Frost family correspondence
Scope and Contents
The Frost Family Papers consist of twenty-five letters to William and Esther Sherwood from their daughter Marietta Sherwood Frost, son-in-law Reverend Daniel D. Frost, and grandson Edward D. Frost written between August 13, 1849 and circa February 1860. The letters discuss family activities, domestic chores, the education of the children and the health of the family members. Also included are descriptions and comparisons of daily life in Redding, Connecticut and West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Particularly noteworthy are a letters written in 1853 and 1858 discussing William Sherwood's experiences in the California gold rush and his plans to depart for the gold mines of Australia. A letter from April 29, 1858 describes a temperance lecture in West Stockbridge and the formation of a "Band of Hope" whose members "promise to abstain from all intoxicating drinks, from use of tobacco in any form and from profane swearing." That letter also mentions a speech by a Mr. Colt, who remarked that "a good war was just what our country needed to bring people to their sences [sic] to promote right feeling--that we had become too wicked and too wealthy." Of further interest is a letter written on February 18 in about 1860 describing the death of the Frosts' son Aaron.
Dates
- 1849-ca. 1860
Conditions Governing Access
Unrestricted.
Biographical Note
Marietta Sherwood, the daughter of William and Esther Sherwood of Southport, Connecticut, was born circa 1827 and graduated from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1847. In 1849 she married Daniel D. Frost, a minister who served at the Congregational Church in Redding, Connecticut from 1844-1856 when the Frosts moved to West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The Frosts had five children. Marietta died in Wabasha, Minnesota in 1863.
Extent
1 boxes (1847 Sherwood)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Frost family: Daniel Frost, Marietta Sherwood Frost (Mount Holyoke Female Seminary graduate, 1847) and five children. Papers consist of letters describing family activities, education and health, documenting primarily family life in a clergyman's household in New England in the 1850s. Also include references to the experiences of Marietta Sherwood Frost's father, William Sherwood, as a gold miner in California.
- Clergy -- New England -- Correspondence Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Clergy -- New England -- Family Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Death Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Diseases Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Family -- United States -- History -- 19th century Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Gold miners -- California Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Health Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Mount Holyoke College Manuscript Collections Subject Source: Local sources
- Redding (Conn.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Spouses of clergy -- New England -- Correspondence Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Temperance -- History -- 19th century -- Sources Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Public opinion Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- West Stockbridge (Mass.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Women -- United States -- Social conditions -- 19th century -- Sources Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- correspondence Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Title
- Frost Family Correspondence, 1849-ca. 1860.
- Subtitle
- Finding Aid
- Status
- Edited Full Draft
- Date
- © 2004
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
- Sponsor
- Encoding funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Repository Details
Part of the Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections Repository
50 College Street
8 Dwight Hall
South Hadley MA 01075-6425 USA
413-538-3079
archives@mtholyoke.edu
