The Martha Anderson Letters

History

These letters were written to Martha Ann Anderson by family members. Martha's parents were Joseph and Thankful M. (Stevens) Anderson. Martha's sisters were also Mount Holyoke alums: Susan Emily Anderson and Mercy (Mercie) Amelia Anderson. This was Thankful's second marriage. Her first marriage was with Joseph's brother Alpheus Anderson, and they had a son, John Stevens Anderson, and a daughter, Helen M Anderson. John was married to Clarinda Barnard, and they had five children: Eliza Miles Anderson Dole, Helen Maria Anderson, Alpheus J Anderson, Kate Orr Anderson Payne, and Josephine Sarah Anderson. John's sister Helen married Solomon Fiske. Their children were Alpheus and Harriet.

The 1882 letter to Mercy came from a different source.

The Images

All letters have at least their first page or a portion of the first page scanned, and comments about their contents are included below.

A Letter Written on Dec 13, 1870, to Martha from sister Susan: envelope Postmarked Dec 19 [1870] in Bardswell Ferry, Mass. Addressed to Miss Martha A. Anderson, Michigan Female Seminary, Kalamazoo, Mich.; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Feb 11, 1871, to Martha from sister Mercy: envelope Postmarked Feb 15 [1871] in South Hadley, and Feb 17 [1871] in Lansing, Mich. Stamped "Missent" with stamped hand pointing to Kalamazoo. Addressed to Miss Martha A. Anderson at Michigan Female Seminary in Kalamazoo.; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Sep 19, 1874, to Martha from sister Mercy: envelope Postmarked Sep 21, 1874 in ABCFM Boston. Addressed to Miss M. A. Anderson in Ahmednuggur India, and forwarded to Bombay.; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Oct 3, 1874, to Martha from sister Mercie: envelope Addressed to Miss Martha A. Anderson in Ahmednuggur India. Inscription: "Recd. Nov. 19/74"; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Oct 16, 1874, to Martha from sister Mercy: envelope Addressed to Miss Martha Anderson in Ahmednuggur India. Inscription: "Recd. Dec. 6. 1874."; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Oct 22, 1874, to Martha from sister Susan: envelope Addressed to Miss Martha A. Anderson in Ahmednuggur, Western India. Inscription: "Rec. Dec. 6, 1874."; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Oct 31, 1874, to Martha from sister Mercy: envelope Addressed to Miss Martha A. Anderson in Ahmednuggur India. Inscription: "Recd. Dec. 19."; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
Letters Written on Nov 5-7, 1874, to Martha from sister Susan, brother John, and mother: envelope Addressed to Miss Martha A. Anderson in Ahmednuggur, Western India. Inscription: "Rec. Dec. 19th"; page 1 Letter from John. Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.; page 1 Letter from Mother. Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.; page 1 Letter from Susan. Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
Letters Written on Nov 21-27, 1874, to Martha from sister Susan and mother: envelope Addressed to Miss Martha A. Anderson in Ahmednuggur, Western India. Inscription: "Jan. 8. 1875"; page 1 Letter from Mother. Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.; page 1 Letter from Susan. Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Dec 9, 1874, to Martha from sister Susan: envelope Addressed to Miss Martha A. Anderson in Ahmednuggur, Western India. Inscription: "Rec. Jan. 21."; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Dec 25, 1874, to Martha from sister Susan: envelope Addressed to Miss Martha A. Anderson in Ahmednuggur, Western India. Inscription: "Rec. Feb. 5."; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Dec 31, 1874, to Martha from mother Thankful: envelope Addressed to Miss Martha A. Anderson in Ahmednuggur, Western India. Inscription: "Rec. Feb. 22." Another inscription: "Miss Anderson, This came just as it is open at the end, but your letter has not been taken out here. Yours [signature]"; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.; page 1 A second letter dated Jan 2, 1874 [sic] was included in the envelope. Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Jan 11, 1875, to Martha from sister Susan: envelope Addressed to Miss Martha A. Anderson in Ahmednuggur, Western India. Inscription: "Rec. Feb. 28."; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Jul 1, 1876, to Martha from cousin Allie: envelope Addressed to Miss Martha A. Anderson in Ahmednuggur, Western India. Inscription: "35c rec'd. f P." Inscriptions on the reverse: "ans." and "Rec. Aug. 10 1876"; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Apr 4, 1878, to Martha from cousin Dea: envelope Postmarked Apr 17 [1878] 4pm in Oswego NY. Addressed to Miss M. A. Anderson, Shelburne, Mass.; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Apr 5, 1882, to Mercy from Mount Holyoke classmate Elizabeth "Libbie" Benson: envelope Postmarked Apr 6 [1882] in Baton Rouge, La. Addressed to Miss Mercy Anderson, Shelburne, Mass.; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
A Postal Card Written on Feb 22, 1887, to Martha from E. Hardy: front Postmarked Feb 24, 1887 in Shelburne, Mass. Addressed to Miss Martha Anderson, 30 Isabella St., Boston, Mass.; back "Shelburne, Feb. 22. Dear Friend; Thank you for your kind letter to my sister. She is now on a sick bed and unable to write. She is nervously weak and troubled with sleeplessness. She is more comfortable to-day than she has been and she takes considerable nourishment; if she can get the necessary am't of sleep it looks as tho' she might gain up. Yours, E. Hardy."