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Caroline LeConte Morris Correspondence, 1839-1841.Finding AidEncoding funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.© 2004
Biographical NoteCaroline LeConte was born in Ovid, New York on September 28, 1819. Her parents were Dr. Peter and Jerusha LeConte. She attended Ovid Academy to prepare to go to Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, where she was a student from 1839-1841. After graduating she taught at a public school in Geneva, New York until shortly before she married Cornelius Van Horn Morris on May 1, 1847. They lived briefly in Ridgeway, Michigan then moved to Lodi Village, New York. They had five children. She died on February 20, 1899 in Lodi at the age of seventy-nine. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Contents of the CollectionThe Caroline LeConte Morris Correspondence provides detailed descriptions of her activities as a student at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary from 1839-1841. Her seventeen letters to various family members discuss her studies, religious life, academic and travel expenses, the political climate in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and her ideas of the value of education for women. She describes the compositions she is writing and lectures she attended. She often applied themes from her studies to situations current in her family life. For instance, after reading her "Political Class Book" she wrote to her brother about his role as her guardian in the context of her becoming "of age" at her following birthday. A number of letters relate to political matters including her disposition towards the Whig party, the racial composition of South Hadley, and conversations about abolition. She often compares the Pioneer Valley with her home in Ovid, New York, making note of different laws, trends of political opinion, and socioeconomic class. In a letter attempting to convince her older sister to enroll at Mount Holyoke, she discusses the age range of students and debates whether some students are as young as they claim to be. In another letter, she mentions a visit to Mt. Holyoke (the mountain) and discusses the view of the surrounding towns, pointing out South Hadley's importance because of the Seminary. She frequently contemplates the value of her education and considers leaving the Seminary at one point, but determines that it is her responsibility to be educated. Return to the Table of Contents Search TermsReturn to the Table of Contents Summary of Correspondence, 1839-1841The 17 letters written by Caroline LeConte while she was a student at Mount Holyoke Seminary are dated between January 8, 1839 and June 28, 1841. The collection also includes an essay dated June 24, 1840 entitled A visit to Mt.Holyoke. All the letters are addressed to various members of her family. She was one of seven children living on a farm in Ovid, a small town halfway between Geneva and Ithaca in the Finger Lake area of New York State. By CR Ludwig. December 1987. Return to the Table of Contents |
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