Martha's Vineyard Museum
A Finding Aid to the Belcher Athearn Letters, 1787, 1807-1839
Table of Contents
Descriptive Summary
| Repository | Martha's Vineyard MuseumGale Huntington Research Library 59 School Street P.O. Box 1310 Edgartown, MA 02539 (508)627-4441 |
|---|---|
| Call Number | RU 485 |
| Creator | Athearn, Belcher, 1777-1839 |
| Title | Belcher Athearn letters |
| Date | 1787, 1807-1839 |
| Extent | 22 folders (0.162 cubic feet) |
| Language | The materials are in English. |
| Abstract | The collection consists of letters received by Belcher Athearn (1777-1839) of Tisbury, Massachusetts, between 1807 and 1839, from his relatives. Also included are letters to other members of his family. |
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions to access.
Use and Reproduction Restrictions
Requests to reproduce material from this collection should be directed to museum staff. Reproduction fees may apply.
Preferred Citation
Martha's Vineyard Museum, RU 485, Belcher Athearn Letters.
Acquisition Information
The immediate source of acquisition and date of accession are unknown.
Publication Information
Martha's Vineyard Museum
Gale Huntington Research Library59 School Street
P.O. Box 1310
Edgartown, MA 02539
(508)627-4441
Processing Information
Finding aid prepared by Lara J. Ullman in July 2014. Finding aid machine-encoded by Nathaniel Janick, August 2014.
Creation of this finding aid was sponsored by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.Controlled Access Headings
Genre(s)
- Correspondence
Geographic Name(s)
- Martha's Vineyard (Mass.)
- Tisbury (Mass. : Town)
Subject(s)
- Daily life
- Family life
Biography/Historical Note
Belcher Athearn was born on March 30, 1777 in Tisbury, Massachusetts, to Joseph Athearn (1742-1811) and Lydia (Allen) Athearn (1747-1829). Belcher had five siblings: Jabez (1769-1795), Prince (1770-), Katherine (1772-), Lovina (1779-), and Betsey (1785-). Katherine married Sylvanus Allen (1770-), Lovina married Reuben Haskell, and Betsey married Henry Davis (1778-).
On October 23, 1803, Belcher married Keziah Dexter (1780-1861). The couple had seven children: Sophia Dexter (1805-), Joseph Allen (1806-), Elizabeth (1809-1877), J abez (1811-), Lydia Allen (1813-), and twins Prince D. (1822-) and Zadock (1822-1906). Belcher Athearn died on November 8, 1839 in Tisbury and is buried in the West Tisbury Cemetery.
Keziah Dexter was born on July 5, 1780 in Rochester, Massachusetts to Elijah Dexter (1749-1829) and Martha (Clark) Dexter (1753-1835). Elijah had two daughters, Elizabeth and Sarah, with his first wife, Keziah (Winslow) Dexter (1752-1778). Keziah was the eldest of Elijah and Martha's eight children: Prince (1782-1813), Sophia (1784-1845), Elijah (1781-1851), Thankful (1788-1848), Deborah (1791-1813), Seth (1793-1832), and Polly (1795-1814). Sophia married Joseph Gibbs (1763-1847), Thankful married Prince Burgess (1783-1839), and Seth married Arlothea Savery (1791-). Keziah (Dexter) Athearn died on May 9, 1861 in Edgartown, Massachusetts and is buried in the West Tisbury Cemetery.
Scope and Content Note
The collection consists of letters received by Belcher Athearn of Tisbury, Massachusetts, between 1807 and 1839, from his relatives. Some letters in the collection are addressed to Belcher Athearn but are written to his wife, Keziah (Dexter) Belcher, from her siblings. Also included in the collection are two letters between Belcher Athearn's relatives that do not involve him. Finally there is material belonging to Joseph Athearn, Belcher's father, and Margaret "Peggy" Athearn Pease, Belcher's daughter, who married Reverend Jesse Pease.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged alphabetically by sender's last name and therein chronologically. Material belonging to Joseph Athearn and Margaret "Peggy" Athearn Pease can be found at the end. The material is housed in a box with other small collections.
Collection Inventory
| Box | Folder | |||
Allen, Sylvanus to Belcher Athearn, 1823 November 28 | 1 | 10 | ||
Allen, Sylvanus to Lydia Athearn, 1827 September 17 NoteLydia Athearn was Belcher Athearn's mother and Sylvanus Allen was Belcher's brother-in-law. | 1 | 11 | ||
Allen, Sylvanus to Belcher Athearn, 1835 August 6 | 1 | 12 | ||
Burgess, Thankful (Dexter) to Belcher Athearn and Burgess, Prince to Belcher Athearn, 1808 November 20, 1808 November 24 NoteThese are two individual letters on the same sheet of paper. | 1 | 13 | ||
Burgess, Princce to Belcher Athearn and Burgess, Thankful (Dexter) to Belcher Athearn, 1819 April 25 NoteThese are two individual letters on the same sheet of paper. | 1 | 14 | ||
Burgess, Prince to Belcher Athearn, 1830 January 17 | 1 | 15 | ||
Davis, Henry and Betsey to Belcher Athearn, 1830 May 15 | 1 | 16 | ||
Davis, Betsey to Belcher Athearn, 1833 July 29 | 1 | 17 | ||
Davis, Henry and Betsey to Belcher Athearn, 1834 March 31 | 1 | 18 | ||
Dexter, Arlothea (Savery) to Keziah (Dexter) Athearn, 1807 January 4 | 1 | 19 | ||
Dexter, Arlothea (Savery) to Sophia Dexter, 1809 March 25 NoteSophia Dexter and Arlothea (Savery) Dexter were Belcher Athearn's sisters-in-law. | 1 | 20 | ||
Dexter, Elijah to Keziah (Dexter) Athearn, 1807 December 2 | 1 | 21 | ||
Dexter, Sophia to Keziah (Dexter) Athearn, 1822 April 13 | 1 | 22 | ||
Haskell, Reuben to Belcher Athearn, 1822 June 21 | 1 | 23 | ||
Haskell, Joseph A. to Belcher Athearn, 1828 September 20 | 1 | 24 | ||
Haskell, Reuben and Lovina to Belcher Athearn, 1835 January 31 | 1 | 25 | ||
Haskell, Reuben to Belcher Athearn, 1836 March 1 | 1 | 26 | ||
Hatch, Nymphas to Belcher Athearn, 1820 May 3 | 1 | 27 | ||
Selectmen of Tisbury (Charles Smith, James Look, and John Cottle) to Belcher Athearn, 1839 January 23 | 1 | 28 | ||
Unknown Sender to Belcher Athearn, 1834 | 1 | 29 | ||
Essays and Papers by Margaret "Peggy" (Athearn) Pease, 1811, 1815 | 1 | 30 | ||
Legal Documents and Letter Belonging to Joseph Athearn , 1787, 1808 | 1 | 31 | ||