The Mary Lyon Letters

History

This small collection of letters was written from the founder of the Seminary, Mary Lyon. At least one of these letters was dictated by her, but signed in her name by someone else.

The Images

All documents have the first page scanned, and comments about their contents are included below.

A Letter Written on Jun 1, 1827, from Mary Lyon and Zilpah Grant to Hannah Briggs: envelope The letter is folded and addressed on an exposed portion of the paper. Addressed to Mrs Hannah C. Briggs of Walpole, Mass. Postmarked on Jun 5 [1827] in Londonderry, NH. A sticker on a fold of the cover reads, "This letter was written by MARY LYON, founder of Mount Holyoke college [sic], and her chief, ZILPAH P. GRANT to Mrs Hannah C. Briggs, Walpole, Mass. Dated June 1, 1827."; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only part of the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Sep 3, 1828, from Frances Knowlton and Mary Lyon to Hannah Briggs: envelope The letter is folded and addressed on an exposed portion of the paper. Addressed to Mrs Hannah C. Briggs of Walpole, Mass. Postmarked on Sep 3 [1828] in Ipswich, Mass. A sticker on a fold of the cover reads, "This original letter was written by MARY LYON, founder of Mount Holyoke college [sic], and F. E. KNOWLTON to their friend, Mrs Hannah C. Briggs, Walpole, Mass. Dated Sept 3, 1828 from Ipswich. It is owned by the Norwood (Mass.) Historical Society." (Not any longer!); page 1 Full contents of letter, though only part of the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Jun 27, 1840, from Mary Lyon to alumna Sarah Brigham: envelope The letter is folded and addressed on an exposed portion of the paper. Addressed to Miss Sarah Brigham of Grafton Mass. Postmarked on Jul 1 [1840] in South Hadley.; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only part of the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on March 9, 1841, from Mary Lyon to Waldo Bingham: envelope The letter is folded and addressed on an exposed portion of the paper. Addressed to Mr. Waldo Bingham of Windham Conn. Postmarked on March 12 [1841] in South Hadley.; page 1 Full contents of letter, which is only one page long.
A Letter Written on May 26, 1841, from Mary Lyon to Waldo Bingham: envelope The letter is folded and addressed on an exposed portion of the paper. Addressed to Mr. Waldo Bingham of Windham Conn. Postmarked on May 26 [1841] in South Hadley.; page 1 Full contents of letter, which is only one page long.
A Letter Written on Jan 13, 1846, from Mary Lyon to Mrs. Kittredge: page 1 No envelope survives. Full contents of letter.
A Partial Letter, probably written about June 3, 1847, from Mary Lyon to Ezra Pratt: envelope The letter is folded and addressed on an exposed portion of the paper. Addressed to Ezra Pratt, Orwell Ohio. Postmarked on Jun 3 in South Hadley.; page 1 Full contents of letter, but only the last page survives and only part of the page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Mar 30, 1848, from Mary Lyon to Jonathan Tenney: envelope The letter is folded and addressed on an exposed portion of the paper. Addressed to Mr. Jonathan Tenney, Pembroke Academy, NH. Postmarked in South Hadley.; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only part of the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Apr 3, 1848, from Mary Lyon to Mrs Woodhull: envelope The letter is folded and addressed on an exposed portion of the paper. Addressed to Mrs. S. F. Woodhull, Thomaston, Maine. A pencil note: "Preserve this" Postmarked Apr 4 [1848] in South Hadley. A reverse flap has the note "From Mary Lyon South Hadley to Mrs. Woodhull about Sarah"; page 1 Full contents of letter, though only the first page is scanned.
A Letter Written on Aug 11, 1848, from Mary Lyon to alumna Mary Graves: envelope The letter is folded and addressed on an exposed portion of the paper. Addressed to Miss Mary Graves, Hatfield, Mass. Postmarked on Aug 11 [1848] in South Hadley. Transit mark on Aug 12 [1848] in Westfield, Mass.; page 1 Full contents of letter, which is only one page long.