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Hetty Church and Sally Phillips Letters
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Mehitable "Hetty" Church was born in Newport, RI, in 1783, the third of 12 children born to Benjamin and Mehitable Church, originally of Freetown (now Fall River), Massachusetts. She married William Samuel Newton Allen, Jr., in 1806.
Phillips, Sally (Sarah)Sarah Phillips was born in Bristol, RI, in 1785, the fifth of 10 children born to Captain Nathaniel and Sarah Phillips of Bellingham, Massachusetts. On September 30, 1804, she married William Church.
Consists of correspondence between teenage girls and friends Hetty Church and Sally Phillips. Twenty-seven of the letters are from Church to Phillips, and 30 are from Phillips to Church, totaling 57 letters. The letters convey the friendship between the two young women, along with happenings in their own lives and those of family and friends. Both Church and Phillips detail their thoughts and emotions in their own handwriting. Topics include maintaining house, marriages, illnesses, deaths, and fathers and brothers away at sea. On September 30, 1804, Sally married Hetty's eldest brother, William, around which time some of her salutations change from "friend" to "sister."
Purchased from Primary Sources in November 2023 (AM 2025-032).
Item processed and described by Lauren C. Williams in December 2024, using description provided by the dealer.
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Subject
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Author
- Lauren C. Williams
- Finding Aid Date
- 2024
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research.
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Collection Inventory
Mehitable "Hetty" Church was born in Newport, RI, in 1783, the third of 12 children born to Benjamin and Mehitable Church, originally of Freetown (now Fall River), Massachusetts. She married William Samuel Newton Allen, Jr., in 1806.
Physical Description1 folder
Sarah Phillips was born in Bristol, RI, in 1785, the fifth of 10 children born to Captain Nathaniel and Sarah Phillips of Bellingham, Massachusetts. On September 30, 1804, she married William Church.