Details

Abstract / Summary

Willard Gill (1796-1865) was born in Hinsdale, New Hampshire. In 1827, he married Sarah A. Chamberlain (1798-1877). The Gills lived in Barnet, Vermont, until 1853, when they moved to McIndoes, Vermont. Around 1861, they moved to North New Salem, Massachusetts. Gill was a deacon in the Congregational church in Barnet, where he sold insurance, books, and pills. Willard and Sarah A. Chamberlain Gill had five children: Willard S. Gill (1821-1918?); George Gill (1830-1865); Joshua Gill (1834-1907); Mary Jane Gill (1837?-1870?), who married Robert Moore ( - ); and Sarah Elizabeth Gill (1842-1922).

In 1867, Sarah Elizabeth Gill married Eugene Bullard ( - ) of North New Salem, Massachusetts. They had three children: Faith Bullard (1867-1887), William Bullard (1871-1950) and Robert Bullard (1873-1961).

This collection consists primarily of correspondence received by Willard and Sarah A. Chamberlain Gill, by their daughter Sarah Elizabeth Gill Bullard and her husband Eugene Bullard, and by the Bullards' daughter Faith. There are also letters written by all of these individuals to each other. Additional principal correspondents include Maria Whiting Gill ( - ) and her daughter Sarah Gill Kirby ( - ); Mary Jane Gill Moore and her son Charles W. Moore ( - ); Henry Bedel Chamberlain (1839-1905), who was the son of Sarah Chamberlain Gill's brother Eben Chamberlin ( - ); Mary Bean ( -1893), and Nina Bruns ( -1947).

The early letters contain considerable discussion off the family's financial state, and throughout the collection there is much concerning family relationships and illnesses. There are many letters from Joshua Gill, a minister, to his parents. The correspondence of Sarah Elizabeth Gill Bullard details her employment at the Boston Athenaeum between 1859 and 1866, and includes a number of letters written to her by her cousin Henry Chamberlain while he was a soldier in the Civil War. There are also many letters from Mary Bean, another employee at the Athenaeum. The correspondence from the 1880s concerns Sarah Elizabeth Gill's stay in a Worcester hospital after an operation, and also the death of Faith Bullard while a student at Northfield Seminary.

The Kirby and Moore families lived in Douglas, Michigan, and there are also letters written by members of the Bullard family while visiting in Michigan. The later correspondence also contains a number of letters from Nina Bruns, a vaudeville entertainer.

In addition to correspondence, the collection also includes business papers of Willard Gill, school exercises by Sarah E. Gill and Faith Bullard, and letters from William Bullard while at Mount Hermon School. There are four pocket diaries of Sarah Gill, 1865, 1866, 1900, and 1901, all with brief entries.

Also with the collection is a small group of letters written by Joseph S. Gifford ( - ) of North Attleboro, Massachusetts, a soldier in the Civil War, to his mother Sarah Gifford ( - ). The Giffords do not appear to be related to the Gills or Bullards.

Field of Interest

Letters and Diaries

Content Type

Letter

Duration

0 sec

Format

Text

Page Count

8242

Publication Year

2011

Publisher

Alexander Street

Place Published / Released

Alexandria, VA

Subject

Letters and Diaries, History, Daily Life, Domestic life