1827–1853 Francis Family Letters CT–NY | Deming Line | 4 Letters, Transcribed For Sale

Original 19th-century Francis family correspondence archive, consisting of four handwritten letters dating from 1827 to 1853, preserved together and offered as a single family archive. The letters originate from Wethersfield, Long Hill, Connecticut, and New Providence, and are addressed to members of the Francis family in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The core of the archive consists of letters authored by Hannah Deming Francis of Wethersfield, a member of the prominent Deming family by birth and the Francis family by marriage. A later 1853 letter represents a subsequent generation of the Francis family, written after Hannah Deming Francis had passed away, demonstrating continuity of family correspondence across decades.

Full transcriptions of all letters are included.

• Date: June 29, 1827

• Place: Wethersfield, Connecticut

• Author: Hannah Deming Francis

• Addressee: Levi Francis (New Haven, CT)

Summary:
Maternal letter discussing family life, domestic labor, schooling, spinning wool, clothing, and disappointment at a missed visit. Provides insight into early-19th-century household management and expectations of adult children.

• Date: October 1, 1827

• Place: Wethersfield, Connecticut

• Author: Hannah Deming Francis

• Addressee: Levi Francis

Summary:
Rich domestic and community letter referencing local illness and fever with deaths, sewing and garment repair, a family wedding, and neighborhood movements. Strong primary-source evidence of disease, women’s labor, and social life in Wethersfield during the 1820s.

• Date: January 17, 1836

• Place: Wethersfield, Connecticut

• Authors: Hiram Francis, with a written response by Hannah Deming Francis and Matthew Francis

• Addressee: Hiram Francis (then in Mobile)

Summary:
A two-part correspondence documenting agricultural prices, livestock, winter conditions, illness, debts, marriages, and New England–to–South migration. Includes a parental response discussing severe winter weather, cider production, child mortality, and expectations of return.

• Date: March 12, 1853

• Place: New Providence, New York

• Author: A later Hannah Francis (distinct from Hannah Deming Francis)

• Addressee: Mrs. E. P. Francis

Summary:
A reflective and religious letter addressing death, sickness among schoolchildren, and teaching employment, including wages, boarding arrangements, and term length. Represents a later generation of the Francis family and extends the archive into the mid-19th century.

Member of the Deming family of Wethersfield and wife of Matthew Francis. Her letters (1827–1836) provide a rare, sustained female-authored record of domestic labor, education, illness, religion, and family networks in early New England.

Lifelong Wethersfield resident, farmer, and head of household; descendant of early settler Robert Francis.

• Hannah Deming Francis

• Matthew Francis

• Levi Francis

• Hiram Francis

• Stephen Francis

• Alfred Francis

• Hannah Francis (younger generation)

• Amanda (deceased, 1853 letter)

• Mary Rolleday (or Rowleday)

• Samuel B.

• Caroline

• Mrs. Brigham

• Mr. Duncombe

• Mr. Guy Marsh

• Henry Deming

• Hannah Butler

• Grove May

(All names appear in period context; spellings preserved as written.)

✔️ Complete, corrected transcriptions of all four letters included
✔️ Original spelling and grammar preserved
✔️ Illegible areas clearly noted

• Original folded manuscript letters

• Typical age wear, fold splits, and small losses consistent with early- to mid-19th-century correspondence

• Ink legible throughout

• No modern repairs observed

• Multi-decade family correspondence (1827–1853)

• Female-authored domestic and religious writing

• Firsthand documentation of illness, child mortality, schooling, and labor

• Connection to prominent Wethersfield Deming and Francis families

• Clear generational continuity