US West Newbury MA 16 APR 1847 to Hopkinton NH. 5c due (under 300 miles). Black West-Newbury APR 16 Mas CDS, handstamp 5. Stampless FL. Mary G. Carr accepts widower James B. Kelley’s proposal, to mother his children. Schoolteacher, burn this letter.

Summary

• Date sent: 16 April 1847 (from the postmark; the letter is dated 15 April 1847)
• Country of origin: United States
• Sent from: West Newbury, Massachusetts (Essex County)
• Sent to: Hopkinton, New Hampshire (Merrimack County)
• Distance: about 50 miles in a straight line, roughly 60 miles by road
• Philatelic details:
  • Black circular datestamp “WEST-NEWBURY APR 16 MAS.”
  • Black handstamped “5”: the 5-cent rate for a single letter under 300 miles under the postal act of 1845. It was unpaid and collected from the recipient.
  • Wax seal remnant with a small seal tear.
  • Later pencil notes “1847” and “15.”
  • Stampless FL.
• Sender: Mary G. Carr of West Newbury, a schoolteacher about to open her summer term. The Carr family was long established in Newbury.
• Receiver: Mr. James B. Kelley of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, a widower with young children. His late wife was named Cynthia.
• Other people named:
  • Mary’s mother, father, and sisters, including Caroline
  • James’s mother, who may have been keeping house for him
  • Mrs. Prebble, a talkative acquaintance who suspected that “Mary and James had made a bargain”
• Historical interest:
  • Mary had visited Hopkinton, then returned home by way of Manchester and Lowell. She found her mother and sister Caroline ill with influenza. James’s letter of 8 April had reached her by then.
  • She says she had not guessed his “serious intentions” until the Sabbath before she left. She made his proposal “a subject of prayer” and consulted her parents and sisters before saying yes.
  • She asks him not to think more highly of her than she deserves: “I am a child with many, very many faults.”
  • She was teaching school and kept the engagement secret, because news of it “would cause many observations.” She delayed opening her school until the first Monday in May because of the cold weather.
  • For a widower with small children, remarrying quickly was often a practical need. The letter shows how carefully a young woman of the 1840s weighed the decision to become a stepmother.
• Genealogical interest:
  • The letter places Mary G. Carr at West Newbury and James B. Kelley at Hopkinton, New Hampshire, in April 1847.
  • It names his late wife, Cynthia, and Mary’s sister Caroline, and it records the engagement.
  • New Hampshire and Massachusetts vital records for 1847–1848 may confirm the marriage.

Transcription

The letter is transcribed with the writer’s original spelling. Words lost at the right edge of the first page are filled in from context.

Page 1:

West Newbury April 15th 1847.

My dear friend,
As the labors of the day are past, I have retired to my chamber for the purpose of addressing a few lines to you. My time has been very much occupied since I returned home, as I found mother & Caroline sick with the influenza, so sick, that the next day (which was Sunday) they kept their beds. They are now much better.
My visit at Manchester and Lowell, like all my other visits, was longer than I intended as I did not reach home till the Saturday after I left you. Yours of the eighth came safely to hand, I was happy to hear you were all well.
As regards your proposal, I have endeavored to make it a subject of prayer, have tried to sound my heart and know its feelings and motives, also consulted my parents and sisters respecting it, I now turn to you. I had no idea your feelings were such as you expressed in your letter, for the thought did not occur to me until the Sabbath before I left, that you had serious intentions toward me. If you think we can be happy in each others society, are you willing to intrust your little ones for me to exercise a mother’s (Oh it is this name, mother, that causes me to tremble when I think of a mother’s responsibility) love and care to them, I will accept it. I am sensible I can never fill the place of your beloved Cynthia, whose memory will be ever dear to me, yet by love and kindness to you and yours I hope to win your love that you will never repent your choice. I ask your prayers, your earnest prayers, if I should become the partner of your bosom, the mother of your dear children, that I may

Page 2:

be amply qualified to perform every duty that may devolve upon me. Do not think more highly of me than I deserve. I am a child with many, very many faults.
On your and the childrens account, it would be pleasing to me, if I could be with you soon, but my engagements are such, it would cause many observations to name the subject. As the weather is cold I have notified the parents that I should not commence my school until the first Monday in May.
I would send my love to your mother and the children, but it would betray me, therefore I must keep it back. If your mother does not stay with you this Summer, I hope you will have some one, who will be kind to you all. Your friends are well. Mrs Prebble called on one of our neighbors last week, said I had been to Hopkinton and she should not wonder if “Mary and James had made a bargain”. She has not hinted a word to me. Do not tell her for you know she loves to talk.
Be sure and burn this immediately and thus excuse all errors.

Yours with much affection
Mary G. Carr

Address panel:

5
Mr James B. Kelley
Hopkinton
N.H.

Pencil (later notes):

1847
15

Notes on terms:

• “Engagements” here means her teaching commitments.
• “Observations” means gossip or remarks.
• “Made a bargain” means become engaged.
• “Partner of your bosom” means wife.