Derry, June 1, 1849.Dear Sister,
I suppose you will soon begin to think if you have not already that it is time to hear from some off [sic] your old Derry friends, I suppose you are enjoying yourself so well that you have hardly thought off [sic] the ones you left behind,
I hope ere this you have got over the effects of your journey, I think you must have had a hard ride, I think I know how to pity you. You enjoy moon light rides do you not?
Sarah Choate wants to know if you did not find any snow no 'furder off than that." She came to me Friday noon with quite a history of
this (Mr Browns) doings at his fathers, he was there Thursday noon, he probably put it off just as long as he could in hopes to find Sis at home, as the first question he asked after he went into the house was 'is your "Sister at home", by way of explanation, he said he saw Sis at Mr Taylors the other day, & did not know but she had got long [?] Sarah wanted very much to see you that morning, she & Elizabeth have colled [sic] here since you left, is not that wonderful;We are in a very far way to be disappointed again with regard to Emma's comeing [sic] home, it seems that you & she does [sic] not aggree [sic] at to the same time. I had expected Sis this week from what you said, & have told a dozen people & more here & they were all going to think of us Saturday but I fear she will imagine us happyer [sic] than we really are. I did not know the mistake till Sunday I was saying something to Calvin, about it when he took Emmas letter from his pocket & read what she said, You may imagine how I felt to know that we were to be disappointed, again. We shall not dare think she is comeing [sic] until we see her race, for will have a nice long visit with her.
Mother & I called on Mrs Brown last week, & had a nice time. She has a l [sic] very pretty little boy. She sent her love to you & said she wanted to have seen you before you left to tell you about "that Wedding Cake" She did not tell us about it because she had not time. She had so many other thigns to say, but she is comeing [sic] over to spend the day soon & than [sic] she would tell. She said it was very nice indeed, Mr Brown did not wish to eat all of his & he thought it belonged to him so he asked his sister for a piece of paper & roled [sic] it up else they would not have had any.
Calvin was at Boston last week was gone four days & he has been so bu
isy since that he has not been down to see us since you left, He saw Mr Fisk at Lowell, is very happy & doing well.June 2. I should like to be there very much. Caroline sent two or three times for me, but I thought I could not go not because I did not want to, Mr & Mrs Parkes went Monday Mr Parkes is going to Boston to spend some time he said two weeks, but I guess the week will be rather short.
Hannah came back Saturday after you left, they feel quite made up, & she seems quite happy.
Harriette probably has left for Troy, she has no school engaged neither has she any in view, but she thought if she could not yet, any thing to do it would be a good timeit to visit, so she started right off, there is perseverance. I think very likely she may go partly with the expectation of getting employment some where,. She expects to spend the summer, I do not know her designs really as I have not seen Hannah excepting on the Sabbath.
Tomorrow is Society day I expect we shall have quite a time to do decide what to do with ourselves this Summer - I cannot tell home I think it will be decided, but I think they will not be contented to stay where they now are.
Uncle Henry has been quite lame for a week past, he was in to see us yesterday, but it was with great dificulty [sic] that he could sit down, he could not
liftraise his hand to his head, he is lame all over, but he thinks he is getting better.Martha Brooks has at last engaged a school in Mr Proctors district, but I am sorry for her, for I think it would be better for her to stay at home and not do anything, as to go there. Several in the district feel very bad for more than for themselves, they think she cannot do any thing with the school. She is the third teacher they have engaged, the first could not come on account of sickness, the second because she could not get a commend: she had kept several schools, & than [sic] has been an assistant in an Academy three years. This you see the difference of opinion with regard to the necessary qualifications of teachers in diferent [sic] places . I hope Caddy is better than when you wrote. We shall expect to hear from you soon. Love to all & excep [sic] with much love to yourself from your sister Harriette.
I did intend to write another page but was prevented by a protracted call from Simon & Fisher Humphrey, Simon has taken his farewell of Derry till next September[.] They have gone to Andover the day Fisher returns & will not leave till some time next week he probably finds it more difficult to leave Derry, but I will not be judge but he gave no reasons why he did not go.
You must excuse all miss takes [sic] for I have written in great haste & have not time [to] correct any[.] We shall expect a letter from Emma soon to know whether she thinks of comeing [sic] home this Summer or not.
[This letter had no cover, so I was curious how the dealer concluded that it was from the Taylor family. This was the response I received.
"We began with the Derry dateline and the name Harriette and searched the 1850 Census in Derry. Listed there were James Taylor (65), Persis Taylor (63), Calvin Taylor (30), Harriet [sic] Taylor (33), and Emma Taylor (23). The head of household next door was Henry Taylor (67). We saw that the names Calvin, Emma, Harriet, and Henry matched those in the letter.
We needed to corroborate this and further research showed that Henry Taylor ("Uncle Henry") was James Taylor's brother; we looked at Find-A-Grave and saw the listings for the children of James and Persis (with middle initials), along with names of spouses; we searched for each of James and Persis' children on the web and found connections to Phillips Academy, Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, and other institutions; Harriette mentions being invited several times by "Caroline" to Andover, and we learned that "Caroline" was the wife of brother Samuel Harvey Taylor, Principal of Phillips Academy; finally, we researched each of the sisters to see where they were living/working in 1847 - especially the sisters not mentioned in the letter:
1. Emma was teaching in Stanstead, Canada East, in 1847 (Catalogue of the Memorandum Society in the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, for Ten Years, Ending 1847), then in Derry and St. Johnsbury, and then was Principal of Abbott Female Seminary in Andover (Catalogue of the Memorandum Society of Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, for Thirty Years, Ending 1867). She became Principal of Abbott Academy in 1857 (Annals of Fifty Years: A History of Abbott Academy, Andover, Mass., 1829-1879). Emma was in Canada in 1847 and in Derry in 1850. According to these sources, she would have gone to St. Johnsbury some time after returning to Derry (1850 or later). It's clear from the letter that Emma is away from home in 1847.
2. Almira married Joseph P. Fairbanks and was living in St. Johnsbury, but the context of the letter makes it pretty clear that she was not the recipient. It's clear that the sister being written to had left home (Derry) recently and no mention is made of a husband Joseph or sons Edward and William.
3. Sarah married Charles E. Parker in 1844 and they lived in Derry. That leaves Mary, who taught at Derry 1844-1847 and at St. Johnsbury 1847-1849 (Catalogue of the Memorandum Society, and of the alumnae. Mount Holyoke Seminary. 1837-1877). Her move to St. Johnsbury in 1847 fits in with mention in the letter of the recipient having left Derry recently. Finally, "Mr. Taylor" is mentioned on page 1 and "Mr. & Mrs. Parker" are mentioned on page 2."]
[Listing from the auction itself: "3+ page letter written by Harriette Taylor at Derry, NH, on June 1, 1847, and sent to her sister Mary E. Taylor at St. Johnsbury, VT.
Well written letter filled with news of the prominent Taylor family - including Harriette Taylor and her siblings - of Derry, New Hampshire. Harriette also describes the difficulties encountered by teachers seeking employment in Derry.
Harriette Taylor (1817-1876) and Mary E. Taylor (1824-1901) were the daughters of James Taylor (1785-1864) and Persis Hemphill (1787-1858) of Derry. Harriette taught school in Derry. Mary graduated from Mt. Holyoke Female Seminary in 1843 and taught school in Derry 1844-1847 and in St. Johnsbury 1847-1849. In 1849 she married Horace Fairbanks (1820-1888) who served as Governor of New Hampshire 1876-1878. Harriette and Mary's sister Emma L. Taylor graduated from Mt. Holyoke Seminary in 1845 and was Preceptress of Adams Female Seminary in Derry. Harriette and Emma each bequeathed $1,000 to establish the Taylor Library in Derry."]