Fowler/Black Family Correspondence, 1792-1887, undated

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0.670

Staff Only
Not requestable

Scope and Contents

The Fowler/Black family correspondence consists of 45 items (44 letters and 1 poem) documenting the personal lives of several members of the Fowler and Black families of Danversport, Massachusetts. Most of the letters focus on Clara Page (Black) Sanborn and her closest relatives. Many of the letters span the Civil War era and some include political commentary on the war.

A set of nine early letters plus one poem (folder 1) includes letters written by Clara P. Black’s aunts Clarissa Fowler (1802-1873) and Rebecca P. Fowler (1804-1841), great uncle John Fowler (1778- ), and Putnam relatives.

The largest set of 19 letters (folder 2) are those written to Clara P. Black’s cousin Clarence Fowler (1838-1893), many while he was a seminary student in Canton, New York from 1860-1863. Clara’s letters describe her life as a student at Bradford Female Seminary (Bradford Academy) in Bradford, Massachusetts, and, after 1858, her life at home in Danversport, Massachusetts. Aretas Sanborn (1834- ), a paymaster’s clerk in the Union Army 1862-1863 and Clara’s future husband, added political commentary to these letters. Aretas complained that Boston lacked patriotism and urged that the rebellion be suppressed “without compromise” as he feared a long battle (Nov. 2, 1862). Moreover, he felt that one man in Washington should not control the army in the field: “The President is too honest. The biggest rogues generally make the best rulers and I wish we had one now provided that he were loyal.” (Dec. 21, 1862).

Another set of 13 letters (folder 3) spans the years 1854-1865. Most were written by Clara P. Black (Clara Black Sanborn after her marriage to Aretas Sanborn in 1864) to her aunts or her baby sister Maria (b. 1854). They contain excellent descriptions of Clara’s experiences such as a spring day at Bradford Academy, a vacation trip to east Florida, or the New York stores at Christmas time.

Finally, four letters (folder 4) were written to Clara Black Sanborn from 1880-1887 from friends or family while traveling in Ireland, Scotland, England, or southern California.

This modest collection of letters reveals life in Danversport, particularly during the Civil War era (1854-1865), and it complements other Fowler family papers in the Phillips Library collection.

Dates

Creation: 1792-1887, undated

Language of Materials

These materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Biographical / Historical

Samuel Fowler(1776-1859), a Danvers tanner and mill owner, was the son of Samuel (1748/9-1813) and Sarah (Putnam) Fowler. In 1799, Samuel married Clarissa Page, the daughter of Samuel and Rebecca (Putnam) Page. They had ten children, including Samuel Page, Clarissa, Rebecca, William, Henry, Augustus, Sally, Eliza, Maria, and Albert.

Sally Page Fowler (1815-1895) was the daughter of Samuel and Clarissa Fowler. In 1839 she married James D. Black and their children included Clara Page, Rebecca, Arthur, and Maria Fowler.

Clara Page Black (b. 1841) was the daughter of James and Sally Page Black. She is the primary correspondent in this collection. In 1864 she married Aretas Rowe Sanborn (1834- ) by whom she had five children, James, Norman, Agnes, Robert, and Louis. Aretas Sanborn taught school in Danvers, Massachusetts from 1859-1862, and was a Paymaster’s Clerk in the Civil War, 1862-1863. He read law and practiced in New York from 1864-1867, and in Lawrence, Massachusetts, after 1867.

Clarence Fowler (1838-1893), Clara’s cousin, was the son of Augustus and Emily (Putnam) Fowler. He attended the Universalist Theological School of St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, from 1860 to 1863, and was ordained in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1863. He graduated from the Cambridge Divinity School in 1870 and served in Unitarian Societies in Nashua and Laconia, New Hampshire, Sturbridge and Randolph, Massachusetts, and San Jose, California. He and Emma Sophia (Morse) Fowler had four children, Emily, Mary, Philip, and Albert.

Extent

.01 Linear Feet (1 envelope (four folders))

Additional Description

Abstract

Provenance

The collection was purchased by the museum on May 26, 1999 (acc. #1999.024).

Bibliography and Related Collections

Sanborn, Victor C., Genealogy of the Family of Samborne or Sanborn in England and America, 1194-1898 (Concord, N.H.: The Rumford Press, 1899), pp. 587.

Stickney, Matthew Adams, Fowler Family: A Genealogical Memoir of the Descendants of Philip and Mary Fowler of Ipswich, Mass. (Salem, Mass.: Salem Press, 1883), pp. 217.

Fowler Family Papers. MSS 672