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Letter from Harriet Maria Van Rensselaer Elemendorf and Harriet Elmendorf Gould to William James Knapp, July 7, 1880

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Date

July 7, 1880

Description

" A letter written by Harriet Maria Elmendorf and Harriet Elmendorf Gould. The letter was to William James Knapp. James received the letter when he was visiting his brother Richard H. Knapp. During the Victorian Era, people communicated by writing letters to one another. People thought that a person who wrote well probably had good manners. For example, a person might feel disrespected if someone wrote a letter to them using slang instead of formal English. They might feel disrespected if someone replied late, or not at all. James and Richard were the great- grandchildren of Dinah Jackson, the last person who was enslaved at Cherry Hill. After their mother died in 1854, James, Richard, and their sisters became wards in different Van Rensselaer households. Richard was raised to be a butler in the household of Cornelia Van Rensselaer Thum. They lived in Philadelphia, P.A. After he grew up, Richard worked as a clerk at a carpet store. James was also raised to be a butler. He lived and worked in the household of Richard Van Rensselear in Albany, N.Y. After Richard Van Rensselaer died, James needed a new job and place to live. He worked as a musician, a sales clerk at Hideley’s Music Store, a hospital porter and a nurse. James lived at Cherry Hill for about sixteen months between 1880 and 1884. His sister Minnie lived and worked there too. Harriet Maria Van Rensselaer Elmendorf and her daughter Harriet Elmendorf Gould were the descendants of Philip and Maria Van Rensselaer of Cherry Hill. " This item was added as part of the Diversity and Collaborative Knowledge Program funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Type

Written Document

Region

Capital District

Era

Civil War and Reconstruction

Topic

Communication

Repository

Historic Cherry Hill

Identifier

4_1_July_7_1880_HMVRE_and_HEG_to_WJK

Source

Historic Cherry Hill

Rights

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