Fayerweather Family Papers (Mss. Gr. 121)

Series 1. Sarah Fayerweather Correspondence
This series consists of the correspondence of Sarah Harris Fayerweather, plus two letters concerning Sarah from Prudence Crandall Philleo (Philleo was Prudence Crandall's married name) to Sarah's daughters Mary and Isabella. Though containing only a small number of items, this series merits separate treatment because of the historical significance of the correspondents.

Among the most interesting items is a letter to Sarah from Helen Benson Garrison, wife of noted abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. The informal tone of the letter indicates the close relationship between the Fayerweather’s and the Garrison’s. In addition to thanking Sarah for an apparently annual gift of a fruitcake to the Garrison family, Mrs. Garrison indicated that her husband enjoyed seeing Sarah in New York and accompanying her to an antislavery lecture by Wendell Phillips.

Also of interest are four letters of Prudence Crandall Philleo, two to Sarah and one each to her daughters Mary and Isabella, commiserating with them on the death of their mother. The letters reveal in rich detail Philleo's life in the Midwest. Other items include letters to Sarah from her mother Sally Prentice Harris and letters from Sarah to her husband George and to her daughter Isabella on the occasion of her sixteenth birthday.

The series is arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent and items are arranged chronologically within folders. The originals of the correspondence in Folders 2 and 5 are missing (see Deed of Gift). Copies were made from copies in the Carl R. Woodward Papers, except for a letter of Prudence Crandall Philleo dated March 16, 1880, which was not found in the Woodward collection.

Series 2. Subject Series
The Subject Series consists of a variety of materials representing several generations of the Fayerweather family. Included are account books, deeds, marriage and death certificates, address books, autograph books, mortgage notes, photographs, miscellaneous receipts, and correspondence.

Among the many items of interest are account books of the blacksmith shop of George and Solomon Fayerweather. Aside from demonstrating the skill and versatility of the village blacksmith, the account books indicate that George and Solomon ran a profitable and successful business.

Those interested in the tangled web of the Fayerweather estate, occasioned by the death of George and Solomon's father, will find a wealth of material in the folders labeled Mabel Perry (granddaughter of Sarah and George Fayerweather), Perry Estate, and Fayerweather Property.

Sarah's continuing interest in the antislavery movement is demonstrated by a receipt made out to her for Garrison's newspaper, The Liberator, dated January 1, 1862.Other items of interest include materials relating to Sarah's daughter, Isabella Fayerweather Mitchell, photographs of several generations of the Fayerweather family, and an unsigned, undated handwritten copy of an antislavery song entitled, "Wake Nicodemus".

The series is arranged alphabetically by folder title and chronologically within folders.