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Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)John M. Jackson
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
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The collection is open to research.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Thomas Fletcher Correspondence, Ms1988-098, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Thomas Fletcher Correspondence was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in 1988.
The processing and description of the Thomas Fletcher Correspondence commenced and was completed in May, 2021.
Thomas Charles Fletcher, son of Timothy and Hannah Fosdick Fletcher, was born in Alstead, New Hampshire, on April 3, 1787. In 1808, the younger Fletcher partnered with Sidney Gardiner in a Boston jewelry business. Three years later, Fletcher & Gardiner moved to Philadelphia. In 1818, Fletcher married Meline Degrasse Veron (1798-1874); the couple would have nine children, including Martha (1832-1873). Fletcher's partnership with Gardiner ended with latter's death in 1827, when Fletcher partnered with Calvin W. Bennett. Fletcher lost the business to debt in 1842. Around 1839, Fletcher moved to 188 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, and operated the Morris House, a temperance hotel. In 1850, he moved to Delanco Township, New Jersey, where he died on November 14, 1866. He was buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery, Philadelphia.
This collection contains 15 letters to Thomas Fletcher, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from several individuals: George Adams, Boston; B. [Baldwin] Gardiner, New York; John Avery, Lowell, [Massachusetts]; John R. Gerrock, Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania; Walter R. Johnson, Washington, D. C.; A. W. Johnston, Philadelphia; John Parrott, New York; A. D. Olmstead, New York; Ezra Reed, New York; N. and J. W. Richardson, Boston; E. T. Swift, Charlestown [Boston, Massachusetts?]; and D. W. White for Williamson Taylor, New York. The letters, all written between 1848 and 1849, relate largely to Fletcher's financial and legal affairs, referencing various court cases and properties. Perhaps of greatest interest are three letters from B. [Baldwin] Gardiner to Fletcher, regarding the funding of Gardiner's expedition to the California goldfields via Vera Cruz, Mexico. (The goldfields are also mentioned in the letter from John Parrott.) Gardiner's letter of February 27, 1849, written from Vera Cruz, provides a description of the city and of Gardiner's plans for the remainder of the journey. The letters of John R. Gerrock and John Avery, meanwhile, relate to viticulture, and particularly to the sale of various grapevine cuttings. Accompanying the incoming letters are copies of two letters written by Fletcher to Baldwin Gardiner and John Hellerman.
The collection also contains a single 1845 letter from Thomas Fletcher's daughter Martha, of Bethlehem [Pennsylvania], to her mother. She writes of homesickness, school, and of several sewing projects.
The guide to the Thomas Fletcher Correspondence by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).