Skip to main content

Joseph E. Smith: correspondence, March 1854

 File — Box: 1, Folder: 6

Scope and Content

From the Collection:

Consists of fifty-one letters and three Bowdoin term bills, written by students Joseph, Samuel, and Henry Smith. Samuel, a Harvard student, sent thirty-one letters home beginning March 24, 1850 and ending June 16, 1854. His brother, Joseph, a Bowdoin student, sent twelve home, beginning April 16, 1850, and ending March 14, 1854. Henry (H.W.F.) Smith sent eight letters home, mostly as a youth working in Boston but later as a student in Yarmouth, Maine. His first letter is dated May 3, 1853 and his last, October 23, 1854. Most of these letters were written to their father, the Hon. Samuel E. Smith, Sr., of Wiscasset, Maine, although a few were written to their mother. The letters are affectionate, sanguine, and day-to-day, revealing a fine picture of ante-bellum college life. The first two Bowdoin term bills (for Joseph) are for the spring semester, 1853, and the last is for fall, 1853. Joseph's bills include specific charges such as tuition, board, repairs, and wood. Topics in Joseph's letters include Franklin Pierce and presidential politics (1852), smallpox in Brunswick (1851), the interior painting of the Bowdoin College Chapel, the teaching of mathematics, and College expenses.

Dates

  • Creation: 1850-1854

Creator

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Extent

From the Collection: 0.25 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Repository Details

Part of the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine 04011 Repository

Contact:
3000 College Station
Brunswick Maine 04011 USA
(207) 725-3288