Fletcher Family
The Fletcher Family collection includes family correspondence from the period 1826-1903 and photographs from circa 1860-1890. The material comes from the Fletcher Family subseries of the Consuelo Northrop Bailey Papers, which contains family papers collected by Consuelo's mother, Katherine Fletcher Northrop.
The correspondence included in this collection was collected by Ruth Allen Colton Fletcher, Henrietta Smith Fletcher, and Katherine Fletcher. Ruth was born in 1810 or 1811 to Lydia and Lemuel Colton of Sharon, VT. She married Andrew Fletcher in 1839, and lived in Waterville, Belvidere, and then Johnson, VT until her death, circa 1903. Her oldest surviving child was Andrew Craig Fletcher, who married Henrietta Smith in 1869. Henrietta was born in 1845 to Catherine and George Smith of Burke, NY. Katherine Fletcher was born in 1870 to Henrietta and Andrew Craig Fletcher of Jeffersonville, VT. She attended Johnson State Normal School from 1885-1887, graduating in January 1888.
The correspondence describes the experiences of several family members who moved west to New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, and California. The correspondents recount in great detail the work of creating and managing their farms in these new states or territories, and many letters give meticulous lists of the prices of land, grains, stock, and groceries. The families in this correspondence endure a great deal of sickness and deaths and these as well as some accounts of their medical treatments are described in the letters. There are a few letters from Enos Fletcher and Charles Hogan that are from the Civil War, and several letters refer to the War and its effects on their communities. There is an account of the "St. Albans Raid" by Ruth's son Andrew Craig Fletcher, who was working in St. Albans at the time. Katherine Fletcher's correspondence with her family and classmates document her life and studies at Vermont's teacher training institution twenty years into its history as such.
Showing 401 - 410 of 452 Records
Andrew Craig Fletcher to Family\, 1864 August 21
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- Creator: Fletcher, Andrew Craig.
- Description: Topics include Andrew Craig's decision not to enlist and his work and other activities in St. Albans, Vermont.
- Parent Collections: Fletcher Family
Betsey Verona Jagua to Ruth Fletcher\, circa August 1864
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- Creator: Jagua, Betsey Verona.
- Description: Topics include prices of cloth, a draft which may take her husband, Seth, to the war, and the effects of a dry summer.
- Parent Collections: Fletcher Family
Andrew Craig Fletcher to Andrew and Ruth Fletcher\, 1866 July 8
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- Creator: Fletcher, Andrew Craig.
- Description: Topics include his work in a store in St. Albans, meeting friends on July 4, and his recent illness.
- Parent Collections: Fletcher Family
Lyman Colton to Ruth Fletcher\, 1868 February 23
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- Creator: Colton, Lyman.
- Description: Topics include the prices of crops, stock, and other food stuffs, the health of family members, and local religious activities.
- Parent Collections: Fletcher Family
Mary Harvey to Ruth Fletcher\, 1868 October 6
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- Creator: Harvey, Mary.
- Description: Topics include her difficulties with her husband, her brother Levi's family, her children, the difficulties of women compared to men due to the machinery used in men's work, and the flourishing of her community in Iowa.
- Parent Collections: Fletcher Family
Marilla Smith to Henrietta Fletcher\, no year June 13
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- Creator: Smith, Marilla.
- Description: Topics include her son George's case of whooping cough, the visit from Catherine Smith, and her discouragement from all her work.
- Parent Collections: Fletcher Family
Catherine Smith to Henrietta Fletcher\, no year June 6 and Catherine Smith to Katherine Fletcher\, undated
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- Creator: Smith, Catherine.
- Description: Topics include her cough and poor health, the potato bug and grasshopper problems, and their milking production.
- Parent Collections: Fletcher Family
Edward C. Smith to Henrietta and Andrew Craig Fletcher\, 1873 May 15
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- Creator: Smith, Edward C.
- Description: Topics include Edward Smith's seclusion before heading to California.
- Parent Collections: Fletcher Family
Edward C. Smith to Henrietta Fletcher\, 1873 July 23
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- Creator: Smith, Edward C.
- Description: Topics include the dry weather in California, their good health, and the prospects of importing wine to Vermont.
- Parent Collections: Fletcher Family
W.P. Grout to Andrew Fletcher\, 1881 September 17
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- Creator: Grout, W.P.
- Description: Topics include a recent visit to Vermont and the dry weather in New York and the effects on crops and prices.
- Parent Collections: Fletcher Family