Letter from Edward Fish, Class of 1848, to his sister Lucia

Content Description

Stampless letter, 1 sheet, folded, with three pages of writing and address on fourth page, from Edward Fowler Fish, class of 1848, at Hamilton College, to his sister Lucia Fish, care of James Benham, Hammondsport, Steuben Co. [NY], dated Oct. 27th, 1846. Letter begins, "Dear Sister, It has been my intention ever since this term commenced, to write to you, but I have kept putting it off till the term is half gone and no letter written yet." Fish describes his journey from Hammondsport to Clinton (stagecoach to Penn Yan and then to Geneva, "car" to Oneida, hired carriage from Oneida to Hamilton College), and then the opening of college, with "a great many of the old students back here fitting up their rooms and making other preparations, besides crowds of new ones." He mentions that several students have had to take rooms in private houses for lack of space in the college buildings. "We shall have this year about 180 students, a larger number by 40 than have ever been here before. Old Ham. Coll. begins to come up. If we increase at this rate for many years, we shall have here one of the largest and best colleges in the Union." The letter continues with news about their father's business trip to Utica and family news about their brothers Tom and Charles and messages to Aunt Julia and Uncle James, with whom Lucia is living. Fish says a note from Thomas "said that he had been out all day after Chestnuts & had gathered about twenty quarts" and relayed messages from younger siblings Berry [Samuel Berrien] and Mary.

Acquisition Type

Purchase

Provenance

purchased from Steve Resnick

Restrictions Apply

No