing.
Mary C. W.
Notes
1908: This date range is determined by Wheelwright's reference to the Tyson place. Emily Davis Tyson restored the Hamilton House in South Berwick, completing the work in 1900. 1908 is the last year that Jewett could have received a request of this kind in the spring.
Fields: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Elizabeth Cabot: Which Elizabeth Cabot this may be has not yet been determined.
Bradley ... Coolidge: Richard Bradley has not yet been identified. J. Randolph Coolidge, Jr. (1862-1928) was an American architect in Boston. Wikipedia.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence I, Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett. bMS Am 1743,
Wheeler, Mary Cabot. 1 letter; [n.d.], (232)
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Henry M. Rood*
Novr 2 d ----
[ 1900-1908 ]*
My dear Mr Rood
I send a brief note for the collection of birthday messages to Mr. Alden* -- I have been prevented from writing earlier but I hope that I am not too late. Believe me yours sincerely
Notes
Rood: Henry M. Rood (1867-1954) was a journalist and author, and he served as assistant editor at Harper's Magazine (1900-1910). See History of Westchester County New York (1925), edited by Alvah P. French, p. 522.
1900-1908: Probably Jewett wrote this note between 1900, when Rood joined the staff of Harper's Magazine and 1908, the last November of her life.
The card is stamped upper left with "SOJ" -- the initials overlapping inside a circle.
Alden: Henry Mills Alden, editor of Harper's Magazine. See Key to Correspondents. His birthday was 11 November.
This manuscript of this card is held in the Alfred Williams Anthony collection. Manuscripts and Archives Division. The New York Public Library. Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.
This transcription is from a photocopy held by the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, the Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[ 1900-1908 ]
[letter to Mary]
…………….At night -- after an ample supper for a returning traveller Mrs. Fields* sat down to sew and I was reading the French Country House which I had got off the table in Jessie's room* and began to read aloud. Stubby* had gone out to smoke and presently returned and we got so pleased and laughing over the story that we all continued and read all the evening. Night before last we were at the Howes and Jessie played after dinner and then poor old George and Alice nearly died laughing over Jess and Stubby in their great cake-walk scene. I wish you could see them prance and do it in the big hall there, both in their best array. A. F. urged them up to it -- she'll be going herself soon with Jessie to play the quick-step! I must stop writing now, for I want to be busy this morning. Give my love to all -- especially Herring* and I am sure Stubby sends his.
Affectionately,
Sarah
There were those who were caught in the rain down on the beach this morning and had to come galloping home all wet, Mary!
Notes
1900: Jewett's nephew, Theodore, who graduated from Harvard in 1901, is old enough to smoke cigars and to make an entertaining summer guest in Manchester, MA.
A transcriber's note with this text reads: [ letter to Mary ]. The line of points presumably indicates an omission from the manuscript.
Mrs. Fields: Annie Adams Fields,. also A. F. See Key to Correspondents.
the French Country House: Adelaide Kemble Sartoris (1815 - 1879) was an English opera singer, the younger sister of Fanny Kemble, actress and anti-slavery activist. She wrote A Week in a French Country House (1867).
Jessie's room: Jessie Cochrane. See Key to Correspondents.
Stubby: Theodore Jewett Eastman. See Key to Correspondents.
at the Howes .. George and Alice: Alice Greenwood and George Dudley Howe. See Key to Correspondents.
Herring: Herring has not yet been identified, though this may be a nickname for Helen Bell Fowler, one of Jewett's cousins. See Jewett's humorous poem in an 1875 letter to Mellen Chamberlain.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett
But I am going to see you: for this is only to love.
Notes
1900 - 1904: The earliest known letter in which Whitman addresses Jewett as "Dearest" in the salutation appears to be from 1894. However, Whitman uses this salutation often from 1900 - 1904.
This note is written on half of a folded page. After it was folded in half, Whitman folded it again in uneven thirds and addressed the page to Jewett at 34 Beacon Street, the Boston address of Jewett's friend, Susan Burley Cabot. See Key to Correspondents.
Louise Dyer: This person has not yet been identified.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Whitman, Sarah (Wyman) 1842-1904. 92 letters; [1884]-[1903] & [n.d.] Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Sarah Orne Jewett additional correspondence, 1868-1930. MS Am 1743.1 -107. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Katherine and Cornelia Horsford
[ Christmas time 1900-1909 ]*
[ Letterhead of SOJ initials inside a circle, printed or stamped in green ink.]
Dear Kate and Cornelia
I thank you so much, both dear friends for my charming Christmas presents. Kate's [ duck ? ] of a bottle! and Cornelia's pin cushion which which made me think so dearly of 'Mamma' -- it is so like
the pretty things she used to find.
I do like them both so much! I came home, treasures in hand, early on Christmas Day, but I shall be back in Charles Street before long and then I hope to see you --
Sarah
Notes
1900-1909: As Eben Norton Horsford is not mentioned, it seems likely that this letter was composed after his death in 1893 and before the death of Jewett. Further, it is likely that 'Mamma" is not Jewett's mother, but the mother of Cornelia and step-mother of Kate, Phoebe Gardiner Horsford, who died in October 1900. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of the letter is held by the Fales Library and Special Collections, Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, New York University. Sylvester Manor Archive 1649-1996, MSS.208, IV: Horsford Family, Box 110: Folder 10. Jewett, Sarah Orne: Maine & Massachusetts. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
[ 1900 -1908 ]*
[ A fragment with missing material at the beginning ]
... pushing to a lazy Pinny* I miss you very much but I shall try & hope to come back much better than I came away. All things considered we got through this last week very well -- -- The lovely white snow which covered every thing when I came home and made quite perfect their sleighing on Friday in that fresh air is all disappearing except the old drifts and the mud looks precious deep! I believe that Elise & "Peggy"* come
[ Page 2 ]
Good night darling Fuff.* What did you think about the x rays ?? asks your most loving Pinny.
Notes
1900 -1908: This date range is speculative and approximate. The letter must have been composed after 1896, the first year that x-rays were used for medical purposes, and almost certainly after 1898, when Emily Tyson purchased the Hamilton House in South Berwick, and probably after 1900, when the Tysons became regular seasonal residents at Hamilton House. See notes below.
This manuscript consists of two pages, from each of which the top portion has been torn in the same pattern, suggesting that they may belong together, though they are not sequential. Fields has penciled marks on the first page that appear to signify a deletion of that page.
Pinny: Pinny Lawson (Pinny / Pin) was an affectionate nickname for Jewett, used by her and Annie Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Elise & "Peggy": Elizabeth / Elise Russell Tyson. See Emily Tyson in Key to Correspondents.
That "Peggy" is in quotation marks suggests that she may be an employee of the Tysons. Her identity remains unknown.
Mrs. Grant of Laggan: Anne Grant, or Mrs Anne Grant of Laggan (1755 - 1838) was a Scottish poet, remembered for her collection of mostly autobiographical poems Memoirs of an American Lady (1808).
Sir Walter: Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), Scottish poet and novelist..
Fuff: Nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Annie Fields (Adams) 1834-1915, recipient. 194 letters; 1877-1909 & [n.d.] Sarah Orne Jewett correspondence, 1861-1930. MS Am 1743 (255). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[Wed. evening 1900 or later]
I should think Susy* would know now. I had a very pleasant time at Mrs. Tysons.* Alice Howe was there & Mrs. Pratt & Mrs. John Gray and Mrs. Vaughan Ellen Vaughan again, & Mrs. Pickman “Nelly Mother”.* I dont think they are coming right away but Mrs. Tyson said Elise* was going to see the Opera though & then take a week in Philadelphia and then “go to Berwick for the rest of her natural Life” she thought. She said it so funny. I didn’t see Elise but I think I heard her skip down stairs & away to the Matinees. I made some calls afterward and only found Mrs. Henry Higginson & Sally Rice and -- who do you think little Mrs. Phipps,* at home! I have been wishing to get to see her & it is right round the corner from Mrs. Tyson’s. She is a good nice little woman. I told her what I thought would interest her about things at the school* -- & especially the Library, but told no tales for she has done what she could, and I dont look to her for more. She seemed pleased because I came, but I really liked her before when I went.
Notes
1900 or later: The letter must have been
composed after Emily and Elise Tyson began staying regularly
at Hamilton House in South Berwick. The fact that
Jewett's list of people she's seen is somewhat disordered,
suggests a date after spring 1903, by which she was partially
recovered from her debilitating carriage accident of September
1902. Handwritten notes with this text read: [to Mary] [Wed.
evening].
Susy: Usually when Jewett mentions Susy to Mary, she refers to Susan Marcia Oakes Woodbury. See Key to Correspondents. Whether that is the case this time is not certain.
Mrs. Tysons: Emily Davis Tyson. See Key to Correspondents.
Alice Howe ... Mrs. Pratt & Mrs. John Gray and Mrs.
Vaughan Ellen Vaughan again, & Mrs. Pickman “Nelly
Mother”:
Alice Greenwood (Mrs. George Dudley) Howe.
See Key
to
Correspondents.
Which Mrs. Pratt is meant is not yet
known. In Key
to
Correspondents, see Eliza Pratt and Mrs. Ellerton Pratt
(with Helen Choate Bell). Another possibility is Frances
Emily Carruth (Mrs. Elliot Willian) Pratt
(1845-1929), who was a friend of Anna Mason (Mrs. John) Gray.
Mrs. John Gray may be Anna Lyman Mason (Mrs. John Chipman) Gray
(1853-1932). John Chipman Gray (1839 -1915) "was an
American scholar of property law and professor at Harvard Law
School. He also founded the law firm Ropes & Gray, with
law partner John Codman Ropes. He was half-brother to U.S.
Supreme Court justice Horace Gray."
Ellen Vaughan is likely to be Ellen
Twisleton Parkman (Mrs. William Warren) Vaughan (1853-1924),
but this has not yet been confirmed.
It seems that "Nelly Mother" may refer to
Mrs. Pickman, as Ellen Vaughan seems to refer to Mrs.
Vaughan. Among the acquaintances of the above people
were Ellen Rodman Motely (1854-1939) and
Dudley Leavitt Pickman (1850-1938) of Boston. Whether
this Ellen is the Mrs. Pickman mentioned here is not
known. Her only child was Dudley L. Pickman, Jr.
(1885-1964).
Elise: Elizabeth Russell Tyson. See Emily Davis Tyson in Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Henry Higginson & Sally Rice ... Mrs. Phipps:
Mrs.
Henry
Higginson
is
Ida
Agassiz
Higginson.
See Key
to
Correspondents.
Sally Rice has not been
identified. Jewett praises Mrs. Phipps for her
beneficence to the Berwick Academy in an early draft of her essay, "The Old Town
of Berwick." In the final published draft of July 1894,
Jewett apparently praises her husband instead, "the late A.
Phipps, Esq., of Boston." John Alfred Phipps (1832-1892)
was a benefactor of the Berwick academy through his
estate. His wife was Mary J. H. Phipps, and she would
have made part of his estate available to the academy.
It appears Phipps married Mary Jacobs (Abbott?) (b. 29
December, 1832). More information is welcome.
things at the school: The Berwick Academy in
South Berwick.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in
the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New
England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 74,
Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more
information about the individual transcription, contact the
Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda
Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Frances Parker Parkman
[ Early summer, after 1900 ]*
I send you Sally's* note -- perhaps we can find a late afternoon week after next -- but in the mean time, I have written to Sally and asked her to come down here for a little visit before I come to town on the 26th (It is the 5th at North East Harbor -- so now!) I couldn't help
a certain thankfulness about Lakewood -- you will be all the better for it -- and it was so good for you and your dear mother to have a little holiday together -- Such things make the true treasures of life, and remembrance as time goes on.
I doubt if you find time to [ read corrected ] more than a one page letter so I wont continue -- I shall come a week from today if all goes
well. I should like it if you were coming to stay all next week -- but you needn't write to formally acknowledge this polite invitation -- Just save Sally's note -- it is such a dear one -- And if you could put a
The Tysons* [moved ? ] down last week and the garden is growing fast -- but to a travelled Frances the
Berwick Season would look backward{.}
Sarah
Oh, that dear and lovely dream!
Notes
Early summer, after 1900: This letter must have been composed after the Tysons began spending part of their summers at Hamilton House in South Berwick and before the death of Parkman's mother on 1 January 1907.
Sally: Sara Norton. See Key to Correspondents.
Lakewood: At the turn of the 20th century, there was a popular resort at Lakewood, New Jersey.
Tysons: Emily David Tyson and her daughter. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. 17 letters to Frances Parkman; [190-]-1907. Parkman family, Edward Twisleton, and Sarah Wyman Whitman additional papers, 1763-1917 (inclusive) 1850-1907 (bulk). MS Am 1408 (214-230). Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mrs. Scott*
[ 18 corrected ] October
[ Before 1902 ]*
Dear Madam,
I am sorry that I have very little time just now to answer your questions -- which would really take a great deal of time! -- and I find it very hard to think of writing a sort of essay about my [ own corrected ] habits of work and the conception and development
of the characters of my stories. As for my 'literary conscience' I quail before even the thought of answering questions about that, for every writer works so much from instinct. I can write, but when you ask me to write about my writing it does not seem quite worth while -- Why dont you write the papers about your authors quite by yourself? It would be so much better for there is a great lack of serious
criticism and comparison of literary work. and [so written] I can assure you that you would find your authors and the public both sincerely grateful for sympathy and appreciation; for [ consideration corrected ] of such work and its aims. It is the work and not those who do it with which we have most concern. You can make up a sort of [personal corrected ] sketch from the answers to your questions, but it neither will represent or profit your authors nor yourself in any vital and
real way -- Take two storywriters [so written] and say what you think they have tried to do and how you think they have succeeded and [make corrected] a good fresh little paper -- What does it [matter corrected] to the public whether anyone works two hours a day or twelve -- if the work is bad when it is done -- or good either! Forgive me for disappointing you but I know I am right, and I say what I believe with sincere and kind feeling and interest in your success.
S. O. Jewett.
to Mrs Scott. [a mark that looks like y]
Notes
Before 1902: This letter seems likely to have been composed almost anytime in Jewett's active writing career, though Jewett's confidence in her opinion could suggest that it comes from later rather than earlier.
Mrs. Scott: This recipient has not been identified.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Small Library, University of Virginia, Special Collections MSS 6218, Sarah Orne Jewett Papers. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[1899 - December 1902]*
Dear Mary
………..do have some good rides with John* and get Mrs. Goodwin* some day. If they have all got whooping cough she will be so glad of the change poor thing! Such a banging thunder shower waked me up this morning. I wonder it if was all along shore? With much love,
Sarah
Notes
The line of points presumably indicates an omission from the manuscript.
Sunday morning: That Jewett mentions no other family members suggests that this letter comes from 1899 or later, but this cannot be certain, especially given that we have only this fragment. John Tucker died in December 1902.
John: John Tucker. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Goodwin: Which of several Mrs. Goodwin's of South Berwick is meant here is difficult to determine.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Isabella Steward Gardner to Sarah Orne Jewett
Fenway Court*
[ End Letterhead ]
My dear, alas, next Sunday is my last in town, & I have told some people that may come to see me -- So I am forced to be here I
So you see I am
doubly grieved that I cannot be at 148 Charles Street next Sunday.
With love to you both
Affy yours
Isabella S. G.
Notes
1901- 1909: As the letter is addressed from Fenway Court (see below), it probably was composed between 1901 and Jewett's stroke in early 1909.
Fenway Court: Gardner's Venetian style palazzo in Boston's Back Bay, now the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, opened on 1 January 1903, according to Wikipedia, but other sources have her occupying the building as early as 1901 (see Clarendon Square).
the Wards: There are at least 3 Ward couples to whom Gardner may refer. Perhaps the most likely are the siblings, Susan Hayes Ward and William Hayes Ward, editors of the Independent and close friends of Jewett and Fields. But she may well refer to the novelist, Mrs. Humphry Ward and her daughter Dorothy, who visited Fields and Jewett in the spring of 1902. If Gardner was using Fenway Court stationary by 1902, then this letter may refer to this pair and may have been composed in 1902. Perhaps least likely, but not impossible, are novelist Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and her husband, Herbert Dickinson Ward. For details on all of these people, see Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library, Harvard University, bMS Am 1743 (73). Transcribed and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Julia Ward Howe to Sarah Orne Jewett and Annie Adams Fields
Dear Girls,
Your Christmas gifts are hereby acknowledged with many thanks.
My eyes! what a bowl!
I send you a little baking dish for A.F. and a little within for S.O.J. This is to remind you that we are all "earthen ware."
J. W. H.
Dec. 27th 241 Beacon St.
Notes
1908: At the time of this transcription, the earliest correspondence between Howe and Jewett is from 1901, though almost certainly Fields and Howe were acquainted before this date.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence I, Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett.
Howe, Julia (Ward) 1819-1910. 8 letters; 1901-1905 & [n.d.] (103).
This transcription is from a photocopy held by the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Box 2, Folder 99, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Julia Ward Howe to Sarah Orne Jewett
You must come in tomorrow, Thursday afternoon, at 4.30, to meet our dearest Laura.*
So says J. W. Howe.
(over)
Wed. 29th 241 Beacon St.
Notes
1908: At the time of this transcription, the earliest correspondence between Howe and Jewett is from 1901, though almost certainly Annie Fields and Howe were acquainted before this date.
Laura: This transcription is uncertain, but, probably, Howe refers to her daughter, Laura Howe Richards, who was born on 27 February 1850. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this card is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence I, Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett.
Howe, Julia (Ward) 1819-1910. 8 letters; 1901-1905 & [n.d.] (103).
This transcription is from a photocopy held by the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Box 2, Folder 99, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Thursday
[ After 1901 ]
Dear Mary
------------------- It was an enchanting day, and so is this. There were people about the streets again, and I had a visit from two -- One, the wife, had written me before. I felt her to be a little tiresome and she was! but the husband was very nice. They were from Rutgers College in New Jersey but the wife was born in Baltimore was daughter to an Adah Hamilton daughter to Baial and they had kindly wept over the Tory Lover* and came on pilgrimage. I spoke of Mrs. Jaques* and told them how to get to the view of Hamilton House.* They were named Prentiss. The garden was pleasing and Oh what a resource it is! --------------------------------------------------------
Sarah
Notes
The hyphens at the beginning and end indicate this is an
incomplete transcription.
daughter to an Adah Hamilton daughter to Baial ... the
Tory Lover ... Prentiss: Jewett's novel appeared
in serial in 1900-01 and as a book in 1901. A main
character is Jonathan Hamilton, who was based upon the
historical personage who built Hamilton House in South
Berwick. Baial is a common name for men of the Hamilton
family, sometimes as a shortened form of Abdiel; therefore, it
seems clear that Mrs. Prentiss claims ancestry from Jonathan
Hamilton, the character in Jewett's novel and for this reason
is particularly interested in the book.
Robert Wadsworth Prentiss (1857-1913) was
professor of mathematics and astronomy in Rutgers College. He
married Adah Emery Dodge, daughter of Alanson Hamilton Dodge
and Adah Hamilton. See Class of 1878, Rutgers College, History to
1917, p. 21.
Mrs. Jaques ... Hamilton House: Mrs. Jaques has
not been identified.
Hamilton House is the 18th-century house
built by Jonathan Hamilton in South Berwick. See Emily
Davis Tyson in Key
to
Correspondents.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in
the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New
England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 74,
Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more
information about the individual transcription, contact the
Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda
Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Elinor Gertrude Howells to Sarah Orne Jewett
Nov. 19th
Such a time [ W & I ? ] have been having my dear Mifs Jewett! But it is all over now and I am able to thank you for the beautiful present you sent me. It is the only Japanese book I ever saw, and the Chinese one ^I had seen^ was only on thin paper and in dull colour.
But this velvet and gold beauty of a book with its splendor of color quite took me by surprise, and [ both corrected ] ^ Mr Howells & myself^ have thoroughly enjoyed it.
It now adorns the parlor table except when I arrange it on the [ mantlepiece so spelled ] this wise* which shows the gilt edges and all the colors at once.
[ Page 4 ]
Elinor M. Howells.*
Notes
1908: This date range is speculative, for Jewett was acquainted with the Howells's for all of her literary career. However, in 1902, the Howells purchased a summer home in Kittery, ME, near York, ME, spending more time in and becoming acquainted with the area.
wise: Here Howells as drawn a picture of the opened book viewed from top or bottom with the pages fanned open.
Howells: To the left in the blank bottom half of this page, Howells has written down vertically: "Mifs Sarah O. Jewett."
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University: Sarah Orne Jewett Correspondence I, Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett.
Howells, Elinor Gertrude (Mead) d.1910. 1 letter; [n.d.]. (104).
This transcription is from a photocopy held by the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Box 2, Folder 99, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Friday
[August 1903 or later]*
South Berwick, Maine
Dear Mary
I opened this letter from Uncle Will* thinking that there might be the chance of his coming. I’ll send him a note -- and then you can write him when you get round to it. I was so glad to get your letter and M. A.’s* yesterday -- do thank her and say she was so kind to write. I feel quite rich to share the pleasure of your visit and oh so pleased about Susy’s asking dear Miss Howe!* So many of her old friends have gone now, that it is lonely [lovely ?] to have younger ones keep her from feeling left out and lonely. She never was so delightful, either! Mrs. Lewis came in yesterday for a minute, to speak about her (Mrs. Hill)* saying that she could appoint either the 24th of October or the 31st preferring the latter. I had been thinking about Mr. Copeland,* and I told Mrs. Lewis that I would, as a FRIEND, make up Mr. Copeland’s sum. I think it will be as good a thing as the Club can have, and we’ll get Mr. Nye to marshal forth the Academy flock, and sit Blanche Adams in the front row! The more I think of it the better I feel[.] BECCA came in at noon for a minute and Mrs. Wentworth* in the evening. Timmy is well but needs exercise though Katy has taken him as far as the monument* both nights. I shall try to get out for a little drive this afternoon. It is Dicky’s turn to the Forge today. The phaeton was brought yesterday looking very nice and the hay came. Make THE LAKIES* promise to come and see us -- tell dear M. A. that the hollyhocks are beginning (poor John’s* are all in bloom by the stable door) and she can be took to see the country in the trolley car! --- Your letters dont come until the second mail. Give my love to dear Ellen and Ida* if you see them again. I hope Ellen isn’t ill again. She seemed so much better. With dear love
Sarah
The cup [has] not come yet.
Notes
August 1903 or later: As the notes below indicate, this letter was composed after the opening of the first South Berwick trolley line, and probably fairly soon after the death of John Tucker. That Hollyhocks are just blooming indicates a late July or early August date. While there are indications it may have been composed later, I have tentatively chosen the earliest likely year.
Uncle Will: Uncle Will is Dr. William G. Perry (1823-1910), husband of Lucretia Fisk Perry. See Key to Correspondents.
M. A.'s: This person is as yet unknown. It
appears that while Mary is staying in Boston, she expects to
see a good deal of this person.
Susy’s asking dear Miss Howe: Susy probably is Susan
Marcia Oakes Woodbury. See Key
to
Correspondents.
In a letter to Mary Rice Jewett currently
dated Late Summer 1900, Jewett mentions that Miss Grace Howe
has visited Annie Fields. It is possible, then, that
this is Grace Howe (b. 1879), the daughter of the Philadelphia
businessman and physician, Dr. Herbert Marshall Howe
(1844-1916) and Mary Wilson Fell (b. 1848), and the
grand-daughter of the Rev. Mark Antony DeWolfe Howe
(1808-1895) and Elizabeth Marshall, his second wife.
Rev. Howe was the first Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of
Central Pennsylvania. By his third wife, Eliza Whitney
(1826-1909), Rev. Howe was the father of Mark Antony DeWolfe
Howe (1864-1960), who became the editor of Annie Fields's
diaries in Memories of a Hostess and who assisted
Fields in editing Letters of Sarah Orne Jewett.
Mrs. Lewis ... (Mrs. Hill): For Mrs.
Lewis, see George Lewis in Key
to
Correspondents. There were Hill families in South
Berwick from the 17th century on. The identity of this
Mrs. Hill is not yet known.
Mr. Copeland ... the Club: Jewett and her sister,
Mary, were active members of the South Berwick Women's Club by
about 1895. Mary Jewett seems to have presented a talk for the
club, "Recollections of Whittier," sometime
after Sarah's death. Blanchard reports that Julia Ward
Howe made regular appearances to speak at the local women's
club (Sarah Orne Jewett pp. 353-4).
It appears likely that the club has invited
Charles Townsend Copeland (1860-1952), Boylston Professor of
Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard University from 1892 to 1928.
Richard Cary says: "While a Boston journalist, he became a
regular visitor at 148 Charles Street, eventually introducing
Mark A. DeWolfe Howe to Mrs. Fields and Miss Jewett in their
"shrine of associations." Copeland admired the simple force of
Miss Jewett's work and gave 'A White Heron' high place in his
repertoire of public readings." See also Wikipedia.
Mr. Nye ... the Academy flock ... Blanche Adams:
Frank Elmer Nye (1866-1937) was for many
years Head Master or Principal at the Berwick Academy in South
Berwick. Miss Blanche Adams is mentioned in a Lewiston Evening
Journal note for December 27, 1898: "The ladies of
the Free Baptist church held a successful Christmas bazaar in
the church vestry Thursday evening. Miss Blanche Adams
entertained the audience with effective dramatic selections."
This person seems to be "Blanche Hermine
Adams," later Mrs. Young of Dover, NH, probably born 22 Oct
1871. She graduated from the Berwick Academy in
1890. Confirmation and further information are welcome.
BECCA ... Mrs. Wentworth: Becca is Rebecca Young. See
Key
to
Correspondents. Wentworth is a common name in
South Berwick and the region. The identity of this Mrs.
Wentworth is not yet known.
Timmy ... Katy .. the monument: Timmy is a
Jewett family dog, first mentioned in a letter of 1894 and
last mentioned as "old" in 1903. For Katy Galvin, see Key
to
Correspondents.
The Soldier's Monument at the intersection
of Portland Street and Agamenticus Road in South Berwick
became a landmark upon its erection in 1900. It stands
about a mile northeast of the Jewett property, which also is
on Portland Street.
Dicky ... the Forge: Dicky is a Jewett family horse,
apparently in need of a shoe. He is mentioned in another
letter currently dated 25 August 1887.
THE LAKIES: The identities of these persons
remains unknown.
poor John's: John Tucker died in December 1902. See Key to Correspondents.
trolley car: Trolley service between South
Berwick and Portsmouth began in 1903. Service to
Ogunquit, perhaps more valuable for seeing the countryside,
began in 1907.
Ellen and Ida: Ellen Francis Mason and her
sister, Ida. See Key
to
Correspondents.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 74, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[Sunday Morning]
[December 1903 or later ]
I cant remember that you wanted anything at Tanks* -- if you do please speak! The Kitty just appeared tagging A.F.* up to the library and jumping into her lap after sitting and surveying it, while we were talking. So we had to talk on and stay as we were! and got some things settled perhaps the kitty thought it was best we should! being very solemn, and wise, but so sleepy! Mrs. Fields was asking me about going down, and I said that I haven’t got to where I could fix the day -- and she wished you could get your things ready for express or poor Katy* to scatter about town, and then come up here on Saturday and stay over until Christmas morning and so have Christmas here too as you liked it once before. Then we could have Christmas afternoon and evening at home by ourselves -- and I could stay all my days at home together till I go to Mrs. Cabots.* It seems to me this would be beautiful the more I think of it. I must get every thing to rights here and sometimes it seems as if it would take all the time, though I have got a good start. Mrs. Fields is going to Louisa’s* to Christmas Day dinner (I dont know that she will but it is promised! I think so!) I was just looking at this letter from the Holton man* which I shall answer like the other -- but I dont mean to get in for a correspondence. I wonder what became of the other letter over which I toiled. I remember thinking how little a five cent stamp seemed to carry the letter all that way -- and I am pretty sure that he asked for one of my books and I sent that too. I should think he would bewilder an honest heathen if he talks at the length he writes, poor man.
Notes
1903 or later: This is a tentative
composition date, pending further information. The letter must
have been composed after Katy Galvin joins the Jewett
household in the spring of 1899. Jewett's reference to
"Kitty," a Fields pet, suggests this letter is close in time
to other letters mentioning the cat and that clearly were
composed after Jewett's 1902 carriage accident.
Transcriber's notes with this text read:
[to Mary] [Sunday Morning].
Tanks: This would appear to be a Boston retail store,
but no information about it has yet been located.
A.F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Katy: Probably Katy Galvin. See Key to Correspondents.
Mrs. Cabots: Susan Burley Cabot. See Key to Correspondents.
Louisa's: Louisa Jane Adams Beal, sister of Annie Adams Fields. See Fields in Key to Correspondents.
the Holton man: As yet no correspondence between
Jewett and a person named "Holton" has been
located. She mentions a "Holton" in The Old
Town of Berwick," but this may not be relevant.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 74, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to William Dean Howells
Tuesday, August 11th.
[ 1903 or later ]
Dear Mr. Howells
------------------------ I wish that I could go down to see
you today but alas, I have to "keep inside our own fence"
pretty carefully, as they say to small children.
Yours ever sincerely,
S. O. Jewett
Notes
The ellipses in the transcription indicate that this is a selection from the manuscript.
1903 or later: Almost certainly composed after
Howells bought his summer home in Kittery Point and after
Jewett's 1902 carriage accident. That Jewett feels more
than usually limited in her ability to travel points toward
1903, but still, this could be a later year.
Annie Adams Fields to Sarah Orne Jewett
[ 1903 - 1908 ]*
[ Mrs Warner ? ]* has just gone{.} I am sure Helen M.* is very good to her. She is a most touching figure, very deaf now and has lost by sudden death her brother and her husband within 4 months of each other -- She has great spirit and sweetness.
I had a nice long visit from Sally* yesterday{.} She and her father mean to return to Cambridge today. She hopes to get away on Friday to Mrs Wharton* for a few days. Mrs Coffin* came up for a moment yesterday{.} The rain has again shut Alice* in. Mrs. Coffin is looking a little tired. All is going on well here{.}
How good to hear you yesterday dearest { -- }
Annie
we appreciate her paper{.} I am chiefly busy
Notes
1908: 1908 is the last year Jewett was able to travel to a funeral or to choose not to. From 1903 on, Jewett's health made her unlikely to travel far for a funeral, especially in poor weather.
K's funeral: In the Jewett correspondence, no one who died before Jewett is referred to as "K." Only two correspondents would seem to be candidates, Katherine Coolidge (February 1900) and Katherine Wormeley ( August 1908), it seems likely this letter precedes the death of Wormeley, and there is as yet no evidence that they used "K." to refer to Coolidge.
Warner: This transcription is uncertain. Susan Lee Warner's spouse, Charles Dudley Warner, died 20 October 1900. Susan Warner, however, is not known to have had a sibling. Key to Correspondents.
Helen M.: Helen Merriman. Key to Correspondents.
Sally: Sarah Norton. Key to Correspondents.
Wharton: American author, Edith Wharton (1862-1937) and the Norton family were well acquainted. See Edith Wharton and Cosmopolitanism (2016) by William Blazek.
Mrs. Coffin: This person has not yet been identified. A possibility is Grace Parkman Coffin (1851-1928). She was the sister of correspondent Katherine Coolidge, and John Greenleaf Whittier was a friend of her husband's family. Key to Correspondents.
Fields also was acquainted with Sallie Russell Farmer Coffin (1826-1910), spouse of American journalist Charles Carleton Coffin (1823-1896). Wikipedia and Find a Grave.
Alice: Probably Alice Greenwood Howe. Key to Correspondents.
Mfs W: This is merely a guess. Fields and Jewett were regular readers of publications by their friend and correspondent Katherine Wormeley.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Sarah Orne Jewett Additional Correspondence, 100 letters from Annie Adams Fields, bMS Am 1743.1 Box 1, Item 33.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Isabella Stewart Gardner
South Berwick, Maine
Dearest Mrs. Gardner
What a kind and dear note you have written me. I shall never forget it! Oh, you are quite right: there was no reason for such a foolish disaster, and no one can make no excuses!
My sister* and I are so sorry to have been away when you came to Hamilton House. I must give you my story about the charming old place sometime -- !*
Sarah O. Jewett
Notes
Notes with this transcription read: FENWAY COURT COLLECTION [ Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett to Isabella Stewart Gardner. ]
sister: Mary Rice Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
Hamilton House ... my story: Gardner is likely
to have visited Hamilton House in South Berwick after the
completion of its restoration by Emily Tyson in 1900.
Though Jewett had written a passage on Hamilton House in her
sketch, "River Driftwood" (1881), it is more likely that
Jewett refers to her 1901 novel, The Tory Lover, for
which Hamilton House is a main setting.
Sarah Wyman Whitman to Sarah Orne Jewett
For the Convent Garden*
from the careful House-
keeper!
____________
______________________
Notes
Convent Garden: If this transcription is correct, it seems likely that Whitman has given this name to the garden at 148 Charles St. She refers to it again in a letter to Jewett of 11 April 1898, when Jewett travels to Europe with Fields.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Whitman, Sarah (Wyman) 1842-1904. 92 letters; [1884]-[1903] & [n.d.] Jewett, Sarah Orne, 1849-1909. Sarah Orne Jewett additional correspondence, 1868-1930. MS Am 1743.1 -107. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Frances Parker Parkman
[ Summer 1904 or later ]
Dearest Frances
-------------- You cant know what a dark disappointment it has been to give up my visit to you. I have wished so to be with you and to see the dear place -- all the pointed firs* seem like my own cousins -- beloved cousins: all cousins are not, and we should have felt nearer each other if we could have been together you and I and the dear trees. I wish you had said that you and Mrs. Wolcott liked the Way it Came story.* There is a touch of character somewhere about it that brings S. W. back* to me always, the elusiveness -- the self-possession perhaps it is. Goodbye my very dear friend from your
S. O. J.
Notes
A transcriber's note reads: [Mrs. Henry Parkman]. The line of hyphens presumably indicate omissions from the manuscript.
1904: That Jewett mentions "The Way it Came" by Henry James suggests an 1896 composition date, but her seeming reference to the passing of Sarah Wyman Whitman, points toward a date after June of 1904. I have chosen to place it tentatively in 1904.
pointed firs: Jewett's short novel, The Country of the Pointed Firs, was published in 1896.
Mrs. Wolcott: Edith Prescott Wolcott. See Key to Correspondents.
Way it Came story: American author Henry James (see Key to Correspondents) published his short story "The Way It Came" in London in May 1896. It was collected in Embarrassments later that year.
S. W. back: Sarah Wyman Whitman. See Key to Correspondents. Whitman died on 25 June 1904.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[ Boston, Winter 1905 - March 1907 ]*
Dear Mary
---------- Lucy Lee & Stubby* were here to dinner at two and it was very gay. The coat appeared, and after he went away I was standing by the window up stairs and supposed he had gone down the hill, and then saw him walking discreetly along on the Common* like a sober young doctor, and I was thinking oh how nice he looked! With an aunt's full pride, when suddenly he took to his heels with all his might and ran at a good slide he had descried in the distance! My fond heart slid with him -- he went at it tall hat and all!! and then walked solemnly on again. I told Mrs. Cabot* who said 'I can see him too' with such a funny delight, and we thought that youth was not all forgotten. We should have been together to view him, it was such a pleasing moment to an aunt. ------------
Notes
The transcriber's lines of hyphens presumably indicate omissions from the manuscript.
March 1907: The letter probably was composed between June of 1905, when Theodore Jewett Eastman completed his medical degree and March 1907, when Susan Burley Cabot died.
Lucy Lee & Stubby: The identity of Lucy Lee remains unknown. Stubby is Jewett's nickname for her nephew, Theodore Jewett Eastman. See Key to Correspondents.
the Common: The Boston Common, a large public space near Beacon Hill in Boston.
Mrs. Cabot: Susan Burley Cabot. See Key to Correspondents. Jewett apparently writes from Cabot's Boston home at 34 Beacon Street.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Miss McLaughlin*
With many thanks for your kind note --
Yours sincerely
Sarah O. Jewett
To
Miss McLaughlin.
Notes
McLaughlin: This recipient has not been
identified. The note is penned on a card and it lacks
any context. It is not clear whether it was mailed or
hand-delivered.
New transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Private [? double underlined]
Will the editor of the Transcript* kindly give this notice a place among literary items? I am anxious to have the delightful little book as widely known as possible. It seems to me really an uncommonly successful thing ~
Sarah O. Jewett
South Berwick Maine
13 May.
Notes
Original transcriber note: [This letter], although short, gives a glimpse into Jewett's work as a writer and an esteemed member of literary society. While unclear the type of work that she wishes to promote, she clearly encouraged and supported other talented authors of her time.
Transcript: Almost certainly the Boston Evening Transcript.
The manuscript of this letter is held in the Autograph Collection at the Loyola University (Chicago) Archives and Special Collections, item 1428, and may be viewed at Loyola University Chicago Digital Special Collections. Original transcription by Sarah Morsheimer. Slightly revised transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Dear Mary
I have written to Exeter and Concord and now I am so tired that I shall have to cut you off with a shilling.
Notes
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
……… After today I shall feel in great going order and try to see people and get things done. Thank you for your letter which I found here yesterday. With best love,
Sarah
Notes
The line of points presumably indicates an omission from the manuscript.
A transcriber's note reads: [letter to Mary].
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to an unknown recipient
I have just got your nice letter of Saturday and such a nice one from Helen* which was a great pleasure. The beautiful picture is terrible edifying but if I showed it to John* I know he would say What 'dsh'dror UM* so small for? I saw UM being cleaned this morning early. (I happened to get up early) and the Walls dust was spoken of in disconsolate terms but the wind seemed to be blowing Mr. Tuckers sails from a fair quarter. I have been going through with pleasing housekeeping affairs with Lizy* varied by “MisSarahMist-her Clark” and “MissSarahMist-her Ha-y-e-s”,* but all is well and I am going to do a little writing now if so be I can find a proper pen. Your letter sounds like a perfectly delightful time. In haste
S.O.J.
Notes
Helen: Jewett may refer to any of several "Helens." As she is not identified as a relative, the more likely possibilities are Helen Bigelow Merriman and Helen Choate Bell. See Key to Correspondents.
John: John Tucker. See Key to Correspondents.
UM: Mr. Tucker's dialect sentence remains untranslated, and the cleaning of the UM, therefore, also remains mysterious. Perhaps he asks "What's this drawing room so small for?"
Lizy: An Irish Jewett employee. Further information is welcome.
“MisSarahMist-her Clark” and “MissSarahMist-her Ha-y-e-s”: Clark and Hayes both were common names in South Berwick during Jewett's life, making it difficult to know which persons pay calls in this letter.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Dear Mary
………Mrs. Bell and Mrs. Pratt* were so dear and we had a most charming little dinner with them all by our selves last night but Mrs. Bell is dreadfully changed -- so thin and like an old woman though it seemed as if nothing could take away her youth and gayety of heart. When I think how that young man* had the power to spoil all their peace and life and did it just for the excitement and wrong ambition it does seem hard, but life is meant for discipline and not for pleasure and the best souls must get the same lessons over and over again until they have learned them.
Notes
The line of points presumably indicates an omission from the manuscript.
Mrs. Bell and Mrs. Pratt: Almost certainly, Jewett writes about Helen Choate Bell and her sister, Miriam Foster (Mrs. Ellerton) Pratt. See Key to Correspondents.
that young man: Who the young man is and how he destroyed the women's peace is not yet known.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Saturday morning
[ Winter ]
Dear Mary
There is a great screeching of snow in the street as if a timber pine was going down to the landing!* I went to Cambridge yesterday in spite of the cold and had a beautiful morning, though I got very cold going through Quincy St. against the wind and waiting by Beck for a car which seemed as if it had gone down in sight of land.
This week has gone by like a slide down hill. I have been so busy in every way. Ella Walworth* came and made a long call yesterday after telephoning and I was glad to see her though with a friend like that you seem to being [ intended begin ? ] to talk close together and then imperceptibly get farther and farther away.
Notes
to the landing: Though Jewett writes from Boston, she recalls the sounds of South Berwick, of logs going by sledge down her street toward the river. See her "Looking Back on Girlhood" (1897).
Ella Walworth: Ella Maria Walworth (Mrs. George Britton) Little. See Key to Correspondents.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Carrie Jewett Eastman
Dear Carrie
…………….…You must have known it would be so. I hope Emerson coped with her case, and I should like to see her and Columbus on the water. They would both sit aft to be near together and the bow of the boat would be all out of water. I can picture it.
Goodbye with much love from Sarah
Notes
The line of points presumably indicates an omission from the manuscript.
Emerson ... Columbus: Without more information, identifying this Emerson is impossible. Jewett was acquainted with Ellen Emerson, daughter of American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, and also with Sylvia Hathaway Watson Emerson. See Key to Correspondents.
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was an Italian explorer who opened the Americas to European exploration and colonization.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Thursday night
Dear Mary
…………I don't know when I have enjoyed so much of my own company! but there's nothing like making up one's mind and going right to do a thing when you know it is best.
Notes
The line of points presumably indicates an omission from the manuscript.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett perhaps to Mary Rice Jewett
I slept until Mary came with my breakfast after a harsh experience of dreaming of my approaching execution and running away (escaping) and hiding with some black people last night, but this dream always used to seem a sign of good fortune. It hasn't happened before for sometime and seems quite natural.
Notes
A transcriber's note with this text reads: [at end of letter to Mary]. However, the report that Mary brought her breakfast suggests that the letter is addressed to someone else. Of course, she may refer to a different Mary having this recurring dream.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Undated Letters, Folder 75, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Friday evening
Dear Mary
Your sister is going to call you Carrie Hope Goodwin.* She wouldn’t have thought of it but for having it put into her head. That dimity waist of mine in the entry closet -- or some where! is a pretty waist which might be looked at -- of course it is a little past in style now but you might get a notion. . .
Notes
Carrie Hope Goodwin: Jewett's reference is
mysterious.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 74, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Wednesday I haven’t much to add except a letter or two! and the account of a beautiful dream of me and A.F.* going to Cousin Fanny Gilman’s* to tea and finding the tea all on the table and some bread & butter -- and we weren’t feeling able to wait! So we sat down and poured out beautiful cups and began! After some delay Cousin Fanny came in and we were all a little disturbed! I hope that you will smile at this pretty dream. I must hurry to get off a lot of notes and then go out. So good bye with love from
Sarah
Notes
A transcriber's note with this text reads: [to Mary].
A.F.: Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Cousin Fanny Gilman’s: This cousin has not been
identified, though she is repeatedly associated in Jewett's
letters with Jewett's aunt, Mrs. Helen Williams Gilman.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in
the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New
England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 74,
Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more
information about the individual transcription, contact the
Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda
Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Dear Mary
I catch up this mice [mite ?] of a piece of paper to tell you that I reached here by half past seven and have had a dinner which has kept us down stairs an unusual time. Alice Longfellow* has been here for two days and the providence lady who spoke last night at the meeting. Ellen Crowley was with a very good looking niece* -- stepping to Boston & told me that she was leaving for good! She mentioned Mrs. Goodwin* to be “a good woman” with great feeling, and said when I said, “Oh you’ll be coming back!” that she hadn’t had a rest for seven years. Poor old Ellen! I should think she might be feeling that she had been at work a good while. I gave them some of the candy.
I shall try & write again tomorrow if I dont have to start out too early. Didn’t we have a nice time together?
Affectionately
SOJ
Notes
Alice Longfellow: See Key to Correspondents.
Ellen Crowley ... niece: These people have not
been identified.
Mrs. Goodwin: Probably, but not certainly Sophia Elizabeth Hayes Goodwin. See Key to Correspondents.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 74, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett probably to Mary Rice Jewett
[Prides Crossing]
[Wed. Night]
I am shivering on the brink of making up my mind to go to Boston, but it has been so hot, and every day there seems to be some excuse for staying here. I must go to 4 Park Street,* that’s all, and it is no special haste except to get it off my mind.
Notes
Handwritten notes with this text read: [Pride's Crossing]
[Wed. Night].
4 Park Street: 4 Park Street in Boston was the
address of the publisher Houghton, Mifflin and of Atlantic
Monthly.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 74, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
Monday morning
Dearest darling
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . The house is so still and the sun shines in in
a lovely way and I wish you were here in the window
seat. My darling, do you know you are always helping
me? and I am yours always
H E [illegible]*
Notes
The line of points indicates this is an incomplete
transcription.
H E: The meaning of these letters is unknown.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in
the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New
England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 74,
Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more
information about the individual transcription, contact the
Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda
Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
[Tues. Night]
I wrote Mrs. Goodwin* today. What a pity she wasn’t there last night! I smile like Mr. Street* himself to think of his coming to Sister Street, but I could entertain her much better. I shall want to speak about the visit when I see you. As you say, it was much to be preferred to the Dover Minister.*
Notes
Handwritten notes with this text read: [to Mary] [Tues.
Night].
Mrs. Goodwin: Probably, but not certainly Sophia Elizabeth Hayes Goodwin. See Key to Correspondents.
Mr. Street ... Sister Street ... the
Dover Minister: These references remain
unresolved.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 74, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to an unknown recipient
Friday night
The Doctor wishes me to tell you that A. F. is better to day (though very weak) and is doing as well as we could expect. I have waited until this last minute so as to tell you exactly.
Lovingly yours
S.O.J.
Notes
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 74, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to an unknown recipient
Tuesday
34 Beacon Street*
---------------------- Wait till I tell you about a piece that came on maked like a pineapple* -- and about other things. Everybody comes now a days and says things about my stories in a way they never did before -- more serious and not by way of having to say something. It racks me to think of keeping up to it -- my last little crop was a pretty good one. -----------
Notes
The hyphens at the beginning and end indicate this is an
incomplete transcription.
34 Beacon Street: The address of Susan Burley Cabot.
See Key
to
Correspondents.
maked like a pineapple: Even if one speculates
that Jewett intended "marked like a pineapple," the sentence
remains mysterious.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in
the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New
England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 74,
Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more
information about the individual transcription, contact the
Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda
Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Mary Rice Jewett
Mrs. Cabot* sent her love to you. I desire not to forget
it. I told her about Aunt Susan Jewett's being so put
out with Mrs. Sanderson* because "she got down on her knees
and prayed for me as if I were a heathen" -- and
it was a great moment. Also about Sarah Lord's* showing
no "sence of propriety" about taking the green moreen
petticoat.* I hope you haven't forgotten those two
pleasing episodes?
Notes
Handwritten notes with this transcription read: [to
Mary] [Thursday]
Mrs. Cabot: Susan Burley Cabot. See Key to Correspondents.
Aunt Susan Jewett's being so put out with Mrs. Sanderson:
Aunt
Susan could be Susan Jameson Jewett (1857-1954 ), who
lived unmarried in South Berwick ME. Her parents
were Elisha Hanson Jewett (1816-1883) and
Sarah Orne Jewett (1820-1864). They were the parents of
another Sarah Orne Jewett, who died in infancy.
Mrs. Sanderson and the incident mentioned
have not been identified. She could be Alice Perkins Sanderson (1865-1941) of
Portsmouth, NH, but this speculation is based solely upon her
being a local contemporary of the right name. There were
other local women who may be this person, including Abby Joy Sanderson (1833-1888) of South
Berwick and Fannnie B. (Mrs. George) Sanderson (c.
1850- 1887) of Kittery Point, ME. Lucy F. Sanderson (1874-1945) of
Kennebunk, ME, or Mercy (Mrs. Nelson) Sanderson
(1820-1905) of Buxton, ME.
moreen: a heavy fabric, usually wool or cotton.
This text is from transcriptions from mixed repositories in the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett, 1875-1890, Folder 72, Burton Trafton Jewett Research Collection. For more information about the individual transcription, contact the Maine Women Writers Collection. Preparation by Linda Heller. Notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Adams Fields
and I wish I had my own dear warm little Fuff* to be close to and gossip with and tell things to and tease and shake ladies, because she is so dear. Fuff would say Pin* it is too dark to write any longer.! So good night from your own P. L.
Notes
Fuff: A nickname for Annie Adams Fields. See Key to Correspondents.
Pin: Short for Pinny Lawson, a nickname for Sarah Orne Jewett. See Key to Correspondents.
This text is from the Maine Women Writer's Collection, University of New England, Letters from Sarah Orne Jewett to Annie Fields. corr057-soj-af-06.
Sarah Orne Jewett to unnamed friends
Thursday morning
Dear friends
Couldn't you stop to see me as you go by? I have been housed with a cold here since [ deleted word ] I have been here except yesterday when I went out and took more!
Sarah O. Jewett
Notes
131 Charles St.: It is not yet known why Jewett wrote from this address or to which friends she was writing.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Small Library, University of Virginia, Special Collections MSS 6218, Sarah Orne Jewett Papers. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Edward Jarvis Bartlett
Dear Mr. Bartlett
Thank you for your very kind note which came to me here lately. I have thought so many times what a great pleasure it would be to go to Concord again and when I came to Boston nearly two
months ago I said I should go out very soon for though I had been ill then since Christmas I hoped to be better at once -- But the doctors have made me keep very quiet and I am still so far from well that any plan like the pleasant one you suggest seems utterly
out of the question. I appreciate being asked to read at the Club, and I appreciate your sister's kindness and your own. If I can I will go out to Concord before I go home. You dont know what a delight it would be, for it seems a long time since I was there, and I am so fond of all my friends there,
and wish to see them so much.
Sarah O. Jewett
At Mrs. Rice's*
34 Union Park.
Notes
Club: It seems likely that Jewett has been asked to read for the Concord Social Circle. Founded in 1782, it grew out of the Committee of Safety of the Revolution. Bartlett and his family were members.
Mrs. Rice's: Cora Clark Rice. See Key to Correspondents.
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Small Library, University of Virginia, Special Collections MSS 6218, Sarah Orne Jewett Papers. Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Celia Thaxter to Sarah Orne Jewett
Dearest Pin,*
Wasn't it a storm! Just awful -- I'm so glad you were with Flower, & you were nice to send me that wee note & tell me Eva and Eva's sister* had come & I'm sorry you were sick & had to stay in, but it was a nice place to stay in! & oh can't you tell me what
the other ghost was beside Cobweb and cherry-tree and Bob?* For I can't remember what you said Sandpiper was to write --
When are you going home? And will you not come to see us when you do? You and Mary?*
And I send my love & I am your fat
[ Page 3, in another hand ]
Celia Thaxter's "Sandpiper" signature nicknamed thus by S.O.J. because of the way she hopped about on the Shoals' rocks.
[ Upside down near the bottom page ] Pin [ followed by a drawing of a pin, pointed downward. ]*
Notes
1893 - 1894: This letter may have been composed anytime after Jewett formed her close relationship with Annie Adams Fields and before Thaxter's death in the summer of 1894. I have placed it this late only because it is remotely possible that the letter belongs with those exchanged between Thaxter and Jewett when Thaxter was composing An Island Garden (1894).
Pin: Thaxter uses intimate nicknames shared by her friends. Pin is Jewett. Sandpiper is Thaxter. Flower is Annie Adams Fields.See Key to Correspondents.
Eva and Eva's sister: Almost certainly Baroness Eva von Blomberg and her sister Adelheid. See Key to Correspondents.
cobweb and cherry-tree and Bob: Thaxter references here remain unknown.
One may suspect that this letter comes from 1893, when Jewett was advising Thaxter on the composition of An Island Garden (1894). However, the words "cobweb" "Bob" "ghost" and "cherry-tree" seem not to appear in that book.
a pin: Folds in the ms. sheet suggest that perhaps Thaxter folded the letter in such a way that when the letter was first removed from the envelope, this nickname and drawing would appear first, right side up.
This manuscript is held in Colby College Special Collections, Waterville, ME, but this manuscript is very difficult, the script much faded. However, at some time when the ms. was in a better condition, Rosamond Thaxter obtained a more readable copy, which is now at the Portsmouth Athenaeum MS129, Rosamond Thaxter's Papers for Sandpiper, Folder 12: Correspondence: Celia Thaxter to Sarah Orne Jewett, 1888-1893. The latter ms. was transcribed by Rosamond Thaxter and is the basis for this text, edited and annotated by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Alice French to Sarah Orne Jewett
I am hoping you have Spring now we have summer{.} Here are three boys who would love to wait on you{.} And I'm another. A. F.
Notes
1909: This is the currently known period of the Jewett-French correspondence.
This hand-made postcard is addressed to "Miss Sara Jewett" in South Berwick, ME. It has not been canceled. That French misspells Jewett's name could suggest that the card comes from early in their correspondence, but French usually omitted the "h" from Jewett's name.
As shown in the image below of the front of the card, French seems to have created this card, using a photo of her own household staff and manually typing the text.
It is difficult for a 21st-century scholar to let a document that seems so racially charged appear without comment, but I am resisting.
The manuscript of this postcard is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 2, Item 70 I. Letters to Sarah Orne Jewett.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Sarah Orne Jewett to Elizabeth Jervis Gilman (unfinished and unsigned )
May 23 South Berwick
I think I am much more prompt than common dont you? I hope you will appreciate it and behave as well -- though isn't this a busy time of year and aren't there a great many things to do? -- I am not doing anything in particular -- but a little of everything -- writing and gardening and sewing and driving about. We have had a great deal of rainy, chilly weather this spring so I could not spend
so much time out of doors as I should like -- I shall not say anything farther about the weather -- for I think you have got the better of me on that subject -- only I must remark that I hope I shall not have to be roasted this year as I was last -- and did you ever know such scorching heat?
Notes
The manuscript of this letter is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 6, Item 258.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
1882-1902
An envelope addressed to Jewett in South Berwick, cancelled in Manchester on 21 October, and forwarded to 148 Charles St. On the back of this envelope are these notes:
Old woman sees
[ Katy ? ] Thompson [ maintained ? ] by parish idleness and [ luxury ? ] -- They [ entroose ? ] what they get &c and begin to have things the matter with [ them ? ]
This envelope is held by the Houghton Library of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. bMS Am 1743 Box 6, Item 277.
Transcription and notes by Terry Heller, Coe College.
Main Contents & Search
Correspondence