Sallie Darlington to Elizabeth (Abbot) Bowditch, 17 May 1869

[From Sallie Darlington in Mansfield, Pennsylvania, to Elizabeth (Abbot) Bowditch. She tells Elizabeth her brother wouldn't consent to her niece teaching after all; answers Elizabeth's question about how advanced academically a boy should be by age 13; and says she intends to go home to West Chester when school ends, then to her sister Kate in Erie Co., Pennsylvania, for the summer, then back to Minnesota where she had previously taught.]

Mansfield, May 17th/69

My dear Mrs. Bowditch,

Your letter was duly received, and I thank you for the trouble you were at in answering my inquiries. A short time after I had written to you my niece1 received a letter from her father2 saying that he should not give his consent to her teaching at present, as there was no necessity for it and they wanted her at home. She was quite disappointed as she is extremely fond of teaching, never having done enough at it to weary her; the Sunday School, so far, has been the sphere of her operations in that line.

I am sorry to hear so sad an account of Mrs. Owen's3 family; I was in hopes that with the growth and improvement of Tarboro, her school would become more flourishing and remunerative. I was also in hopes that you would have returned there by this time, as I am sure you would enjoy being there and you would have the advantages of Church and schools.

You ask with reference to the advancement in his studies of a boy of thirteen.4 This being a Normal School of course we have no pupils here of that age, but I can give you an idea of about how far children of that age generally are advanced. If a child of thirteen can read tolerably well, write legibly, spell ordinary words correctly, and has worked in Arithmetic as far as through Fractions, and has a general knowledge of Geography, I should consider that he had done very well. He would now be old enough to study Grammar to advantage and to take up Languages, if it were desired. Children studying alone have not the same incentive that those who are in schools have, and you must find it more difficult to keep up an interest in their studies.

Four weeks from next Friday, June 18th, I leave here, and I am beginning to count the days. The winter has seemed rather long, and I have had much less society here than I have always been accustomed to. I shall go to West Chester for a few weeks, and from there to Erie County Penna., where my sister Kate5 lives. I intend to spend the summer with her, and the last of September I expect to return to Minnesota, which I regard more as my home than any other place. I have many kind friends there who urge me to return and Bishop Whipple6 insists on my coming into St. Mary's Hall again. The lady who is Principal this year7 has not given satisfaction and will not return, therefore the Bishop is left again without a Principal. He is hoping to get his sister-in-law, Mrs. George Whipple8 who is now with her husband9 a missionary at the Sandwich Isls. She is a noble woman, and the dearest friend I have in the world, so I am very much in hopes she will come. Meanwhile, until she can get here which will probably not be before midwinter, I have promised the Bishop to help him to the utmost of my ability. I have agreed to act as Principal pro tem; that is, to open school next fall and take charge until Mrs. Whipple can arrive and relieve me. After that, I shall simply have classes in the school for a few hours a day, and perhaps board out of the Hall with a friend, who is very desirous that I should. I am rather tired of being in the noise and excitement of a school, and feel a longing for a quiet home; but the Bishop whom I love very dearly, wrote me such an importunate letter that I could not say no to him.

When you write to me again direct to West Chester, Penna., as letters sent to me there will always reach me safely. My brother10 is Post Master there and will forward my mail. When you get up to Tarboro again I shall hope some time to run down and see you; I should enjoy it more than any thing I can think of.

Give much love to G'a11 and Nat,12 also to Mr. B.13 if he is with you. I hope you will not allow so long a time to elapse before letting me hear from you again.

With much love,

Yours truly,

S. P. Darlington

  1. Katherine Lacey Darlington (1847-1923), daughter of Sallie's brother Edward C. Darlington
  2. Edward C. Darlington (1819-1874), Sallie's brother
  3. Mary Blount McCotter (1811-1876)
  4. She is no doubt referring to Elizabeth's son John Abbot Bowditch (1856-1933), who was 13 at the time of this letter.
  5. Catharine Lacy Darlington (1823-1886), Sallie's sister
  6. Henry Benjamin Whipple (1822-1901)
  7. Her name was Lucy Winston, but no other information has been found about her.
  8. Mary Johanna Mills (1829-1911)
  9. George Brayton Whipple (1830-1888), Henry Benjamin Whipple's brother
  10. William Baldwin Darlington (1828-1878), Sallie's brother
  11. Georgiana Abbot Bowditch (1848-1927), Elizabeth's daughter
  12. Nathaniel Ingersoll Bowditch (1846-1913), Elizabeth's son
  13. Joseph Henry Bowditch (1818-1900), Elizabeth's husband