The Fran Brown Letters

[Envelope]

History

These letters were written in 1918-1919 by Frances ("Fran") Elizabeth Brown to Roland Beattie, the man she married in 1922. She is very loving and open with him in her letters, sharing deep thoughts and feelings with him. The letters continue after college and into Fran's first job as an officer at Sleighton Farms, a reformatory school for girls in Pennsylvania. Fran's classmate Doris "Dick" Gidley also is working at Sleighton Farms with Fran. Roland's brother Ken goes on some dates with another of Fran's classmates, Anna "Buddie" Budd, but eventually marries Fran's sister Katherine.

There were a few letters from other people besides Fran in this collection; I haven't figured out how significant these other people were to Roland's life. One of them, Lucy Dee Buzzell, sounds like she sees Roland as a boyfriend! I hope he wasn't sneaking around behind Fran's back.

The Images

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

A Letter Written on Sep 25, 1917, to Roland from Nicholas Rougette
envelope Postmarked Sep 25, 1917 6:30pm in New York, NY. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 136 Glenside Ave, Murray Hill, NJ.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Jul 3, 1918
envelope Postmarked Jul 4, 1918 11am in Saranac Lake, NY. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 2253 Loring Place, New York City, NY.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Jul 13, 1918
envelope Postmarked Jul 14, 1918 7pm in Saranac Lake, NY. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 2253 Loring Place, New York City, NY.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Oct 13, 1918
envelope Postmarked Oct 13, 1918 4:30pm in South Hadley. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, Murray Hill, NJ.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Oct 19, 1918
envelope Postmarked Oct 21, 1918 7am in South Hadley. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, Murray Hill, NJ.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Nov 6, 1918
envelope Postmarked Nov 7, 1918 10am in South Hadley. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, Box 136, Murray Hill, NJ. Return address for F. E. Brown Mt. Holy. College, South Hadley Mass #172 on reverse flap.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Nov 24, 1918
envelope Postmarked Nov 24, 1918 4:30pm in South Hadley. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, Allerton Hotel, 143 East 39th St, New York City, NY, with corner card for F. E. Brown, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts (partially pre-printed).
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Apr 5, 1919
envelope Postmarked Apr 7, 1919 7am in South Hadley. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 143 East 39th St, New York City, NY.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Apr 20, 1919
envelope Postmarked Apr 21, 1919 12:30pm in South Hadley. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 143 East 39th St, New York City, NY.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Apr 27, 1919
envelope Postmarked Apr 28, 1919 7am in South Hadley. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 143 East 39th St, New York City, NY.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on May 4, 1919
envelope Postmarked May 5, 1919 7am in South Hadley. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 143 East 39th St, New York City, NY.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written around May 6, 1919
envelope Postmarked May 6, 1919 5:30pm in South Hadley. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 143 East 39th St, New York City, NY. Inscription on the reverse: "Return immediately if lost. A.B.?"
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on May 20, 1919
envelope Postmarked May 20, 1919 5:30pm in South Hadley. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 143 East 39th St, New York City, NY. Return address for F. E. Brown, Mt. Holyoke Colege, South Hadley, Mass. on reverse flap.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on May 25, 1919
envelope Postmarked May 25, 1919 4:30pm in South Hadley. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 143 East 39th St, New York City, NY.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written around Jun 4, 1919
envelope Postmarked Jun 4, 1919 12:30pm in South Hadley. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 143 East 39th St, New York City, NY.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Jun 21, 1919
envelope Postmarked Jun 21, 1919 12noon in Saranac Lake, NY. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, Murray Hill, NJ.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written around Jul 7, 1919
envelope Postmarked Jul 7, 1919 11am in Yonkers, NY. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, Murray Hill, NJ.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Jul 9, 1919
envelope Postmarked Jul 10, 1919 11:30am in New York, NY. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, Murray Hill, NJ.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Jul 21, 1919
envelope Postmarked Jul 22, 1919 11:30am in New York, NY. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 2253 Loring Place, New York, NY. Return address for F. E. Brown, 363 Warburnton Ave., Yonkers, N.Y. on reverse flap.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Aug 12, 1919
envelope Postmarked Aug 13, 1919 11:30am in Yonkers, NY. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, Murray Hill, NJ.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Aug 17, 1919
envelope Postmarked Aug 18, 1919 2:30pm in Saranac Lake, NY. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, Murray Hill, NJ.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Aug 19, 1919
envelope Postmarked Aug 21, 1919 2pm in Saranac Lake, NY. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, Murray Hill, NJ.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Aug 24, 1919
envelope Postmarked Aug 25, 1919 2pm in Saranac Lake, NY. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, Murray Hill, NJ, which is x'ed out in red.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

Two Letters Written around Aug 30, 1919
envelope A portion of the envelope face has been cut away. Pen inscription added: "Aug 30. 19" Transit mark Sep 1, 1919 in NJ. Addressed to [Mr. Roland P. Beattie], Murray Hill, NJ.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
page 1 A second letter [dated Aug 31] was included in the envelope. Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Sep 1, 1919
envelope Postmarked Sep 2, 1919 in Darling, Pa. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, Murray Hill, NJ. Inscription on reverse flap: "Hello Bub! D.J.G." [Dick Gidley]
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Sep 7, 1919
envelope Postmarked Sep 8, 1919 pm in Darling, Pa. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, Murray Hill, NJ.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Sep 10, 1919
envelope Postmarked Sep 10, 1919 pm in Darling, Pa. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, Murray Hill, NJ.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Oct 17, 1919, to Roland from Lucy Dee Buzzell
envelope Postmarked Oct 17, 1919 9am in New York, NY (Fordham Station). Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 2029 Morris Ave, Bronx, NYC. Return address for Lucy Dee Buzzell, 2567 Decatur Av[e], NYC on reverse flap.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Nov 4, 1919, to Roland from Lucy Dee Buzzell
envelope Postmarked Nov 5, 1919 9am in New York, NY (Fordham Station). Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 2029 Morris Ave, Bronx, NYC. Return address for Lucy Dee Buzzell, 2567 Decatur Av[e], Fordham, NY on reverse flap.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Nov 12, 1919
envelope Postmarked Nov 13, 1919 am in Darling, Pa. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 2029 Morris Ave, New York City NY.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Nov 28, 1919, to Roland from Clymont MacArthur
envelope Postmarked Nov 28, 1919 12noon in New York, NY (Madison Square Station). Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, Murray Hill, NJ.
page 1 Full contents of letter.

A Letter Written around Feb 23, 1920
envelope Postmarked Feb 23, 1920 pm in Darling, Pa. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 2029 Morris Ave, New York City NY.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Jul 12, 1921, to Fran from Tom
envelope Postmarked Jul 12, 1921 am in Lavallette, NJ. Addressed to Miss Frances Brown, 243 Warburton Ave, Yonkers, NY, with corner card for ATA, Lavallette, NJ.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.

A Letter Written on Aug 25, 1928
envelope Postmarked Aug 25, 1928 1pm in Saranac Lake, NY. Addressed to Mr. Roland P. Beattie, 227 Fulton St, New York City NY, c/o Field & Beattie. "For R.P." is inscribed in red on the front of the envelope, and "R.P." on the reverse of the envelope.
page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.