Temporary record

The Masten papers cover several decades of correspondence between various family members, much of it between the Michigan and New York State branches of the family. Particularly noteworthy is the long series of letters between Henry Masten and his mothers and sisters during the 1860s and 70s. His Civil War letters cover camp life in Virginia, but are not particularly revealing; the letters from the 1870s, while he lived in Michigan, portray the work, recreation, family relations, and social setting of a farming family of that era. They contain details of farmwork, birth and death of children, health and sickness, church activities, and religious beliefs.

M-2966.1

Subjects

Agriculture
Bereavement
Brothers and sisters
Children
Children--Death
Church work
Diseases
Family--New York (State)
Family farms
Farm produce
Health
Marriage
Mothers and daughters
Mothers and sons
Religion
Salvation
Temperance
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Weather

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