This collection is comprised of 30 incoming letters to Mary Jane Whitney and her brother, William Wallace Whitney, of Albany, New York. Eliza Whitney wrote 13 letters to Mary about her experiences at the Albany Female Academy, and William and George Whitney each wrote letters to Mary about their lives in Albany. Asa Whitney, a machinist and railroad entrepreneur, sent Mary and William news from home and updates on his business affairs.
Mary Jane Whitney received 21 letters while teaching at a school in Washington, D.C., between December 19, 1839, and July 26, 1841. Eliza, her sister, wrote about her social life and activities in Albany and her education at the Albany Female Academy. She discussed her subjects of study, classes, examinations, teachers, and classmates, and special occasions, such as visits to a local medical college and a lecture delivered by Harvey Peet. Eliza also attended parties and other social engagements, and often reported local marriages.
Asa, William, and George wrote to Mary about life in Albany, the health of her grandmother, and the potential publication of her father's political tract. Mary received two questions about possible encounters with William Henry Harrison: Eliza asked whether Mary had attended a ball given in President-elect William Henry Harrison's honor, and her father wondered if the capital had been crowded during Harrison's inauguration.
Asa Whitney sent 9 letters to his son William between August 26, 1842, and July 24, 1843, while William lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His letters primarily relate to his business interests and to his partnership with Matthias Baldwin. He also wrote one letter from Cleveland, Ohio, about a recent business trip (March 14, 1843). Whitney's letters from September 1842 concern John Whitney's affliction with scarlet fever, as well as the death of a neighbor from the same disease.
Asa Whitney was born in Townsend, Massachusetts, on December 1, 1791, the son of Asa Whitney and Mary Wallis. As a boy, he worked in his father's blacksmith shop, and he spent much of his adult life working with machinery. His work installing machines and building railroad cars for the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad led to a position as superintendent, and in 1839 he was appointed Erie Canal commissioner. He later formed a locomotive-building business with Matthias Baldwin of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and afterward founded Asa Whitney & Sons, a cast-iron car wheel manufacturing company. In 1860, he became president of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, though illness forced him to resign the following year.
On August 22, 1815, Asa Whitney married Clarinda Williams of Groton, Connecticut. They lived in Brownville, New York; Albany, New York; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their seven children were: William Wallace (1817-1847), George (b. 1819), Mary Jane (b. 1821), Daniel Lyman (b. 1824), Eliza (b. 1826), John Randall (b. 1828), and James Shields (b. 1830). Asa Whitney died on June 4, 1874. Mary Jane Whitney taught school in Washington, D.C., between 1839 and 1841, and married John H. Redfield in August 1843. Eliza Whitney attended the Albany Female Academy while Mary Jane was employed in Washington.