Abbot/Bowditch Family Letters

Sallie Darlington to Elizabeth (Abbot) Bowditch, 29 August 1860

[From Sallie Darlington to Elizabeth (Abbot) Bowditch. She responds to more of Elizabeth's questions about the possibility of her daughter Georgiana attending Sallie's school in West Chester, in particular about the costs and clothing she should have; approves of Elizabeth not sending Georgiana until the following spring, after the "break up there" (when they moved to Yancey Co.); talks a bit about the girl from Massachusetts (Miss Cutter) who stayed with her last winter; and asks about various friends in Tarboro.]

August 29th 1860

My dear Mrs. Bowditch,

I am going to try to get you a letter written that will reach you during Mr. B's¹ absence, as I suppose it will be more acceptable when you are alone; in order to do so, I begin it now but cannot say when it will be finished, and if it is somewhat disconnected in style, you may infer it has been written by snatches at several different times.

I send you a circular giving the particulars with regard to our Female Institute, which promises to open very prosperously. You see our sessions run twenty weeks each, making forty weeks of school for the year without vacation during the time except a week at Christmas. Our vacation will be July & August. Georgiana's² age and course of studies would bring her in at the middle range of prices - fifteen dollars a session, which includes everything except music and oil painting. Music will not be over twenty dollars a session, most probably fifteen, that has not yet been definitely settled, and boarding, including all attending expenses, for the students at our school avarages twelve dollars a month. We are trying somewhat of an experiment with our school, as you will see by comparing the circular with others. For instance, Miss Evans³ charges for a boarder $75 for five months, which includes simply boarding and the English branches; the Languages all extra at the rate of $15 each for the session of five months, Drawing at the same price and Music $20. As almost every young lady wants to take at least one foreign language with music and drawing, it makes the expense mount up rapidly; and yet Miss Evans's charges are much less than the Phila. schools, in one of which I was teaching last year. Now, we are going to try to do away with all those expensive extra charges except for Music, for which we shall have to pay high and of course charge in proportion. I believe I have answered in full your question with regard to probable expense, for you see I have entered into detail; but I infer other persons are like myself; I always like to know exactly what a thing will cost, and I then either do it or not, as suits me.

You ask concerning G'a's dress. Except just in mid-summer, girls of her age wear high necked dresses and long sleeves, unless when dressed for evening parties. The dress bodies are made either plain or full with yokes, just as you made those aprons; the latter style by far the most general of any other. They wear their dresses so long as just to show the top of their boots. The sleeves have been worn open, but I suppose they will now be closed at the wrist, as that seems to be going to prevail this winter. Aprons are merely worn to protect the dress. The bodies are in this shape [here she drew an hourglass shape] pinned on the top of each shoulder. They are made of any kind of material; when at all dressed for any thing but school they do not wear aprons.

I cannot realize that G'a is only as old as you say; as I remembered her, she seemed at least eight years old when I first saw her. I have come to the conclusion she must have been very large and intelligent for her age at that time. My nephew Walter⁴ who lives with us will be twelve next month, and he seems a perfect child; having always been so delicate, he is very quiet and effeminate, but very good.

I think you do wisely in not letting G'a leave you till you break up there in the Spring; she will be less likely to be homesick if she knows you are not at home and everything is in an unsettled state. If she comes to me I should be glad if she were as happy and contented as the young lady from Mass. who was with me last winter.⁵ She was a girl of eighteen, very peculiar in her disposition and I feared she would not be contented; but she was here more than six months and professed she never had been so happy in her life. Poor girl! I fancy she had not a happy home; she had a stepmother⁶ who had young children, and this girl was the only child of the first wife.⁷ Her father⁸ was sparing no expense on her education but one could see there was little sympathy between them.

You do not tell me of your sisters,⁹ are they married?

I am sorry to hear of the death of so many girls whom I knew; has Mrs. Burton¹⁰ married again, and what has become of Alice¹¹ and Harriet Howard¹² and their brother George?¹³ I always thought he and Bella Parker¹⁴ would eventually make a match. How I should enjoy a long talk with you, for I have so many questions to ask; I shall certainly manage to see you the first time you pass through Phila. Could not Mr. Bowditch¹ slip out here on his way from N. York this fall? It is but a two hours ride from Phila. and we have two roads, one running five trains, the other three trains a day each way. I am sure he would be pleased with W. Chester, and we would all be very glad to see him.

Hoping to hear from you whenever you find it convenient to write, I remain, with love to Georgiana² and a kiss to my boy,¹⁵

Ever yours sincerely,

Sallie

If I can send you any patterns at any time or do anything of that kind for you, do not hesitate to let me know, and I will do my best.

 

Copyright Charles Towne. Usage of this work is licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0
Compiler: Charles Towne

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