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Slade Family PapersSlade Family Papers1776-1892 (Bulk: 1838-1845)1 box (0.5 linear feet)Call no.Call no.: MS 934

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Read collection overviewThe children of a textile investor, Mary and David Slade were students at the Friends' Boarding School in Providence, R.I., duringthe late 1830s. Both died tragically of consumption at a young age, David at 24 and Mary at 28.

The Slade family papers consist largely of the personal correspondence of the ill-starred David and Mary Slade, dating from andjust after their time as students at the Friends' Boarding School in Providence, R.I. Written primarily by schoolmates and friends,with a few letters from David and Mary themselves, the letters include some fine examples of the intimacy of young people, withtheir sights set on their schooling or beginning to make their life.

Caroline Talbert

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EducationEducationFamilyFamilyMassachusetts (East)Massachusetts (East)QuakersQuakersRhode IslandRhode Island

Background on Slade familyBackground on Slade familyWilliam Slade (1780-1852) and his descendants were prominentamong the early investors in cotton milling in Fall River, Mass. Aresident of nearby Somerset, Mass., William provided land in1812 for construction of one of the first cotton mills in Fall River,and over the next decade, he branched out to become one ofthe first stockholders in the Fall River Manufactory, one of eightincorporators of the Pocasset Manufacturing Company, and oneof the original proprietors of the Watuppa ManufacturingCompany.

After marrying in 1806, William and his wife Phebe (Lawton)raised a family of seven. Quakers and members of the Swansea(or Swansey) Monthly Meeting, the Slades were strongsupporters of the Friends' Boarding School in Providence (laterthe Moses Brown School). According to printed catalogues of theschool, William sent his eldest sons Jonathan and William LawtonSlade to study there -- and both followed their father intoinvesting in the textile industry -- as well as his youngest sonDavid (enrolled from 1837 to 1841) and daughters Amanda andMary (1838 and 1841).

The youngest Slade children, David and Mary, died tragically ofconsumption at a young age, David at 24 and Mary at 28.Neither were ever married.

Scope of collectionScope of collectionThe Slade family papers consist largely of the personalcorrespondence of the ill-starred David and Mary Slade, datingfrom and just after their time as students at the Friends'Boarding School in Providence, R.I. Written primarily byschoolmates and friends, with a few letters from David and Marythemselves, the letters include some fine examples of theintimacy of young people, with their sights set on their schoolingor beginning to make their life. Of particular interest are theletters of Emily D. Stevens, who was embarking on a career as ateacher in Little Compton, R.I., and the enthusiastic John E. Fry, a friend of David's. The collection also includes Mary's excellent,though brief, diary from 1840, and typical exercise books in arithmetic (kept by Amanda Slade) and trigonometry (kept by David).There are several examples of cross-hatched letters, including ones written in two colors of ink.

Apart from David and Mary, the collection includes a handful of letters from other relatives, including their mother Phebe, andnieces and nephews who attended the school in later years. A series of catalogues from the school have been transferred forcataloging to our printed materials collection.

InventoryInventoryAustin, Elizabeth1840-18412 itemsBox 1: 1

Barker, Benjamin1841-18464 itemsBox 1: 2

Barker, Elizabeth H.18494 itemsBox 1: 3Although signed simply Lizzie, these letters are possibly from Elizabeth H. Barker, a student from Tiverton at the FriendsBoarding School in 1843.

Bowen, Esther1847-18486 itemsBox 1: 4Although signed simply Esther or Esther B., these letters are possibly from Esther Bowen, a fellow student of Mary Slade's at theFriends Boarding School in 1838. Bowen was listed in the school catalogue as being from Somerset.

Brown, Moses18311 itemBox 1: 5Buffington, P.18401 itemBox 1: 6Buffum, B.1840Box 1: 7Buffum, Thomas B.1844-18453 itemsBox 1: 8Bullock, E. A.1844-18452 itemsBox 1: 9Chace, Daniel18341 itemBox 1: 10Chase, Samuel S.18411 itemBox 1: 11Colegrove, C. W.18651 itemBox 1: 12Earle, Catherine18421 itemBox 1: 13Elliott, S. F.18451 itemBox 1: 14Friends Boarding School ephemera1859, 18922 itemsBox 1: 15Friends Boarding School receipts1834-18606 items

Box 1: 16Fry, John B.1838-18449 itemsBox 1: 17Gray, Jeremiah1842-18444 itemsBox 1: 18Huntington, E. A.18371 itemBox 1: 19Lawton, E. L.1828-18363 itemsBox 1: 20Lawton, Sarah S.18231 itemBox 1: 21Livesey, Elizabeth W.1846-18483 itemsBox 1: 22Marsh, Mary17761 itemBox 1: 23Powers, William18431 itemBox 1: 24Reade, Elizabeth W.18371 itemBox 1: 25Rodman, J.18681 itemBox 1: 26Shearman , Lydia17901 itemBox 1: 27Shove, Mary18061 itemBox 1: 28Slade, Amanda: Arithmetic exercise bookca.18401 itemBox 1: 29Slade, Benjamin18601 itemBox 1: 30Slade, David1837-1840

10 itemsBox 1: 31Slade, David: Draft letters (originally laid in Trigonometry exercise book)18408 itemsBox 1: 32Slade, David: Trigonometry exercise bookca.18391 itemBox 1: 33Slade, Mary (1821-1850)1834-18417 itemsBox 1: 34Slade, Mary (b. ca.1852)1867-18702 itemsBox 1: 35Slade, Mary: Diary18401 itemBox 1: 36Slade, Mary: Poetry notebookca.18401 itemBox 1: 37Slade, Phebe L.18301 itemBox 1: 38Slade, Williamca.18401 itemBox 1: 39Slade, William W.18661 itemBox 1: 40Slocum, Jonathan L.1841-18437 itemsBox 1: 41Spencer, William18541 itemBox 1: 42Steere, Thomas E.1843-18482 itemsBox 1: 43Stevens, Emily D.1845-18496 itemsBox 1: 44Talbert, Caroline: carte de visite in Quaker outfitca.18621 itemBox 1: 45Wall, Caleb A.

1839-18402 itemsBox 1: 46Waterman, Frank A.18671 itemBox 1: 47Waterman, John R.1833-185811 itemsBox 1: 48Waterman, John R.1860-187113 itemsBox 1: 49Waterman, Sarah L.18661 itemBox 1: 50Wilbur, ThomasWilbur, Thomas18441 itemBox 1: 51Wilbur, William H.Wilbur, William H.18481 itemBox 1: 52Wing, Rebecca A.1841-18445 itemsBox 1: 53Unidentified and miscellaneous1825-184410 itemsBox 1: 54

Administrative informationAdministrative informationAccessAccessThe collection is open for research.

ProvenanceProvenancePart of the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends Records, April 2016.

Processing InformationProcessing InformationProcessed by I. Eliot Wentworth, Aug. 2016.

Slade family genealogySlade family genealogyWilliam (1780-1852) and Phebe (Lawton) Slade (1781-1874)Abigail L. (1809-1839), never marriedLydia Ann (1811-1900) m. Nathaniel B. BordenAmanda (b. 1813) m. Charles B. WinslowJonathan (1815-1900) m. 1) Caroline Brayton Winslow (1811-1845) and 2) Emeline Hooper (b. 1820)William Walter Slade (b. 1843)David F. Slade (b. 1856)William Lawton Slade (1817-1895) m. Mary Mitchel Shearman (1815-1900)Caroline Elizabeth Slade (1846-1928) m. Hezekiah Anthony BraytonAbigail L. Slade (1848-1892)Mary Slade (b. ca. 1852)David (1819-1844) died of consumption, never marriedMary (1821-1850) died of consumption, never married

BibliographyBibliographySee Representative men and old family of southeastern MassachusettsRepresentative men and old family of southeastern Massachusetts , vol. 1. Chicago: J.H. Beers, 1912.

Separated MaterialSeparated MaterialThe following pamphlets have been transferred to the printed materials collection for cataloging:

Ashbridge, Elizabeth, Some account of the early part of the life of Elizabeth Ashbridge. Providence, R.I.: H. M. Brown, 1831.Friends Boarding School, Catalogue of the Officers and Students at the Friends' Boarding School, Providence, R.I. . Providence:Weeden and Cory, 1835.Friends Boarding School, Catalogue of the Officers and Students at the Friends' Boarding School, Providence, R.I. . Providence: B.Cranston & Co., 1836.Friends Boarding School, Catalogue of the Officers and Pupils at the Friends' Boarding School, Providence, R.I.. Providence: B.Cranston & Co., 1837.Friends Boarding School, Catalogue of the Officers and Pupils at the Friends' Boarding School, Providence, R.I.. Providence: JohnE. Brown, 1838.Friends Boarding School, Catalogue of the Officers and Pupils at the Friends' Boarding School, Providence, R.I.. Providence: Brownand Cady, 1839.Friends Boarding School, Catalogue of the Officers and Pupils at the Friends' Boarding School, Providence, R.I.. Providence: B.Cranston & Co., 1840.Friends Boarding School, Catalogue of the Officers and Pupils at the Friends' Boarding School, Providence, R.I.. Providence: B.Cranston & Co., 1841.Friends Boarding School, Catalogue of the Officers and Pupils at the Friends' Boarding School, Providence, R.I.. Providence:Lyceum Phoenix, 1843.Friends Boarding School, Catalogue of the Officers and Pupils of Friends' Boarding School, Providence, R.I., for the academicalyear 1859-60. Providence: Knowles, Anthony, & Co., 1860.Friends Boarding School, Catalogue of the Officers and Pupils of Friends' Boarding School, Providence, R.I., for the academicalyear 1862-63. Providence: Knowles, Anthony, & Co., 1863.Friends Boarding School, Catalogue of the Officers and Pupils of Friends' Boarding School, Providence, R.I., for the academicalyear 1863-64. Providence: Knowles, Anthony, & Co., 1864.Memorial of deceased Friends of the New-England Yearly Meeting. Providence: Joseph Knowles, 1849.Organization and proceedings of the Alumni Association of the New England Yearly Meeting School, Providence. Providence:Knowles, Anthony, & Co., 1860.

Language:Language:English

Copyright and Use Copyright and Use ((More informationMore information ) )Cite as: Slade Family Papers (MS 934). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

Search termsSearch termsSubjectsSubjectsFriends' Boarding School (Providence, R.I.)Moses Brown SchoolQuakers--Massachusetts--19th centuryStudents--Rhode Island--19th centuryWomen--Education--19th century

ContributorsContributorsSlade family [main entry][main entry]

Genres and formatsGenres and formatsCorrespondenceDiariesExercise books

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