Richard James Hooker collection of letters from American women, 1788-1890
Overview
Correspondence, mostly by19th century American women, compiled by Richard James Hooker of Chicago, Illinois.
Dates
- Creation: 1788-1890
Creator
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Materials in Richard James Hooker collection of letters from American women are in the public domain.
Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.
Extent
.63 linear feet (2 file boxes)Approximately 300 miscellaneous letters, mostly by American women in the nineteenth century, covering a wide range of subjects - religion, education, politics, marriage, local and family news. The large majority are written by "unknown" women, and give a glimpse into the life of the housewife and the schoolteacher in the 19th century. Of particular interest are: the correspondence of Lucy Gray and her husband, a New England sea captain; the letters to Weltha Brown, a Hartford, Connecticut schoolteacher, from her friends and relatives, many dealing with religious subjects; letters by Hannah Buchanan of Maryland to her absent husband re the problems of running a plantation; and the letters by Sarah Edgarton and Luella J. B. Case, two minor authors. There is also an undated letter by Dolly Madison.
BIOGRAPHY
Historian and collector of historical documents Richard James Hooker was born September 6, 1912. He received a PhD in history from the University of Chicago. He joined the faculty of Roosevelt University in 1945 as an associate professor and was promoted to full professor in 1949. In 1965, he was appointed trustee of Roosevelt University in 1965. Hooker was the author of several books, including The American Revolution: The Search for Meaning (1970), The Book Of Chowder (1978), and Food and Drink in America: A History (1981), and edited A Colonial Plantation Cookbook: The Receipt Book of Harriott Pinckney Horry, 1770 (1984). He was married to Nancy Harvison Hooker. Hooker died September 15, 1986, in St Johnsbury, Vermont.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number: 659
Purchased of Mr. Richard J. Hooker, Chicago, Illinois, October 1963.
Digitization Funding
Collections and items have been digitized with the generous support of The Polonsky Foundation.
INDEX
- Aged--Dwellings--19th century 126
- Albany, N.Y.--Social life and customs 13
- Authors--Correspondence, reminiscences, etc. 62, 63, 64, 65
- Baltimore, MD--Social life and customs 80
- Baptists--19th century 51
- Cambridge, MA--Social life and customs 35
- Case, Luella J.B. 62, 63, 64, 65
- Childbirth 10, 112, 113
- Clergy--Families 31, 58, 63
- Connecticut--Social life and customs 14
- Courtship--19th century 8, 14, 23, 27, 63, 68, 70, 72, 84, 95, 99, 118, 136, 138
- Death--Manners and customs--19th century 6, 8, 25, 31, 37, 39, 41, 45, 55, 56, 106
- Diaries--19th century 44
- Domestics--19th century 49
- Edgarton, Sarah C. 62, 63, 64, 65
- Education of women--19th century 5, 10, 12, 28, 40, 125
- Europe--History--1789-1815 5
- Family--18th century 1, 2
- Family--19th century 5, 17, 23, 24, 25, 31, 34, 42, 46, 52, 57, 58, 59, 66, 93, 10
- Farm life 5, 88, 129
- Fashion--19th century 92
- Finney, Charles Grandison, 1792-1875 90
- Friendship 3, 6, 8, 9, 12, 28, 33, 34, 57
- Frontier and pioneer life 86, 88, 112
- Genealogy 108, 109
- Goldminer's--19th century 53
- Health and hygiene--18th century 2
- Health and hygiene--19th century 5, 10, 16, 18, 22, 24, 37, 42, 78, 113, 118, 133
- Illinois--Social life and customs 96
- Immigrants--19th century 59
- Indentured servants 4
- Labor and laboring classes--19th century 42, 49, 67
- Madison, Dolly (Payne) Todd, 1768-1849 142
- Maine--Social life and customs 63, 64
- Marriage contracts 4
- Marriage--19th century 4, 5, 8, 15, 21, 24, 30, 34, 36, 45, 46
- Maryland--Social life and customs 5
- Massachusetts--Social life and customs 24, 25
- Methodists and Methodism 58, 85, 103
- Michigan--Social life and customs 131
- Midwestern states--Social life and customs 96, 113, 131, 141
- Missionary societies 91
- Mormons and Mormonism 86
- Mothers 10, 32, 46, 48, 71, 82, 108, 112, 113
- Mothers and daughters--19th century 46, 48, 71, 82, 108, 135
- New England--Social life and customs 14, 24, 25, 35, 63, 64, 90, 11
- New York--Social life and customs 48
- Ohio--Social life and customs 141
- Pennsylvania Dutch 85
- Pioneers 86, 88
- Religion--19th century 6, 7, 8, 15, 22, 50, 58, 61, 85, 90, 91, 113, 137, 146
- Revivals--19th century 8, 15, 22, 50, 61, 90
- Rhode Island--Social life and customs 90
- School Children--19th century 13, 40, 103, 104, 106, 112
- Seafaring life--19th century 24, 25
- Second Great Awakening 6, 7, 8, 15, 50, 58, 61, 62, 107, 146
- Single women--19th century 25
- Slavery 48, 81
- Slavery--Anti-slavery 58
- Southern states--Social life and customs 3
- Teachers--correspondence, reminiscences, etc. 30, 45, 48, 49, 96
- Temperance 49, 83
- Travel--19th century 42
- United States History--to 1810 1
- United States History--Civil War 108, 121
- United States Navy--Sea-life 3
- Vermont--Social life and customs 116
- Widows--19th century 4, 60
- Wisconsin--Social life and customs 113
Geographic
- Albany (N.Y.)--Social life and customs
- Baltimore (Md.)--Social life and customs
- Cambridge (Mass.)--Social life and customs
- Connecticut--Social life and customs
- Europe--History--1789-1815
- Illinois--Social life and customs
- Maine--Social life and customs
- Maryland--Social life and customs
- Massachusetts--Social life and customs
- Michigan--Social life and customs
- Middle West--Social life and customs
- New England--Social life and customs
- New York (State)--Social life and customs
- Ohio--Social life and customs
- Rhode Island--Social life and customs
- Southern States--Social life and customs
- United States--History--1783-1865
- United States--History--1865-1898
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
- Vermont--Social life and customs
- Wisconsin--Social life and customs
Topical
- Antislavery movements
- Authors
- Baptists
- Childbirth
- Clergy--Family relationships
- Courtship
- Death
- Diseases
- Emigration and immigration--History--19th century
- Families of clergy
- Families--19th century--History
- Families--History--18th century
- Family records
- Farm life
- Fashion--History--19th century
- Friendship
- Frontier and pioneer life
- Genealogy
- Gold miners--History--19th century
- Health--History--18th century
- Health--History--19th century
- Household employees
- Housewives
- Hygiene--History--18th century
- Hygiene--History--19th century
- Indentured servants
- Labor--History--19th century
- Marriage
- Methodists
- Missionaries
- Mormons
- Mothers
- Mothers and daughters
- Older people--Dwellings--History--19th century
- Pennsylvania Dutch
- Pioneers
- Plantations--Maryland
- Prenuptial agreements
- Religion--History--19th century
- Revivals--History--19th century
- Scarlatina
- School children
- Seafaring life
- Second Great Awakening
- Single women
- Slavery
- Teachers
- Temperance
- Voyages and travels--History--19th century
- Widows
- Women teachers
- Women--Education--History--19th century
- Women--Middle West
- Women--New England
- Women--Southern states
- Working class-- History--19th century
Creator
- Title
- Hooker, Richard J. (Richard James), 1913- . Richard James Hooker collection of letters from American women, 1788-1890: A Finding Aid.
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- sch00097
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.