Florence Porter Lyman Papers
Florence Porter Lyman (1870-1960) was born into the Chapin Moodey family in the late 19th century. She married Charles Wendell Porter, a Northampton lawyer who spent his summers in Northern Maine, in 1894. After her first husband’s death in 1899 she continued to spend her summers in Maine. She then married Frank Lyman of the prominent Lyman family in 1903. They had three children together and lived in both Northampton and Brooklyn. During her summers in Northern Maine, Florence Porter Lyman stayed in touch with her many family and friends who lived in Massachusetts and New York.
This collection contains almost forty years of Florence Porter Lyman’s in-coming correspondence. Letters refer primarily to domestic matters including: her first husband’s train accident and death, her engagement and re-marriage to Frank Lyman, and the birth of her three children.
Background on Florence Porter Lyman
Florence Porter Lyman (1870-1960) was the daughter of Moses Kerr Moodey and Hannah Maria Chapin. She was born Florence Chapin Moodey and grew up in Northampton, Massachusetts with her siblings Herbert Lyman Moodey and Cornelia Chapin Moodey. She married Charles Wendell Porter (1866-1899) on June 7th 1894 in Northampton. Although he grew up in Massachusetts, Porter’s family summered near the border of Canada in the town of North Perry, Maine. Porter was a graduate of Northampton High School, Amherst College, and Columbia University. He passed the bar in 1892 and started his law practice in Northampton. In 1896 he was struck by a train; the accident left him injured and unable to practice law. Three years later, in 1899, he was killed by an accidental discharge of his gun while in Northern Maine.
After four years of widowhood, Florence married widower Frank Lyman, Sr. (1852-1938) on August 25th, 1903 in North Perry. Frank Lyman had previously been married to Mary Sanger (1859-1890). Frank Lyman, Sr. was a member of the prominent Northampton Lyman family. His brother was Joseph Lyman (1851-1883) and his cousin was Benjamin Smith Lyman (1835-1920). Frank Lyman attended Harvard University, Columbia School of Mines, and the Ecole des Mines in Paris. Lyman worked in various fields before becoming the president of the Brooklyn Gas Light Co. Florence Porter Lyman spent most of her time in Northampton, Massachusetts or Brooklyn, and summered in Northern Maine. Florence and Frank had three children together: Joseph Lyman (1906-1979), Frank Lyman, Jr. (1908-1992), and Hannah C. Lyman (b. 1910).
Contents of Collection
This collection contains the personal correspondence of Florence Porter Lyman during the years of 1894 to 1931. The letters were primarily sent to Florence Porter Lyman by family and friends during her summers in Northern Maine. The letters refer primarily to domestic matters. The nearly forty year span of letters coincide with a variety of changes in Florence’s life including her marriage to her first husband Charles Wendell Porter, Porter’s train accident and death, her years as a widow, her engagement and marriage to her second husband Frank Lyman, and the births of her children. These topics are often referred to by friends and family. The correspondence is organized chronologically.
Administrative information
Access
The collection is open for research.
Language:
English
Provenance
Gift of the Pembroke Historical Society (Pembroke, Maine), 2016.
Processing Information
Processed by Kyle Boyd and Michelle Sigiel, 2017.
Related Material
The correspondence has been digitized and may be viewed online through our digital repository, Credo.
Related material
SCUA holds two other collections featuring Florence Porter Lyman and her immediate family:
- Lyman Family Papers (MS 634)
- Frank Lyman, Jr. Papers (MS 735)
Copyright and Use (More information
)
Cite as: Florence Porter Lyman Papers (MS 946). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.