letter writing in 1867

                

                                                            

    Rutland, Aug 24th 1867

Dear parents,

                              I do not know hardly how to begin this my first letter home.

      I hope you are all well.  I am quite well (have not had my first homesick cry yet).

               Handwritten letters were a crucial form of communication in the 19^th century, and young ladies were taught how to write personal letters.  Hattie had received letters from her grandmother in Castleton and two aunts in Massachusetts who had young children, Hattie’s cousins.  These female relatives living at a distance encouraged Hattie to write letters back, to her aunts or to the little cousins.  Her mother had probably taught Harriet how to write a proper letter, and these friendly relatives could offer good practice.  In this time period, many booklets were published to instruct young ladies in the skills of writing personal letters, and Hattie’s schoolgirl letters followed the popular formula of the day:

1)   Begin by thanking the correspondent for their previous letter and /or apologizing for the length of time it took you to answer it.

2)  Inquire about everyone’s health; mention the weather, crops, livestock, family members’ doings.

3)  Relate local events, farm news, neighbors, deaths, births, etc.

4)  Describe your recent activities that would interest the recipient.

5)  Tell your correspondent how you feel about them.  (In Hattie’s case, she also likes to describe what she might do if she were at home:  

     “I sometimes think of the pleasant times that I should have blackberying and getting apples but do not think I am home sick for I am not.”

info:  http://txcwcivilian.fatcow.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/letters.pdf

http://the-lothians.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-art-of-letter-writing-early-19th.html