Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Drake family letters
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Drake family letters
- Date
- 1848-1880, undated (inclusive)
- Extent
- 0.25 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Letters.
- Correspondence.
- Vermont.
- Families.
- Farm life
- Health
- Gossip.
- Travel.
- Massachusetts
- New York (State)
- Weybridge (Vt.).
- Domestic Life -- United States
- Brothers and sisters.
- Parent and child.
- Drake family
- Drake, Asaph, 1775-1871
- Shaw, Fordyce M., 1811-
- Drake, Cyrus Bryant, 1812-1878
- Drake, Louisa Bryant, 1843-1930
- Drake, Solomon, 1817-1881
- Willard, Delana Dickinson Lake, 1829-1890
- Willard, George, 1823-1860
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged alphabetically by last name. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0783: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Drake family letters, 1848-1880, undated, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- The Drake family of Weybridge, Vermont included Asaph Drake (1776-1871), son of Thomas Drake (1738-1798) and Mary Manley (1742-1839); and Louisa Belding (1770-1854), daughter of David and Lucy Belding. The couple met in 1793 when Drake moved from his family home in Massachusetts to Weybridge to work for David Belding, and married in 1796. Asaph Drake worked in a partnership with his father-in-law and other relatives, providing the people in the surrounding areas with various types of building materials, including wood, brick, stone, and lumber. Together, Asaph and Louisa had nine children: Elijah Graves (1797-1860), Lauren (1800-1869), Isaac (1802-1888), David Belding (1804-1869), Mary Lucy Belding (1806-1881), Sylvia Louisa (1810-1836), Cyrus Bryant (1812-1878), Polly Angeline (1814-1887), and Solomon (1817-1881). Asaph named a number of his children after his own brothers and sisters.
- Many of Asaph and Louisa's children went on to marry and have families of their own as well. Elijah married Harriet Brewster (1799-1863); together they had two daughters, Sarah (1830-1893) and Harriet (b. 1833). Lauren married Rebekah Hurd (1801-1862); together they had two children, Achsa (1830-1899) and Lauren Curtis (1833-1885). Isaac married Mary Williston Brewster (1805-1864), unknown if they had children. David Belding married Caroline Wilson (1860-1865), unknown if the couple had children. Mary Lucy Belding married Thomas D.H. Lake; together the couple had one daughter, Delana Dickinson (1829-1890). Sylvia Louisa never married. Cyrus Bryant married Louisa Maria Smith (1815-1879); together the couple had one child, Louisa Bryant (1843-1930). Polly Angeline married Fordyce M. Shaw (b. 1811), unknown if the couple had any children. Solomon married twice, first to Mary Bangs (1821-1853), and second to Anna Amelia Killum (b. 1843), unknown if Solomon had children with either wife.
- American Letters collector Wade Hall (1934-2015) was a native of Union Springs, Alabama. Starting in 1962, he lived in Louisville, where he taught English and chaired the English and Humanities/Arts programs at Kentucky Southern College and Bellarmine University. He also taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Florida. He held degrees from Troy State University (B.S.), the University of Alabama (M.A.), and the University of Illinois (Ph.D.). He served for two years in the U.S. Army in the mid-fifties. Dr. Hall was the author of books, monographs, articles, plays, and reviews relating to Kentucky, Alabama, and Southern history and literature. His most recent books include A Visit with Harlan Hubbard; High Upon a Hill: A History of Bellarmine College; A Song in Native Pastures: Randy Atcher's Life in Country Music; and Waters of Life from Conecuh Ridge.
- Scope and Content
- The Drake family letters (dated 1848-1880, undated; 0.25 cubic feet; 10 folders) comprises letters that document the relationships held between the members of the Drake family in Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York in the nineteenth century. The letters discuss personal health, family businesses, travel, news from other relatives, local gossip, farming, announcements of marriages, births, and deaths; and daily life. The letters provide insight to a successful family that was integral to the creation of Weybridge, Vermont and how they eventually spread out across surrounding states.
- The Drake family letters collection is part of the Wade Hall Collection of American Letters, which includes correspondence and diaries from all over North America covering the time period of the Civil to Korean Wars. The materials were collected by Wade Hall and document everyday men and women.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Asaph Drake letters, 1862-1868
Fordyce M. Shaw letters, 1857, 1874
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
