Brief guide to manuscripts collections| William L. Clements Library The University of Michigan Perkins family Papers |
Benjamin Perkins (1797-1870) and his wife Jane Lawrence Perkins (1799-1890) were descendants of old Salem merchant families. After their marriage in 1823 they moved to Hanover, New Hampshire, and then to Boston, where Benjamin established the publishing firm of Perkins and Marvin. the family affiliated with the Congregational church and gave active support to the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society. Later they built a substantial house in the suburb of Roxbury.
Correspondence of the Benjamin Perkins family of Boston, Mass.
This collection contains correspondence between Benjamin and Jane Perkins and their children Charles Lawrence Perkins (d. 1887) and Mary Lawrence Perkins (d. 1891). The letters fall mainly between 1835 and 1845 and reflect the family's interest in education, music, and religion. Also included are 18 letters by Doctor William Lee Perkins (d. 1797), an exiled Loyalist living in London, and his brother Isaac Perkins of Ashford, Conn. Written between 1784 and 1794, these letters contain interesting comments on postwar attitudes toward Loyalists and on political issues such as national debt, British posts in America, Shay's Rebellion, and the feasibility of a strong central government.
Purchased, 1965
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