Series 1

Tilden Family Papers - Correspondence

1837-1926, n.d.

extent:

11 folders

description:

The Tilden Family Papers letters/correspondence series contains seven sets of family letters.  The earliest set (1839-1850) were written to Mary Ann (Emerson) Cooper (1839-1850) of Rochester, Vermont, by her Emerson Family relatives in Michigan, the Wisconsin Territory, and later Wisconsin.  The letters detail living conditions and health concerns, as well as family news.  This set of letters contains numerous references to religion in daily life.

The second set of family letters contains Barna Cooper’s correspondence (1845-1867) from relatives in New York, Kentucky, Vermont, and Ohio.  These letters document family genealogy, weather conditions, family news, politics, slavery, civil war news, and religious activities.   

The third set of family letters includes the correspondence of Julius and Eliza Tilden of Rochester, Vermont, (1859).  They wrote to their son, George Tilden, while he is away at school in New London, New Hampshire.  These letters document family news and family health concerns.  

The fourth set of Tilden Family letters contains Civil War Letters (1862-65) written by George Tilden during his military service to his younger brother Fred Tilden, and his future wife Lydia Cooper.  In the letters George wrote of health concerns, army maneuvers, and details of battles.  As time passes, the relationship between George and Lydia continues and becomes more serious.  

The correspondence of Barna Cooper of Rochester, Vermont, comprises the fifth set of Tilden Family letters.  He corresponded from 1862-1866 with his daughter, Lydia Cooper, while she is in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1862, where she worked in a mill; and while she attended Mount Holyoke College, in South Hadley Massachusetts, from 1862-1866.  Lydia graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1866.  The letters contain fatherly advice on health care, and how to live a moral as well as religious life.          

The sixth set of Tilden Family letters includes the following correspondence.  Following the Civil War from 1867 to 1868, the Tilden Family in Vermont wrote to Fred Tilden who had moved to Iowa in May 1867, and to Julius Tilden who had moved to Iowa in April 1868.  The letters document family news and health, as well as financial arrangements and prospects.  Other letters dated 1884, 1890, and 1924 were written by relatives remaining in

Vermont to report family news and concerns.  The post Civil War period letters also include correspondence from Henry Huntington of Ames, Iowa, (1869) inviting George to come to Iowa and become a partner is his dry goods business, and correspondence from George Tilden to Lydia Cooper Tilden in Rochester, Vermont, (1869), who are now married.  George is visiting Iowa looking for land to purchase so that the family can move to Ames, Iowa.  He wrote to Lydia and described:  rail travel after the Civil War, physical descriptions of the land in Iowa, weather and climate conditions, farming practices, the business climate, religious life, and land prices.         

The letters in Box 3, in the first three folders, were all received by Lydia Cooper Tilden, and were written primarily by cousins and friends. The early letters are addressed to her in Rochester, Vermont, and later, to Ames, Iowa.

Series 2

Tilden Family Papers - Writings

1857-1859, n.d.

extent:

2 folders

description:

The Tilden Family Papers writings series contain compositions by Lydia Cooper Tilden and assorted writings by other family members.  The titles of  Lydia’s compositions are:  “Influence”, “The Morning Star”, “Nature’s Teachings”, and “F (Flower) Lovers”.   The writings of other family members include poetry and compositions relating to their individual lives and interests.  Also included in this section is a sheet of algebraic math problems.

1

9

Writings by Lydia Cooper Tilden

1857,1859, n.d.

1

10

Miscellaneous Writings

n.d.

Series 3

Tilden Family Papers - Miscellaneous Materials

1869-1904

extent:

3 folders

description:

The Tilden Family Papers - Miscellaneous Materials series consist of a ledger kept by George Tilden from 1866-1870, a photocopy of Lydia Tilden’s Certificate of Membership to the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle dated August 17, 1904, and transcriptions of the 1861 to 1869 letters of George C. Tilden.

1

11

Ledger kept by George Tilden

1866-1870

1

12

Photocopy of Certificate of Membership of Lydia C. Tilden to the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle

08-17-1904

1

13

Transcriptions of the letters of George G. Tilden: his Letters about plans to settle in Ames, Iowa, in 1869, and his Civil War letters to home, 1861-1865.  (2 copies)

1861-1869

Series 4

Brown Family Papers-Correspondence and Miscellaneous Materials

1864-1989, n.d.

extent:

14 folders

description:

The Brown Family Papers-Correspondence and Miscellaneous Materials series contains family correspondence and assorted miscellaneous materials dating from 1864 to 1947. Included are letters from Daisy Brown and Lydia Brown Hipps, who served as missionaries in China. The folder with correspondence of and pertaining to Lydia Brown Hipps concerns the birth of her son, Robert Owen Hipps, in 1922, and her death in 1924. The series also includes typed travel journal letters from Margaret Mitchell Brown when she visited Daisy Brown in China from 1926 to 1927.

In addition, there are envelopes kept by Kendrick and Margaret Mitchell Brown, upon which they noted when the letters had been received and a summary of their contents.  

Also in this series is Farwell Brown’s correspondence, dated 1968 to 1989, which documents his research on the family history. 

1

14

Receipt, correspondence, certificates, and notes

1864-1947, n.d.

1

15

Correspondence-Farwell Brown regarding family history

1968-1989

3

4

Letters from Lydia Gates Brown and Kendrick Brown to family in New York

1866, 1873

3

5

Correspondence from Daisy Brown

1912

3

6

Envelopes addressed to Kendrick and Margaret Mitchell Brown, with comments 

1915-1918

3

7

Envelopes addressed to Kendrick and Margaret Mitchell Brown, with comments  

1919-1921

3

8

Envelopes addressed to Kendrick and Margaret Mitchell Brown, with comments  

1922-1923

3

9

Correspondence from and concerning Lydia Brown Hipps

1922-1925, 1976

3

10

Envelopes addressed to Kendrick and Margaret Mitchell Brown, with comments 

1924-1930, 1934-1936

3

11

Letters to Mary Tilden Brown

1926

3

12

Journal letters of Margaret Mitchell Brown and Daisy Brown from China to Ames, Iowa 

1926-1927

3

13

Photocopies: Journal letters of Margaret Mitchell Brown and Daisy Brown from China to Ames, Iowa 

1926-1927

3

14

Correspondence

n.d.

3

15

Photographs: Gates M. and Inez Brown Family (5 B&W 2½ x 3½) 

n.d.

Series 5

Tilden Family Genealogy Research Materials

1978-1996

extent:

5 folders

description:

The Tilden Family Genealogy Research Materials series contains photocopies of four Tilden Family Genealogy Notebooks compiled by Farwell Brown from 1978 to 1990, and an index to the notebooks created by Mr. Brown in 1996. 

2

1

Index to Tilden Family Genealogy

1996

2

2

Photocopies of Tilden Family Genealogy, Notebook 1 of 4

1978-1990

2

3

Photocopies of Tilden Family Genealogy, Notebook 2 of 4

1978-1990

2

4

Photocopies of Tilden Family Genealogy, Notebook 3 of 4

1978-1990

2

5

Photocopies of Tilden Family Genealogy, Notebook 4 of 4

1978-1990