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1884 Margaret Deland Pair of ALS Letters Women’s Charity German Girl Boston
Pair of original 1884-era autograph letters signed by Margaret Deland (1857–1945), the prominent American novelist, poet, social reformer, and author of John Ward, Preacher.
Offered here is a highly interesting two-letter group documenting Deland’s direct involvement in the placement and assistance of young women in Boston during the 1880s.
Rather than routine literary correspondence, both letters concern Deland’s practical charitable work—helping find positions, temporary lodging, and “good homes” for young women in need. The two letters are closely related by subject and by the people involved, making them especially desirable as a small archival group.
One letter is dated October 29, 1884, while the other is undated but appears to belong to the same period and charitable network.
Letter 1 – To Miss Clark / Clarke
The first letter is addressed to Miss Clark and concerns “the girl” for whom a place had apparently been sought at Mrs. Harville’s.
Deland explains that the position had already been filled and that Mrs. Harville had telegraphed her to that effect. She then clarifies a misunderstanding about whether Deland herself was going to take the girl, noting that she had told Miss Covell distinctly that she could not do so.
Approximate Transcription
Tuesday
Dear Miss Clark:
I am sorry that
it is too late for the girl of whom
you wrote to have the place
at Mrs. Harville’s — it is already
filled. Mrs. Harville telegraphed
me to that effect on Saturday.
I am sorry there should have
been any misunderstanding about
my taking her —
Told Miss Covell distinctly
that I could not, for the reason
that I gave you.
Sincerely yours,
M. Deland
This letter is especially important because it links Miss Clark, Miss Covell, Mrs. Harville, and Deland within the same network of women involved in finding placements for young women.
Letter 2 – To Miss Covell, October 29, 1884
The second letter is directly addressed to Miss Covell and provides strong corroboration for the first.
Deland asks whether “the German girl” is still in need of a place. She says that if so, she would like to have the young woman stay with her briefly before arranging to send her to “a good home in Maine.”
The letter is signed “M. Deland” and dated October 29th, 1884 from Clapp Place.
Approximate Transcription
My dear Miss Covell —
Is the German
girl still in need of a
place? If so I think
I would like to have
her here a day or two,
and then I will send
her to a good home
in Maine. Pray
[continued on reverse]
let me hear from
you soon —
Yrs Truly
M. Deland
Clapp Place
Oct 29th ’84
Historical Significance
These letters appear to document Margaret Deland’s hands-on social welfare work before she became nationally famous as a novelist.
The October 1884 letter is particularly evocative. Deland is not discussing charity in abstract terms—she is actively coordinating the movement of a young woman from one situation to another, offering temporary shelter herself and then arranging a permanent placement in Maine.
The first letter reveals the broader network behind this work, showing Deland in communication with Miss Clark, Miss Covell, and Mrs. Harville concerning another girl’s placement.
Together, the pair illustrates the informal but organized female charitable networks that operated in Boston during the late nineteenth century.
The phrase “the German girl” is also historically notable, reflecting the language of the period and suggesting the young woman may have been an immigrant or first-generation German-American seeking domestic work or shelter.
Margaret Deland and Her Work With Women
Margaret Deland and her husband, Lorin Fuller Deland, became known for assisting women facing poverty, abandonment, pregnancy outside marriage, and other difficult circumstances.
During the 1880s, the Delands were involved in sheltering women and helping them obtain work, housing, and more stable situations.
This was an especially significant undertaking in an era when unmarried mothers and women without family support faced severe social stigma and had few formal safety nets.
These two letters provide direct manuscript evidence of that activity.
The October 1884 letter, in particular, reads almost like a surviving administrative note from Deland’s charitable work:
- determining whether a young woman still required assistance
- offering temporary lodging
- arranging relocation
- coordinating with another woman involved in the case
- seeking a permanent “good home”
The earlier letter likewise deals with a filled position, a telegram regarding the placement, and a misunderstanding over whether Deland herself could accept the young woman.
Together, the letters provide a compelling glimpse into the practical realities of nineteenth-century women’s relief work.
Biography – Margaret Deland
Margaret Deland (1857–1945) was an important American novelist, short-story writer, poet, and social reformer.
Born Margaretta Wade Campbell in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, she later moved to Boston after marrying Lorin F. Deland.
She first attracted literary attention as a poet but achieved national fame with her controversial 1888 novel:
John Ward, Preacher
The novel explored conflicts between Calvinist theology, marriage, love, and individual conscience and became one of the notable American literary successes of its period.
Deland subsequently became well known for her fictional community of Old Chester, which appeared across numerous novels and short stories. Her fiction often focused on:
- family relationships
- individual conscience versus convention
She was widely read during her lifetime and was regarded as an important woman of letters in the generation between the post-Civil War literary world and the early twentieth century.
Deland also remained active in charitable and humanitarian causes.
During World War I, she participated in war-relief efforts and traveled to France, continuing a pattern of social engagement already evident decades earlier in letters such as these.
Today her manuscripts and correspondence are preserved in major institutional collections, and she is studied both for her literary career and for her role in the history of American women writers and reformers.
Miss Covell and Miss Clark
The full identities of Miss Covell and Miss Clark / Clarke have not yet been conclusively established.
However, these letters clearly show that both women were involved in the same charitable placement network as Deland.
Miss Covell appears to have been directly involved in referring or coordinating women needing assistance, while Miss Clark was likewise communicating with Deland about securing a place for another young woman.
The recurrence of Miss Covell in both letters is particularly important and demonstrates that these are not unrelated notes but correspondence emerging from the same sphere of charitable activity.
Dating
The second letter is explicitly dated:
October 29, 1884
The first is dated only “Tuesday,” but because it refers to Miss Covell and concerns precisely the same type of placement activity, it is reasonable to attribute it to approximately the same mid-1880s period.
For that reason, the group is best described as circa 1884, with one letter specifically dated October 29, 1884.
Condition
Both are original handwritten period letters.
Visible condition includes:
- age toning
- staining and discoloration
- darker staining along the upper and left portions of the sheets
- scattered marks and surface wear
- expected handling wear consistent with age
The October 1884 letter has manuscript writing on both sides.
Please examine all photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the condition description.
Despite the staining, the writing remains generally legible and both signatures are clearly present.
Collector Interest
This pair should appeal to collectors of:
- Margaret Deland
- American women writers
- nineteenth-century literature
- Boston history
- women’s history
- social reform
- charity and welfare history
- immigration history
- autograph letters
- manuscript Americana
- Victorian-era social history
A particularly meaningful two-letter archive documenting Margaret Deland’s personal involvement in helping young women obtain shelter, employment, and permanent placements in 1884, several years before the publication of John Ward, Preacher made her nationally famous.
Both letters are original period manuscripts, not reproductions. Sold together as a pair.
