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Special Collections Research Center
William & Mary Special Collections Research CenterEarl Gregg Swem Library
400 Landrum Dr
Williamsburg, Virginia
Business Number: 757-221-3090
spcoll@wm.edu
URL: https://libraries.wm.edu/libraries-spaces/special-collections
Finding Aid Authors: Anne T. Johnson.
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Use:
Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.
Conditions Governing Access:
Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.
Preferred Citation:
Jennings Family Letters, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary
Acquisition Information:
Purchase.
Family History:
Jennings Family lived in Beverly, New Jersey during the mid to late nineteenth century. Further information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki: .
Scope and Contents
Letters between family members of the Jennings and Deemer families of Pennsylvania and New Jersey during the late nineteenth century. Includes family news, employment and travels. Curious circumstance about one daughter who was sent to live with another family and asked to change her name.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
- Beverly (N.J.)--History--19th century
- Chester (Pa.)--History--19th century
- Correspondence
- Deemer family
- Jennings family
- Sanson family
Significant Persons Associated With the Collection
- Deemer, Tillie C.
- Jennings, Eliza J.
- Jennings, Ellen Neff
- Jennings, Susie H.
- Stidum, Lizzie A.
Significant Places Associated With the Collection
- Beverly (N.J.)--History--19th century
- Chester (Pa.)--History--19th century
Container List
- id48144
Series 1: Letters to Susie H. JenningsScope and Contents
Letters to Susie H. Jennings when she visits the home of her Aunt Tillie and Uncle John J. Deemer in Chester, Pennsylvania. Her Grandmother lives in the same area. Susie H. Jennings lives in Beverly, Burlington County, New Jersey with her Mother. Letters from Aunt Tillie Deemer, Mother Eliza J. Jennings, and a lawyer friend.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 1 id48145
Susie H. Jennings1883-1888Scope and Contents
10 letters Topics include illnesses, weather, political conventions, the election of Harrison, prohibition, visit from Uncle John, a bride and groom (Mike) who visited in Beverly with Susie's Mother and how everyone is concerned with what the bride thinks of them, clothes worn by Mother Jennings, Susie and the men in her family, parades, and other news of friends and family.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 1 id48145
- id48147
Series 2: Letters to Eliza J. JenningsScope and Contents
Letters to Eliza J. Jennings (Mrs. John C. Jennings) from family members. Eliza Jennings lives in Beverly, New Jersey and visits Chester, Pennsylvania. Correspondents include her daughter, Susan who writes from her trips to her Uncle John and Aunt Julia in Chester, Bethlehem and from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Beverly, New Jersey; her son, John who writes from New York, New York, Chester, Bethlehem or Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Beverly, New Jersey; her sister, Cordelia from Ft. Wayne, Indiana; her Mother from Oxford, New Jersey and New York, New York; her sister, Julia from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; her sister, Emma from New York, New York and her sister, A.C. Evans from Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 2 id48148
Eliza J. Jennings1871-1877Scope and Contents
4 letters Letters from her Mother, her daughter Susie, her sister in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and her son John. Topics include adopted child, visits to family, women's medical problems, Susie living with Uncle John in New York who says to her "that you (i.e. her mother) gave me to him and that my name is Susie Sanson…", sister's home in Indiana and her new child, and son John's trip to Lancaster.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 3 id48149
Eliza J. Jennings1880-1883Scope and Contents
7 letters Letters from her son, John, her daughter, Susie, and her sisters, A.C. Evans and Emma. Topics include Railroad platforms in New York City and John's various conveyances to reach Uncle John S. and Julia Sanson's home, Aunt Ellen's "spells", problem with "The Queen" (either a dog or a person?), A.C. Evan's sons who work in the Railroad Freight Office, evening activities at the Sanson home such as knitting, dancing, sewing and writing and family news.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 4 id48150
Eliza J. Jennings1884Scope and Contents
Letters from her sister, Cordelia, daughter, Susie, and others. Many letters received while she is visiting her Mother. Topics include family news, health of family and friends and death of relative's child named Laura.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 5 id48151
Eliza J. JenningsJanuary-June 1885Scope and Contents
10 letters Letters from daughter, Susie, while Eliza J. Jennings is visiting her Mother. Topics include news of friends and family, death of John Swanson, church news, ice skating, sailing and sailing mishaps, Minnie-ha ha selling books and photographs at .15 each, and trip to Henry. D. with Carrie.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 6 id48152
Eliza J. JenningsJuly 1885Scope and Contents
4 letters. Letters from daughter, Susie. Topics include visit to Cousin Henry in Bethlehem, meeting "an old Uncle John Deemer" who was Dutch, Aaron Haas who just sailed to Europe on the "Pennsylvania" and once sailed on a ship that had a reception for the Emperor of Brazil and General Grant.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 7 id48153
Eliza J. JenningsAugust-December 1885Scope and Contents
4 letters. Letters from daughter, Susie. Topics include visit to John where she was upset at "not to find any of my people besides John," visiting the Masonic Temple, dinner at "Greens," ships in harbor, Cousin Rue and improvement of Bert's finger.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 8 id48154
Eliza J. Jennings1886Scope and Contents
6 letters. Letters from Sister Em, her Mother, her sister in Ft. Wayne, daughter, Susie, and niece or sister, Julia. Topics include Cousin Frank Deemer, small pox, health and news of relatives and friends, financial problems of Eliza and visit to the "Rolling Mill."
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 9 id48155
Eliza J. JenningsJanuary-July 1887Scope and Contents
4 letters Letters from son, John and daughter, Susie. Topics include John's description of New York City and his short lived job as an insurance collector where he saw the worst of the city, Decoration Day in Chester, marriage of a sixteen year old, railroad washout, and health and news of family members and friends.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 10 id48156
Eliza J. JenningsAugust-December 1887Scope and Contents
6 letters Letters from daughter, Susie. Topics include painting talent of Charlie Marple (Carrie's beau), yelling and howling of the "Heavenly Recruits" during a tent revival, evening drive in the dog cart, Standard sewing machines, Uncle Phil's new horse died (when a doctor did an autopsy, it had only one lung) and Ben Allen (escort to Susie).
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 11 id48157
Eliza J. Jennings1887Scope and Contents
8 letters Letters from daughter, Susie. Topics include long wait at the eye doctor's office, the fire at and ruins of the Birkheads' woolen mill, travel by train and boat, John's marriage, Steve's concert at Holly Tree Hall, handsome principal of the Chester High School, comments on the Harrison and Cleveland election and a chain letter.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 2 id48148
- id48158
Series 3: Letters to Miss Tillie C. DeemerScope and Contents
Letters are addressed to locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Indiana. Correspondents include her Mother in Beverly, New Jersey; her sister Cordelia in Ft. Wayne, Indiana; her sister Mattie in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and San Francisco, California; El L. Jennings in Beverly, New Jersey, her niece Syd V. Evans in Ft. Wayne Indiana; her niece Susan Jennings in Beverly, New Jersey; her nephew John Jennings in New York, New York; her niece Bert in Ocean City, New Jersey, her Aunt May L. Albright in Rochester, New York; her niece Anna C. Jones in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Emma in Beverly, New Jersey, Lizzie in Beverly, New Jersey; T.L. Bradford in New York, New York, Mary Stansbery in Beverley, New Jersey and Carrie in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 12 id48159
Tillie C. Deemer1866-1870Scope and Contents
4 letters.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 13 id48160
Tillie C. Deemer1871-1880Scope and Contents
4 letters.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 14 id48161
Tillie C. Deemer1881-1890Scope and Contents
4 letters.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 15 id48163
Tillie C. Deemer1891-1895Scope and Contents
4 letters.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 16 id48164
Tillie C. Deemer1896-1900.Scope and Contents
4 letters.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 17 id48165
Tillie C. Deemer1901-1906Scope and Contents
3 letters.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 12 id48159
- id48167
Series 4: Letters to Ellen Neff JenningsScope and Contents
Locations include Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Beverly, New Jersey Correspondents include Cousin Clara Braner, A.M. Ryan, Ellen Belcher and A.H. Bunting, all of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Cousin Mary of Camden, New Jersey and E. Clifford Neff of Knox County, Ohio.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 18 id48169
Ellen Neff Jennings1873-1880Scope and Contents
5 letters.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 19 id48170
Ellen Neff Jennings1881-1883Scope and Contents
6 letters.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 20 id48171
Ellen Neff Jennings1881-1890Scope and Contents
5 letters
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 21 id48172
Ellen Neff Jennings1891-1893Scope and Contents
7 letters.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 22 id48173
Ellen Neff Jennings1894-1895Scope and Contents
8 letters
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 23 id48174
Ellen Neff Jennings1896Scope and Contents
6 letters.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 18 id48169
- id48176
Series 5: Letters to or about Mrs. Lizzie A. Stidum of Camden, New Jersey.Scope and Contents
Writers include her niece, Cascilia Elliott, Cousin Scranton and an unknown person informing Matilda Deemer of the death of Mrs. Elizabeth Benton Stidum.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 23 id48178
Lizzie A. Stidum1875, 1906 and undated.Scope and Contents
3 letters.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 23 id48178
- id48179
Series 6: Letter to Mrs. S.A. Deemer
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 24 id48180
Mrs. S.A. Deemer1882Scope and Contents
Letter to Mrs. S.A. Deemer of Chester, Pennsylvania from her Grandson, Harold D. Deemer.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 24 id48180
- id48181
Series 7: Neff Family Genealogy
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 25 id48183
Folder 25Undated.Scope and Contents
Letter written requesting genealogy information on the Neff family.
- Mixed Materials box: 1 Folder: 25 id48183