Amy Barnes Correspondence, 1876-1889

Amy Barnes Correspondence, 1876-1889

(Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street, 2011), 575 page(s)

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Abstract / Summary

Amy Barnes Maynard (1859- ), the daughter of George Barnes (1815- ) and Mary Ware Lincoln Barnes (1820- ), was a native of Northborough, Massachusetts. She had a career as a cook and as a teacher of cooking in Worcester, Boston, and New Bedford, Massachusetts. In 1892, she married Samuel Taylor Maynard (1844-1923), a teacher and horticulturalist.

Melora Fletcher Pratt (1837-1928) lived in Worcester, Massachusetts where she was the wife of a successful businessman, Henry Salem Pratt (1836-1913). They had no children, though Melora seems to have assumed a maternal role toward two young men, Heinrich and Charley, who may have boarded at the same boarding house as the Pratts. It was upon Amy, however, that she lavished her praise and affectionate encouragement. She sought opportunities for Amy to establish cooking classes locally and helped to organize them.

The collection consists of eighty letters, the majority written to Amy between 1883 and 1889, and mostly written by Melora. Both were active in the First Unitarian Church of Worcester, and much of the correspondence is concerned with the affairs of the church and its members. Running through the early letters is a current of unhappiness at the departure from Worcester of Edward Henry Hall (1831-1912), their beloved Unitarian minister and cousin to Amy. Melora critiqued the candidates for the vacated pulpit, regarding whom she held some firm opinions. She was opposed to drinking, smoking, and secret societies—particularly the Masons. Melora was supportive of women—“I do feel especially pleased to see a woman make a success of anything.” She encouraged Amy to invest in western farm loans as she had done; she urged the superintendent of public schools in Worcester to add cooking classes to the curriculum; and more traditionally, she was a member and treasurer of the Worcester Woman’s Club, the Employment Society, and several cultural societies.

The collection also contains one 1876 letter to Amy's brother, Edward Barnes (1857-1885), from Mary E. Smith (dates unknown) of Northborough, Massachusetts.

Field of Interest
Letters and Diaries
Content Type
Letter
Duration
0 sec
Format
Text
Page Count
575
Publication Year
2011
Publisher
Alexander Street
Place Published / Released
Alexandria, VA
Subject
Letters and Diaries, History, Daily Life, Domestic life

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