Lucy Shinn's letter to her daughter Milicent Shinn about farm items, school, and women's rights

Lucy Shinn's letter to her daughter Milicent Shinn about farm items, school, and women's rights

1874

Lucy Shinn's letter to her daughter Milicent Shinn about farm items, school, and women's rights.

Dear Millie, [2 pages] [Spring of 1874] Thursday eve. I did not write last week. Well I suppose Annie could tell you all and more than I could write. In truth I do not feel as if there was anything very special to say unless I should fill my letter with the farm items. For instance, Papa comes in and says “Well I don’t know what I shall do, the weeds are getting ahead of me, and it is time that corn was planted and the Chinamen are not done putting out peach pits, and here is a barrel of black walnuts and one of butter nuts come to be taken care of.” Does that kind of talk sound natural? Well it used to trouble me but I have found that the work gets done somehow and take it cooly. Mrs. Severance and Mrs. Peet called here this week and went into ecstacies about the flowers. Of course I enjoyed giving them to carry home, a plenty. They are very pleasant ladies. I am glad to know you are not going to really dislike your new teacher. More than that I should not expect. I imagine the poor man’s health is in no great danger as you will have so short a time in which to work upon his nerves. Did you and Eddy [Edmund Clark Sanford] go down and wait for Annie last Sat. night? I thought about it and felt sorry for your disappointment but Papa seemed very loath to have Annie go. I shall be down in time to make your dress and shall feel so much better (and Auntie has no boarders) about coming. I am at work at Annie’s dresses this week and getting on nicely. We have had a lovely shower today and everything is so fresh and bright. Mr. Blakeslee was here to supper last night and I came pretty near getting provoked. What do you think he said in regard to girls going to the University? Why, that if they expected to assist their husbands in their business, writing their sermons for instance, that it was well enough, but otherwise he did not see any use in it. I told him every mother had need of all the knowledge she could get to answer the questions her children asked her every day. The idea that a woman had no use for any great amount of knowledge on her own account was what stirred me up. Then he said not exactly in these words but in substance, that if she was so highly educated she would despise her husband, to which I replied she must take care and not marry one she would despise. To which he remarked she might not find one who was her equal and I replied, then let her remain single. I despise teaching girls that it is absolutely necessary that they should marry. My face fairly burned. If anything would drive me way over into the extreme of women’s rights movements, it would be such arguments as those on the other side. Not that I would say anything against marriage. I have not a shadow of a doubt, that a woman suitably married to one she loves, has in that condition the greatest assurance of a happy life that anything earthly can give her, but what vexed me was the taking it for granted that a woman must be married anyhow. There, that was not worth writing down but I got started. I expected a line from Annie to say whether the trimming on the bottom of her linen skirt was to be cut bias or straight, but no matter. I can find out here. Shall go and see Mrs. Barry. The paper says Mrs. Phelps declines being candidate for supt. schools. Was she named seriously? It seems you really have a haunted house in Oakland. I am delighted to be within 20 miles of such a wonder[?] I don’t think this letter is worth sending but have not time to rewrite, so will. Love, Mama

Creator: Shinn, Lucy Clark, 1826-1915
Transcriber: Kasch, Kathryn

Farm life
Schools
Education (Higher)
Chinese Americans
Marriage
Orchards
Fashion--History--19th century
Dressmaking
Women's rights--United States--History--19th century
Women in higher education
Women in education
Women--Education
Women--Education (Higher)--United States
Women's rights--History
Dressmaking
Haunted houses

Shinn, Lucy Clark, 1826-1915
Shinn, Milicent Washburn, 1858-1940
Shinn, James, 1807-1896
Sanford, Edmund C. (Edmund Clark), 1859-1924

Niles (Calif.)
Oakland (Calif.)

Spring 1874

English