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Letters from Ingham Female Institute, 1854

Kendall-Brown Family Papers

The Kendall-Brown Family Papers include many letters written by young women during their education. The letters exhibited here signed 'Ellen' and 'Mary,' where sent when they were students at Ingham Collegiate Institute. They are informal, chatty accounts of a seminary operated by Mrs. Sackett, who had also been principal of the Wadawannuck Female Seminary in Stonington, Massachusetts.

The letters discuss life in boarding houses, courses taken, family activities, and social life. They mention colloquys--short speaking or acting pieces that students enact before public audiences, rival student literary societies (the Altonians), and the integration of arts with the other studies. 1

[Only portions of the letters related to education have been transcribed.]

The letters are transcribed literally to duplicate punctuation and spelling except when to do so would obscure the meaning.

Letter from Ingham Female Seminary, May 29, [1854?]

Ingham Letter May 29th

[Kendall-Brown: Letters from Ingham Collegiate Institute, May 29th, page 1]

Ingham Col. Institute
LeRoy May 29

Dear Mother, Mary, Sarah & Henry
[Opens discussing weather] I have but seven or eight more painting days and I suppose in that time I shall easy complete my 'peice bravo' on Ellen's painting. You may say but they are pretty and are more so when I think the practice on them will prepare me for some thing more beautiful.

[end of page 1]
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Ingham Letter May 29th, page 2 & 3

[Kendall-Brown: Letters from Ingham Collegiate Institute, May 29th, page 2 & 3]

[tells family she will please them all when she returns and discusses the money she has spent]
I must pay for my painting frames and one sheet of music you know it takes more change when I have painting frames and canvas to get but they are all got and paid for, for this year frames are from 15 to 19 cents canvass from three to four or five shillings depending upon

[end of page 3; page 4 not transcribed]
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Letter from Ingham Female Seminary, May 1854

Ingham Letter May 1854, page 2 & 3

[Kendall-Brown: Letters from Ingham Collegiate Institute, May 1854,
[page 1 not transcribed] page 2 & 3]

Minnie Jewell received that piece of colloquy for examination public I take a part I represent History

I put those sticks in the store room, she hangs up the chart over the other

I must not forget to tell you Mrs. Stanton has now a new topic of general conversation she took it from Lowell Mason's lecture she said he took the three graces faith hope & charity but the greatest of these is charity and compared them to preaching praying and song but the greatest of these is song he said as faith ends in hope and hope in fruition but love continues through all eternity

[end of page 2]

so preaching and prayer will only continue when on earth but song will always live she speaks of this as much as she does on her other themes do you not think it is beautiful though I do I must go to bed now.

I commenced my ruin three painting days ago think if I work hard shall finish it I do not paint double time for as I take drawing the teachers are not willing to excuse me from it [academic classes?] and it is not right that I should be wholy out of school. I get along fast enough as it is
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Ingham Letter May 1854

[Kendall-Brown: Letters from Ingham Collegiate Institute, May 1854, page 4]

Thursday A.M.

I think I finished the other quick for I was but six days and a half painting it - had but little help
[letter comments about family and a dream ]
[end of page 1]
[in margin] The Altonians are to have a colloquy also but it will be after ours and will be more of an old story.
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Letter from Ingham Female Seminary, Oct. 18, 1854

Letter from Ellen at Ingham Collegiate Institute, page 2

[Kendall-Brown: Letters from Ingham Collegiate Institute, Oct. 18, 1854, (page 1 not transcribed) page 2]

[First page of letter concerns family affairs ]
I have been getting along very fine in my studies have stood one, one in school all the term thus far hope to be good enough to stand so all the year

I have taken no piece in music but am in the instruction book yet am studying the music primmer which is introductory to "thourough basse" I am glad to think Sarah does so well tell her that she will have to surrender if Chr. Wilber comes into town. I should very much like to hear the concert for I think it will be fine.
[Letter continues with family concerns]

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Letter from Ingham Collegiate Institute, page 3

[Kendall-Brown: Letters from Ingham Collegiate Institute, Oct. 18, 1854, page 3]

Dear Father, I should like to know if you would be willing to have me take painting. Miss Stanton the teacher wished me to begin this term very much but I cannot as it is most gone if I take it (Painting) but one term I shall bring home two pictures and I think they would help make our little parlor

[end of page 3]
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Letter from Ingham Collegiate Institute, page 4

[Kendall-Brown: Letters from Ingham Collegiate Institute, Oct. 18, 1854, page 4]

look quite Modern.
[closing remarks not transcribed]

[signed] Ellen C. Kendall
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Reading Between the Lines

These letters are noticeably from different authors, even though two are unsigned. Discern the differences in style and handwriting that indicate this.

The first author writes about her soliloquies, the public examination; Ellen writes about a proposed painting that will hang in the parlor. Neither mention their other studies. What hypothesis explains this?

Who was Lowell Mason? What is your reaction to this 'conversation piece'? Can you understand Ellen's attraction to Lowell's sentiments even if you do not agree with them?

These conversation pieces created an ideal for 'polite conversation.' This ideal also taught what should NOT be discussed. Create a mental list of forbidden subjects in the mid-nineteenth century.

Does the tone of these letters seem 'polite' or 'informal'? Might letters of this kind discuss subjects that would not be otherwise publicly discussed? Would this informality make letters of special interest to historians?
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Sources Cited

Harding, Thomas. "College Literary Societies: Their Contributions to Higher Education in the United States, 1815-1876," Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago, 1957.

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