Collection Guide

Mary Bates Letters

Date Range: 1845
3 items.

Biographical Note:
Mary Bates was in charge of a school for girls in Tallahassee in the early 1840s. She was a New Englander transplanted to the South, and many of her impressions of the South are very insightful.

Scope and Content:
Two of the letters are written by Mary Bates from Tallahassee, Florida, and one is writen from Dudley, Massachusettes to a Charles Dana, Jr. of Woodstock, Vermont. In one letter, dated April 11, 1845, Bates gives a vivid description of a sea voyage from New York via Nassau to Florida. According to the letter, during the course of the voyage a leak was discovered in the ship and at the same time hay (a large portion of the cargo) caught fire, so for some days all aboard were in serious peril. This letter also gives a good description of what she called "Warchulla" Springs (Wakulla Springs) in Wakulla County near Tallahassee.

Citation: Mary Bates Letters, Special Collections, Robert Manning Strozier Library, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Source: Purchased from Symmachus Trading Co. of Boston, Massachusettes in 1950 and 1951. (No record of amount paid for first items, but the last item was purchased for $3.50)
Manuscript Number: MSS 0:16
Location: Box 137
 



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