Call Number:

C0875

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 1 box
• 0.2 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Joseph Lea Correspondence, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1799-1802 (inclusive)

Creator:

Lea, Joseph, fl. 1799-1802

Form:

Correspondence -- 19th century

Abstract:

Consists of correspondence (approximately 125 letters) between Joseph Lea (Princeton Class of 1802) and his father, Thomas Lea.

Joseph Lea attended boarding school in Burlington, New Jersey, before enrolling as a senior at Princeton University in 1801.

The collection consists of correspondence (approximately 125 letters) between Lea and his father, Thomas Lea. Joseph writes from boarding school in Burlington, New Jersey, in 1799, to his father at Wilmington, Delaware. In September 1801 he asks for permission to attend Princeton, and given that permission he enters Princeton as a senior in November 1801, taking classes in chemistry, natural philosophy, and other subjects.

Lea's letters discuss student life, dining, clothing, mad dogs, the rebuilding of Nassau Hall after the fire of 1802, and travel to Philadelphia, Pa., to visit relatives. His father's letters (1799-1802) are filled with concerns for his son's spiritual and physical well-being.