Reed-Blackmer East Bloomfield Seminary

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Letters from East Bloomfield Academy, 1849-1850 Reed-Blackmer Family Papers
This collection of letters consists of correspondence between the dispersed Reed and Blackmer families. Hattie Reed Blackmer maintained a correspondence with school friends, siblings, and children. The letters presented here are from schoolmates now attending East Bloomfield Academy. The first letter was written by a "cousin" and discussed a revival of religion in the academy. The second letter, by another author, described school life, a New Year's Eve party, activities surrounding reading compositions out loud on "composition day." At this time, most subjects were taught in recitation style, that is, students memorized assigned chapters and "recited" the answers to questions--almost verbatim. Composition, however, required a far different ability--students had to read essays and poetry for inspiration, and write original compositions. These compositions were sometimes read aloud in front of the entire school. At some schools, an "editress" created a student literary magazine by copying these essays by hand and stitching them into a small volume.¹ Interestingly, at East Bloomfield, boys as well as girls wrote compositions. Men's colleges of this time, seldom taught composition skills. This gave women an educational advantage when it came to writing. Women writers were well represented in publishing before the Civil War and women could earn an income in this way, even when few other professional activities were open to them.² The letters are transcribed literally to duplicate punctuation and spelling, except when to do so would obscure the meaning. Only pages pertaining to the school have been included and transcribed.
Letter from East Bloomfield Academy, March 2nd, 1849
	[Reed-Blackmer: East Bloomfield, Mar. 2, 1849, page 2] [letter begins with a sentimentalized account of Nature] The happy circle of home with the smiling faces of loved ones there is enough to make the mind linger there, and oft does Memory dwell upon scenes there transacted with peculiar interest. I suppose this school will close three weeks from today. I look forward to the time with joy and yet with sorrow. I have been here most twenty weeks and am getting most tired of study and do you wonder. I want a resting spell. Only think of being shut up in this little room five months and you will not think strange that I want a cessation from study. But I would like very much to return after a short vacation and again resume my studies, but do not much think I shall if I return at all it will be for another purpose. Oh you know not dear Cousin, nor will you ever know till you learn by experience how I dread the parting hour; how I dread to take the parting hand with my beloved schoolmates for there is certainly some of the loveliest girls I ever saw and many of us I trust have found true love which links us together nearer than before, it strengthens the unbroken chain of love and friendship, whose links I hope will never rust but will be kept bright by the hope of again meeting never to part in a happy land, where all is holiness and peace; where love is the golden chain that binds our hearts in happiness above. Oh that you dear cousin were [end of page 2]
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	[Reed-Blackmer: East Bloomfield, Mar. 2, 1849, page 3] among the happy number; you would find something more substantial in the cause of religion, than you ever found among the gay pleasures of this world, in the claims of piety you would find true happiness and enjoyment, peace which passeth all understanding and love and joy in believing. O dear Hatty that you would love your saviour; that you might think of his claims upon you in creating and preserving your life, and in bestowing upon you all the blessings of life. O that you might realize his love and goodness toward you, and your hatred towards him and the enmity of your own heart. I seem to hear you responding to me as I did to others, "O I can never give up the world and the pleasures of it, and my gay associates; this was what I hesitated upon and what kept me back for a long time, until hearing the truth set home so clearly to the hearts of ["man" crossed out] us all I finally resolved to surrender myself to the hands of my maker; and soon I found the result to be such happiness and peace of which the world can never give nor take away. O that you my cousin might be the happy partaker of the same rich grace. But I must leave the subject with you, hoping that you will think of it carefully and candidly, and decide that way which will make you happy here and hereafter. There has been many hopefully converted to God here, and there is great interest manifested among many others; most of the students have been and all of the young ladies in this hall, except two; we have our weekly prayer meetings in each department, besides those which are held in the church. But I must draw to a close as I have [end of page 1; letter continues with polite, closing remarks.]
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Letter from East Bloomfield Academy, Jan. 26, 1850, page 2
	[Reed-Blackmer: East Bloomfield, Jan. 26, 1850, page 2] Today was composition day we have been listening to some very interesting compositions there were two very good papers each, & one by the ladies and the other by the gentlemen the papers were a very little better than that one that was read the last day of last term there were not the same editresses for the Ladies paper that there were then. There was another teacher come here about [unclear number] weeks ago a Mr. Parsons so that we have now four teachers The next week after I came back there was a course of lectures on astronomy given here by Dr. Moran the gentleman that lectured at Honeoye the time that grammar school was They were given in the academy so that we all had the privilege of attending he exhibited some pictures with the magic lanterns some of which were very comical and particularly interesting to those that had seen them before ----------------------------------------- Caroline came back here New Years day and was here for the party she said that they had a very pleasant time there were about six hundred here so that you can guess that the academy was full once if it never was before and you can think how it looked here when I got here. I must now go into the particulars about the scholars of this school as you would like to hear about those that you are acquainted with Lucy is yet merry as ever She and Hatti [last name unclear] are very great friends especially about composition time for it is very convenient for Lucy to have someone to help write her composition [more about other friends; end of page 3]
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Reading Between the Lines

Do you think anyone encouraged the first writer to write to friends to describe her religious experience? The ornamental style of the first letter and the attention to the annual compositions in the second indicates that Hattie's circle of friends or the East Bloomfield Academy took special interest in writing. Look for this emphasis (or its absence) in letters from other schools. Compare the cultural conflicts between the religious revival of the first letter and the New Year's Eve party with over 600 attendees. How would students deal with these cross-currents in the culture?
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Sources Cited
¹ There is relatively little secondary information about this, but numerous college archives from this period include the records of literary societies and student literary magazines. Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, has good examples, contact the Knox College Archives.. ² Baym, Nina. Women's Fiction: A Guide to Novels by and about Women in America. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1993, 1978. ² Baym, Nina. American Women of Letters and the Nineteenth Century Sciences: Styles of Affiliation. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2002.
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