1801–1920 Abner Woodward Family of Connecticut archive of letters and papers.

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Letters and papers of Abner Woodward (1762–1840), farmer, mail coach operator, Revolutionary War pensioner, and War of 1812 soldier of Ashford, Connecticut and those of his sons by his second wife (Eunice Fuller, 1769–1842): Jonathan, Otis, and Royal Woodward, plus other family members. The collection was kept by Royal’s son, Maj. James Otis Woodward of Albany, New York, a graduate of Hamilton College, lawyer, journalist, and politician.

Summary:

I. Abner Woodward. 21 Items; 22pp.; 1801–1838. 15 receipts; a signed 1809 legal deposition; a deed of sale for a tract in Mansfield; three letters relating to banks or payment of a note; a letter from his eldest son Joseph Woodward (1795–1851), a schoolmaster in Tolland teaching “generally between 60 and 70 scholars in a day.”

II. Jonathan Woodward (1797–1875), merchant of Cazenovia, New York. 10 Items; 26pp.; 1861–1875. Seven letters to his brother, Royal, and three letters by Jonathan’s newly widowed wife, Mary, to Royal about her grief and loneliness. Jonathan’s letters mostly concern keeping track of his siblings’ news.

III. Otis Woodward (1807–1894), farmer of Mansfield, Connecticut. 12 Items; 17pp.; 1848–1881. 10 outgoing letters on business, banking, and family matters, one noting the death of their brother Jonathan. Two letter fragments.

IV. Royal Woodward (1815–1882), Albany, New York silk merchant. 7 Items; 10pp. 1835–1882. Four incoming letters (including two from P.H. Woodward, son of Royal’s brother Dr. Ashbel Woodward) and miscellaneous manuscripts including an 1835 certificate from Ashford Academy recommending him as a school teacher, and an 1882 document proving his will from Albany’s Surrogate Court. The letters from P.H. Woodward, president of the Windham Silver Mining and Smelting company, of Colorado, discuss stock shares in the company, investments in silver mining and a property in Ouray County, Colorado.

V. James Otis Woodward (1862–1928). 13 Items; 15pp.; 1878–1920. Ten incoming and outgoing letters; an outgoing letter fragment; a retained copy letter, and a bank document.

VI. Miscellaneous Woodwards. 6 Items; 8pp; 1834–1906. Two letters; a letter copy; a receipt; and two miscellaneous manuscripts. Names seen are J. Woodward; Joseph Woodward of Ashford; Martha F. Woodward of Brainards, New Jersey; and “C.M.W,” likely Charlotte M. Woodward of Albany, New York. The manuscripts are a transcription of the tombstone of Yale graduate John Woodward (1719–1741) and a partial tax receipt for Joseph Woodward to which are added Biblical reflections, from December 1828 to February 1829.

VII. Miscellaneous. 12 Items; 26pp; c.1819–c.1917. (Six letters; three letter fragments; and three other items.) The writer of one 1890 letter, partly written from the Hygeia Hotel health resort in Old Point Comfort, Virginia and partly from Richmond, discusses their visit to cigarette factory and a plug tobacco factory. Also seen: a c.1819 receipt signed by Orrin Holt, later Connecticut politician and U.S. Congressman; a c.1917 business expense; a natural resources report on the “Puna Oil and Salt Corporation” located on the coast of Ecuador.

Price: $500.00