Martha Barker lived in Saratoga County, New York with her husband Henry, who worked in the mills. Many of the members of her family lived in Illinois and Minnesota. Most of her friends lived in the northeast, suggesting that Mart was born and raised in the east, but it is unclear when her family had moved west.

Scope and contents:

All but one of these letters in this collection are to Martha Barker, or Mart, as she is called by her family and friends. Several letters in this collection include items such as dress scraps, locks of hair and pressed flowers.

The letters from Mart's many family members living in Illinois and Minnesota provide information about experiences of every-day female, and to a lesser extent, male settlers in these midwestern states. Over a period of more than thirty years, these people wrote about domestic matters such as sewing, quilting, and soap making. They wrote about economic topics, including the year's harvest, and dress making businesses. Other topics included marriage, holiday celebrations, education, and child rearing. For example, Mart's sister [Kate] wrote on May 24, 1873 about the difficulty of motherhood, "You want to know how I get along with four children I dont get along at all I am half crazy."

Of particular interest are letters from Mart's brother Milton, who wrote about the lives of his daughters. In a January 17, 1897 letter, he described the process that the women had undergone to become teachers. He discussed Normal Schools, Normal Boards for licensing, teacher salaries -- which ranged from $30.00 to $45.00 per month -- and teacher work conditions. He noted that the independence that his daughters had gained from this profession was pleasing to him.

Subject index:

Child rearing

Dressmakers

Illinois--Description and travel

Land settlement--Illinois

Land settlement--Minnesota

Minnesota--Description and travel

Nonsense literature

1872 March 31

Saratoga County (N. Y.)

Wit and humor

1871 October 28

1871 December 24

Women--Employment

Women teachers--Minnesota

1897 January 17

Working class families

Correspondents:

Barker, Philinda
Davenport, Althia
Edgerly, Kate Sweet
Sweet, Jessie
Sweet, Milton
Worth, J. W.

Provenance:

Acquired, 1993.

M-2917.14
cat. 3/98 cmb

Return to:

Library Homepage	Manuscripts Division	Women in History Homepage	Women in History Collection Guide