Letter from Cousin Sallie
Overview
Letter from Cousin Sallie, dated May 8, 1860, to unnamed "Cousin," depicting her journey home across the United States and updating her cousin on family matters.
Dates
- Creation: May 8, 1860
Creator
- Sallie, Cousin (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
No access restrictions
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
Biography of Cousin Sallie
The author of the letter, "Cousin" Sallie, was from Longwood, Missouri and had family around the country. In the last part of the letter she mentions seeing her sweetheart, so it is assumed she was unmarried at the time. The letter does not give her last name, age, or any significant dates, though it does list other family members by first name. Other family members mentioned include Grandma, Uncles Smith, Will and Matt, Aunt Martha, cousin Jimmie, and a married cousin "M" whom she especially disliked.
Extent
1 folder (1 leaf. 4 pages)
Language of Materials
English
Scope and Contents
The letter is one leaf with four pages of writing, dated May 8, 1860. "Cousin Sallie" updates her [unknown] cousin on family matters and detailes her journey and various methods of transportation from Baltimore, Maryland to Longwood, Missouri. She gossips about her family members and writes of her disdain for a certain cousin "M." Sallie advises the reader several times to not leave the letter "laying about" and instructs her cousin to burn it as soon as it has been read. Though legible, the author mostly does not use punctuation marks or paragraph indentations in her writing, making it somewhat difficult to follow.
Physical Location
RH MS P900
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchase, Michael Brown Rare Books, 2010
- Title
- Guide to the "Cousin Sallie" Letter
- Subtitle
- Letter from Cousin Sallie
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by cmh, 2012, Finding aid encoded by cmh, 2012
- Date
- 2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in<language encodinganalog="language">English</language>
- Finding aid permalink
- http://hdl.handle.net/10407/5631399357
- Preferred citation
-
Cousin Sallie Letter, Kansas Collection, RH MS P900, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository