Letters Packet 8 (a)

Amerikan Bord Heyeti (American Board)

30 letters organized non-chronologically.Some are from 1860, as Martha and Charlie (age 5) are getting ready to leave for England and that ship voyage, and several are from their time in England. Much of the letters are devoted to describing the health of Charlie. 1860, letter from Martha to Elias from London: She describes their comings and goings and meetings with others, and focuses particularly on Charlie’s health. He has whooping cough, irritated skin and festering blisters around his ears, and Martha writes: “One thing I am sure of we shall not get such good roast beef to keep up anybody’s system when we get back to Turkey as we get here, and if the three months of journeying and eating good beef has had no effect on C for good in this way, can we hope for better results in future.” She wants to try homeopathic treatments. A letter from the same period: “Thence to Leicester Square to enquire for an embossed globe. The place at which I enquired is called Wilde’s Globe. The main building is circular and the Geography of the Earth is represented on the inner surface – here lectures are given daily on Geography and other sciences, but this portion of the building I did not see. On being admitted to an exterior part I found myself surrounded by wax figures in all the various costumes of the East. I was almost startled as I glanced around the apartment, so striking were the features and so exact the representations of the various nations, tribes and people wh. we daily see in Smyrna and Constantinople that for the moment was lost and I could hardly think where I really was. In regard to my errand I was quite unsuccessful.” She also visits the Crystal Palace at Sydenham: “This famous fairy like place is not to be described in a few words…the building itself, that is about the most wonderful of all – such an immense structure and all of glass and iron! The situation is beautiful and the gardens very finely laid out. And then the towers of glass and the long passageways and dining saloons outside the main building, and the great Californian tree (or rather the back) inside – and the great monster deities of Egypt…30 or 40 feet high – and trees and flowers and birds and [groves?] of wild animals and all varieties of Indian races of men and women in their native costume (not living men and women but wax).” Dec. 13 1859, from Malta, Martha remarks on how emotional and sad it was to revisit places they had been with Lizzie. In Marash, April 1863, traveling from Diyarbakir, Elias comments on the size of the congregation (288-315 people), and notes that the school is funded half by the mission and half by the community. Smyrna, April 1863, Martha to Elias: She describes the sea voyage from Beirut to Izmir (Beyroot to Smyrna): “The Sab[bath] that we embarked at Beyroot was a beautiful da. Everybody was very kind and we got nicely on board but found to our dismay that there were something like a thousand passengers – so they said, I cannot think there were so many. Seven hundred was pilgrims. The decks were covered. At Cyprus we left 300 & at Rhodes 200. When we were within 24 hours of Smyrna a strong wind began to blow from the north and we had a rough night, but arrived safely about 2 P.M. on Thursday. Mr. Kittredge and several other Americans were on board but they were in the second place. They could not get places in the first cabin and had to sleep on sofas as it was. We were in the ladies cabin with the wife or rather one of the wives of the Pasha of Damascus and her attendants black and white male and female. I was never before brought into such close contact with a harem. We had the full benefit of witnessing the operation of painting the eyes, checks, &c &c. Glad enough were we to get on shore for we had scarcely room to turn around or sit or lie except in our berths. But Emma did not suffer particularly.” By mid-May they are in Constantinople, staying at Margaret’s house, and Emma continues to be in generally poor health. Martha’s May 26 & June 1 1863 letters to Elias both mention news of the American Civil War: “The latest news from the war is very favorable to the prospects of the North. The heavy cloud that hung over the late movements at the Rappahannock seems to be breaking away into clear light and all promises well they say over the Mississippi. The greatest and best results are expected in that quarter.” Includes a Dec 1859 letter from Martha to Emma, from Liverpool, and Jan 1860 letters from Martha to Elias, from London & Liverpool.

Martha's letters to Elias from England (1859-60), and Elias to Martha from Diyabakır (1863) and en route to the Black Sea. Martha to Elias from Beirut, Elias to Martha from Sivas, etc. Handwritten in ink. Many of the letters are on standard rice paper grade blue and white/cream-colored stationery. Some ink bleeding and fading leading to illegibility, but generally good preservation.

1859
1863

English

London, Liverpool, Gibraltar, Smyrna (İzmir, Turkey), Malta, Diarbekir (Diyarbakır, Turkey), Antioch, Aleppo (Syria), Yeni Kapoo (Yenikapı), Marash, Aintab (Gaziantep, Turkey), Beirut, Syria (Beirut, Lebanon), Tocat (Turkey), Tokat (Turkey), Sivas (Turkey), Arapgir (Malatya), Malatia (Malatya, Turkey), Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey), Bebek (Istanbul, Turkey), Varna

Missions, Missionaries

SALT Research

https://archives.saltresearch.org/handle/123456789/44871

Correspondence

Letter

Print, Handwriting

259 (total pages for entire packet 8), a has 30 letters

ABARPC008A

Open Access

United Church of Christ (UCC), American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT), SALT Research

On deposit at SALT Research from UCC and ARIT