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- Folded letter by US Navy Surgeon David Shelton Edwards
Folded letter by US Navy Surgeon David Shelton Edwards
Object Details
- Description
- The letter was sent unpaid and the Pensacola postmaster marked it in the upper right corner for 25 cents postage due at destination, the correct rate for a single sheet letter going a distance more than 400 miles.
- In response to his sister Delia's negative reaction to the Edwards' house at Sing Sing, New York, David Shelton Edwards assures his wife Harriet that "splendid houses" are for the "rich aristocracy" and they should not try to copy them. He explains that Delia's offer to take care of their son, William, was well-meant but "do you not think with me that he would be made too much a pet & would be a Spoiled child" He does not think that he will get the position of Fleet Surgeon any time soon. He advises Harriet on how to travel to Pensacola, Florida, warning her that it is too dangerous to travel over land in the South because of disease. He ends by reiterating that if she is too scared of journeying on a ship she may just want to wait until the spring when he may be back in New York.
- This letter is part of the correspondence of David Shelton Edwards between the years 1835 and 1848. The 48 letters from this period held by the National Postal Museum are primarily addressed to Edward's wife Harriet; in 1830, Edwards married Harriet Eliza Henry and they had two children, William and Harriet. They kept up a frequent correspondence when his naval service kept them separated. Between 1835 and 1848, Edwards served as a Surgeon at the hospital in the Pensacola Navy Yard, Florida; Fleet Surgeon to the West Indies Squadron; and Surgeon aboard many vessels engaged in the Mexican-American War. His naval career spanned from 1818 to 1861 and his last sea cruise ended in October of 1859 after which he retired to his family home in Connecticut except for a brief time spent at New Bedford, Massachusetts recruiting for the Union Navy during the Civil War. He died in Trumbull, Connecticut on March 18, 1874.
- Reference:
- National Museum of American History, Naval History Archives. David Shelton Edwards Papers. Accession Number: 1978.0652
- New York Public Library, Rare Books and Manuscripts Division. "David S. Edwards papers, 1818-1865."
- Data Source
- National Postal Museum
- Date
- August 9-11, 1835
- Object number
- 1978.0652.11
- Writer
- David Shelton Edwards, American, died 1874
- Type
- Covers & Associated Letters
- Medium
- paper; ink / handwritten
- Dimensions
- 40.6 x 33.0 cm (16 x 13 in.)
- Place of Origin
- Florida
- Place of Destination
- New York
- See more items in
- National Postal Museum Collection
- Topic
- American Expansion (1800-1860)
- Covers & Letters
- Record ID
- npm_1978.0652.11
- Usage
- CC0
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