Letter from Mary Jane Hale Welles to Gideon Welles
date: label: Date
content: August 15, 1863
name: label: Written by
content: Mary Jane Hale Welles, American, 1817 - 1886
label: Received by
content: Gideon Welles, American, 1802 - 1878
notes: label: Description
content: This is a personal letter from Mary Jane Hale Welles to her husband Gideon Welles. The bifolio letter has a narrow black border around the front page. The letter is dated at the top [Bellfonte 15 Aug.] and begins [My dear Husband / This is Saturday / very warm for this region, but pleasantly cool enough nights]. The writing on the front and second page is oriented vertically, with the writing on the third and last page oriented horizontally. The writing on the last page runs vertically. Mary Welles wrote the letter from Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. The content of the letter covers the stay in Bellefonte, the couple's children and acquaintances, an upcoming journey to Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, a possible vacation to Glastonbury, and the recent Civil War draft lottery. On the third page, Welles writes, [There is great excitement here about the draft. Some of their worst copperheads are drafted but suddenly many of them are half lame]. The letter is signed [Truly your affectionate wife M.J.W.]. Another hand has added the date [1863] to the top right corner of the first page as well as [M. J. Welles / Aug '63] to the top center of the last page.
label: Transcription Center Status
content: Transcribed by digital volunteers
place: label: Place made
content: Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Correspondence
label: Topic
content: Families
label: Topic
content: Parenthood
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, Civil War, 1861-1865
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Documents and Manuscripts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2018.35.2.5
objectType: label: Type
content: letters (correspondence)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on paper (fiber product)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (Open): 7 15/16 × 10 in. (20.2 × 25.4 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (Closed): 7 15/16 × 4 15/16 in. (20.2 × 12.6 cm)