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Thacher-Channing families

Thacher-Channing Family Papers

1757-1930
3 boxes, books 22.5 linear feet
Call no.: MS 1005
Depiction of Stephen Thacher, ca.1853
Stephen Thacher, ca.1853

A graduate of Yale, failed schoolmaster, and politically-connected customs collector in eastern Maine during the antebellum period, Stephen Thacher raised a large family with grand intellectual ambitions. Thacher’s sons made the most of their collegiate educations in their careers in law and the ministry, his eldest daughter Mary married Thomas Wentworth Higginson, while a granddaughter Alice Thacher married the Harvard historian Edward Channing, son of William Ellery Channing and nephew of Margaret Fuller.

These relics of a prominent New England family contain nearly 150 letters, dozens of photographs and other visual materials, and a large assortment of books from three generations of Thachers and Channings. The letters are a rich resource for understanding the life of Stephen Thacher from the uncertainty of youth in Connecticut to political and financial success in the ports of eastern Maine. Assembled by Stephen’s son Peter, the collection includes a number of noteworthy items, including an excellent letter from Timothy Goodwin in July 1775, describing his experiences during the failed expedition on Quebec and the retreat to Crown Point, and a series of letters from Congressman Martin Kinsley on the major issues of the day, including the extension of slavery to the territories and formation of the state of Maine.

Background on Thacher and Channing families

Part of the intelligentsia of nineteenth century Boston, the Thacher and Channing families made distinctive contributions to the region’s literary, academic, theological, and political cultures. Descendants of Stephen Thacher hobnobbed with social reformers and Transcendentalists and marrying into New England’s family elite, they filled seats in the lecture halls at Harvard.

Born in Lebanon, Conn., on Jan. 9, 1774, Stephen Thacher endured more than his share of hardships early in life, losing his mother during his infancy and his father, Rodolphus, at just fourteen. Placed under the care of his eccentric uncle Josiah of Gorham, Maine, Stephen was prepared for college and entered Yale in 1792, however his time in school was wracked by tensions over management of his father’s bequest, even threatening to derail his education.

After graduating in 1795, Thacher set about to prepare for the ministry, teaching school for brief periods in a succession of towns in Massachusetts, beginning with Springfield, Mass. (where he also studied theology under Bezaleel Howard), and then in Suffield, Boston, Beverly, and Barnstable. None of the appointments lasted long. By the turn of the century, seeking more secure work, Thacher moved back to Maine to try his hand as a merchant.

Settling in Kennebunk, Thacher soon found enough stability to take a wife in 1804, marrying Harriet Preble, the daughter of Col. Esias Preble and Laura Ingraham. As a young man with ambition, he became involved in local politics, becoming an ardent Jeffersonian Republican. His political loyalty won him an appointment as Judge of Probate for York County in 1807, a stint as Chair of the County Republican Committee in 1812, and several terms as postmaster at Kennebunk. He reaped the peak of his political rewards in 1818 when James Monroe appointed him Collector of Customs for the Port of Passamaquoddy, holding office despite serious political opposition for twelve years. Thacher lived in the port town of Lubec for thirty years, leaving after the death of his wife in 1849 to be nearer relatives in Rockland, Me. He died in Rockland on Feb. 19, 1856.

The eleven children raised by Stephen and Harriet Thacher all seem to have pursued an engaged life in their own ways. Two of Stephen’s sons graduated from Bowdoin College (where Stephen had served on the Board of Overseers), a third took an LLD at Harvard, and the daughters all married into intellectually respectable families. Two daughters apparently never married, but Emily Thacher married a prominent Philadelphia merchant and Harriet Thacher was wedded to a noted Unitarian minister. The eldest and youngest daughters seem to have fared better still. Mary, the Thachers’ eldest daughter, married Thomas Wentworth Higginson, the renowned clergyman, writer, abolitionist, and Colonel of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry during the Civil War. Alice married the Pulitzer Prize-winning Harvard historian Edward Channing, a son of the poet William Ellery Channing and nephew of the writer Margaret Fuller.

Thacher-Channing genealogy (selected)

Bold indicates person present in the collection

Children of Stephen Thacher (1774-1859) m. Harriet Preble (1785-1849)

  • George Washington Thacher (1805 Aug 21-1864 Nov. 20)
  • Peter Thacher (1810-1894) m. Margaret Louisa Potter (1817-1901)
    • Francis Storer Thacher (1842-1923)
    • Mary Potter Thacher (1844-1941) m. Thomas Wentworth Higginson
    • Stephen Thacher (1846-1933)
    • Anne Barrett Thacher (1849-1917)
    • Harriet Preble Thacher (1852-1938) m. Herbert W. Lathe
    • Margaret Josephine Thacher (1855-1922)
    • George W. Thacher
    • Henry W. L. Thacher (b.1858)
    • Alice E. L. Thacher (b. 1863) m. (1886) Edward Channing (1856-1931)
      • Alice Channing (1888-1985)
      • Elizabeth T. Channing (b. Jan. 1892)
  • Mary Thacher (1812-1838) m. (Oct. 18, 1837) William Bartlett Smith
  • Emily Bliss Thacher (1814-1886) m. (1834) Edmund Alphonso Souder
  • Joseph Storer Thacher (1816-1818)
  • Ralph Partridge Thacher (1818-1825)
  • Harriet Preble Thacher (1820-1855) m. (May 11, 1846) Edward Mellus
  • Priscilla Josephine Thacher (1823-1844)
  • Joseph Anderson Thacher (1825-1885) m. Nancy Abigail Wilder
  • Ralph Partridge Emilius Thacher (1826-1902). Never married
  • Abigail Lindon Thacher (1830-1900)

Contents of Collection

These relics of a prominent New England family contain nearly 150 letters, three volumes of family history notes, dozens of photographs and other visual materials, and a large assortment of books from three generations of Thachers and Channings. The letters are a rich resource for understanding the life of Stephen Thacher from the uncertainty of youth in Connecticut to political and financial success in the ports of eastern Maine. Assembled by Stephen’s son Peter, the collection includes a number of noteworthy items, including an excellent letter from Timothy Goodwin in July 1775, describing his experiences during the failed expedition on Quebec and the retreat to Crown Point, and a series of letters from Congressman Martin Kinsley on the major issues of the day, including the extension of slavery to the territories and formation of the state of Maine.

The graphic materials series includes two early silhouettes of family members and a beautiful mourning miniature on ivory of Stephen Thacher’s daughter Mary, who died at the age of 26, shortly after her wedding. The collection includes several high quality daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, including a full plate attributed to Southworth and Hawes of Ellen Fuller Channing, wife of William Ellery Channing and sister of Margaret Fuller.

The books in the collection descended through the Channing family and include works by assorted Channings, Margaret Fuller, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and others in their circle, along with a handful of works written about the family.

Collection inventory

Series 1 . Manuscripts
1757-1855
Stephen Thacher letterbook
1757-1855
Box 1
Thacher, Jared: letter to parents (Hartford, Conn.)
1757 Apr. 28
p.2
Thacher, Samuel: letter to Rodolphus Thacher (New Haven, Conn.)
1775 Dec. 23
p.3

Returned from Carolina.

Goodwin, Timothy: letter to Rodolphus Thacher (Crown Point, N.Y.)
1776 July 5
p.4

Regarding the retreat to Crown Point from the Quebec Campaign, smallpox.

Thacher, Rodolphus: letter to John Thacher (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
1776 Oct. 5
p.5
Thacher, Rodolphus: letter to Josiah Thacher (Lebanon, Conn.)
1779 Feb. 22
p.6

Account of the sudden death of their mother; Solomon Williams dismissed from preaching and has settled in Northampton.

Thacher, Josiah: letter to Rodolphus Thacher (Boston, Mass.)
1785 June 3
p.7
Thacher, Josiah: letter to Rodolphus Thacher (Boston, Mass.)
1785 Oct. 10
p.8
Thacher, Rodolphus: letter to John Thacher (Lebanon, Conn.)
1787 Oct. 8
p.10
Thacher, John: letter to Abigail Thacher (Lempster, N.H.)
1789 June 1
p.11

Great scarcity of provisions in the country; “the French have been down to Charlestown and Clarmont and all Round here after grain. . .”

Thacher, Josiah: letter to Abigail Thacher (Boston, Mass.)
1790 Jan.28
p.12

Josiah’s sick child is still living.

Thacher, Samuel: letter to Josiah Thacher (New Haven, Conn.)
1791 Mar. 28
p.13
Thacher, John: letter to Abigail Thacher (Lempster, N.H.)
1791 Sept. 1
p.14

Plagued by ill health; wishes to leave the area as soon as he can, having come there too poor: “People in this country depend greatly on raising cattle, it being a good grass country, but I have no cattle. I have lost as much as two good cows since I came up here and I could say many things more were i to see you…”

Thacher, Samuel: letter to Josiah Thacher (New Haven, Conn.)
1791 Sept. 14
p.15

Thacher, Stephen: letter to Peter Thacher (Yale College, New Haven, Conn.)
1792 Mar. 5
p.16
Thacher, Stephen: letter to Josiah Thacher (Yale College, New Haven, Conn.)
1792 June 12
p.17
Richardson, James: letter to Josiah Thacher (Lebanon, Conn.)
1792 Oct. 9
p.18
Thacher, Abigail: letter to Josiah Thacher (Lebanon, Conn.)
1792 Oct. 15
p.19

Death of sister Lydia; will leave her place in the spring, rather than winter.

Thacher, Stephen: letter to Josiah Thacher (Lebanon, Conn.)
1793 Jan.21
p.20
Thacher, Josiah: letter to Abigail Thacher (Boston, Mass.)
1793 Feb. 22
p.22

Irritation that Stephen has not accepted his advice on college and suggests he put himself in a position to care for himself.

Thacher, Polly: letter to Stephen Thacher (Lebanon, Conn.)
1793 Dec. 3
p.23
Yale College: Catalogis classis juniorum (New Haven, Conn.)
1793
p.21

Requests assistance from his father’s estate to pay for college bills.

Thacher, Stephen: letter to Mary Thacher (Yale College, New Haven, Conn.)
1794 Feb. 28
p.24

Has returned to school; illness.

Taylor, Celinda: letter to Stephen Thacher (Lebanon, Conn.)
1794 Mar. 12
p.25

Has spent time with his aunt, who still lives

Thacher, John: letter to Abigail Thacher (Lempster, N.H.)
1794 June 2
p.25

Peter has written that Polly is nearly gone with consumption.

Smith, David: letter to Stephen Thacher (Sheffield)
1794 Sept. 26
p.26

“We live in an age, wherein Christianity is dispised and infidelity rears her turpid head, and seems to threaten the banishment of the religion of Jesus from many places. The prophecies are, I think, remarkably fulfilling at the present day, wars, and rumors of warsm and sickness, in divers places. And these are just the beginning of sorrow. All these things are to prepare the way for the glorious millennial state.”

Taylor, Celinda: letter to Stephen Thacher (Windham, Conn.)
1795 Jan.12
p.27
Thacher, Stephen: letter to respected aunt [Abigail Thacher] ( New Haven, Conn.)
1795 June 1
p.28
Porter, Robert: letter to Stephen Thacher (Farmington, Conn.)
1795 Aug. 12
p.29

Looking back on collegiate life as it is ending: “The four years at College are said to be the happiest a man of education enjoys. Perhaps it is true; but happy or not happy, few I believe are sorry to end it. Liberty is sweet. But to call a Collegiate life slavery is a burlesque on the word. The idea is no where but in the student’s affected brain. I never found it much of a confinement, but I am glad it is through. I wish to begin life, although it is said to be hard. Many are the cares of life, but I know there is some fruit among the thorns.”

Thacher, Abigail: letter to Stephen Thacher (S.l.)
1795 Oct. 21
p.30

Health is better.

Adams, John: letter to Stephen Thacher (Canterbury, Conn.)
1795 Dec. 19
p.31

Finds himself in a similar situation as Thacher, teaching school.

Stebbins, Josiah: letter to Stephen Thacher (Yale College, New Haven, Conn.)
1796 Jan.12
p.32

Life at college continues

Smith, David: letter to Stephen Thacher (Stockbridge, Mass.)
1796 Feb. 2
p.33

“You, I suppose, are preparing for the important employment of the desk. It is, indeed, a great and arduous work especially at the present when infidelity makes rapid progress and threatens to overwhelm the languishing sparks of true religion. . . I think it imprudent, and improper, for a student in divinity, to attend balls, and assemblies. You may, perhaps, call me superstitious, but I am confident I am not. We read of but one dance in the N. testament, and that took off the head of John, and, probably, sent Herod to everlasting perdition.”

Marsh, Ebenezer G.: letter to Stephen Thacher (New Haven, Conn.)
1796 Mar. 11
p.34

Life at Yale

Thacher, Josiah: letter to Stephen Thacher (Gorham, Me.)
1796 Sept. 2
p.35

“Your call for a settlement [of his father’s estate] is not Disagreeable to me. . .”

Lathrop, Joseph: Approval of Stephen Thacher as a candidate for the ministry in the Southern Association of Hampshire County (S.l.)
1796 Sept. 12
p.36
Thacher, William: letter to Stephen Thacher (New Haven, Conn.)
1796 Sept. 14
p.37

Suicide of Yale graduate Benjamin Heyward; comportment in life; new fashion in coats

Howard, Bezaleel: letter to Stephen Thacher (Springfield, Mass.)
1797 July 1
p.38

People of Chicopee have voted 20 pounds to supply their pulpit and wish to engage Thacher for five or six Sundays.

Richardson, Ruth: letter to Abigail Thacher (Schohary, N.Y.)
1797 Aug. 20
p.39
Thacher, Samuel: letter to Josiah Thacher (Boston, Mass.)
1797 Oct. 17
p.40

RE: settling accounts with Stephen.

Cone, Salmon: letter to Eliphalet Gillet (Colchester, Conn.)
1798 June 26
p.41

Letter of introduction for Stephen Thacher.

Childs, Ebenezer: letter to Stephen Thacher (Shelburne, Mass.)
1798 Sept. 4
p.42
Fitch, Ebenezer: letter to Stephen Thacher (Williamstown, Mass.)
1798 Oct. 16
p.44

Opportunities for a parish in the region.

Dana, James: letter to Moses Hemmenway (Welles, Me.) and Alden Bradford (Wiscasset, Me.) ( New Haven, Conn.)
1798 Oct. 30
p.45

Letter of introduction for Stephen Thacher.

Kendal, Samuel: letter to Maj. Allen (Weston, Mass.)
1798 Nov. 12
p.43

Letter of introduction for Stephen Thacher.

McKeen, Joseph: letter to Caleb Bingham (Beverly, Mass.)
1799 Dec. 31
p.46

Letter of support for Stephen Thacher steeking a teaching position in Boston.

McKeen, Joseph: letter of recommendation for Stephen Thacher (Beverly, Mass.)
1799 Dec. 31
p.47

Letter of support for a teaching position in Boston.

Thacher, Apphia: letter to Abigail Thacher (Gorham, Me.)
1800 Jan.10
p.48
Batchelder, John; James Burnham; and John Francis: letter of recommendation (Beverly, Mass.)
1800 Jan.14
p.49

Letter of recommendation as teacher.

Thacher, Abigail: (Lebanon, Conn.)
1800 Jan.14
p.50

Has received the money he sent to her through Peter.

Beverly (Mass.). School Committee: letter of recommendation for Stephen Thacher (Beverly, Mass.)
1800 Jan.15
p.51

Letter of recommendation as teacher.

Bullfinch, Charles: letter of appointment for Stephen Thacher (Beverly, Mass.)
1800 May 7
p.52

Appointing Thacher as keeper of a private school in town.

McKeen, Joseph: letter of recommendation for Stephen Thacher (Beverly, Mass.)
1800 July 3
p.53

Letter of introduction for Thacher as a teacher after his position in Boston did not work out.

Thacher, Stephen: letter to Peter Thacher (Amesbury, Mass.)
1800 Oct. 7
p.54
Clarke, Josiah: letter to Stephen Thacher (Bos
ton, Mass.)
1800 Dec. 15
p.55

Glad to have introduced Thacher to the people of Barnstable.

Thacher, Peter: letter to Stephen Thacher (Gorham, Me.)
1801 June 3
p.56

On attempts to help land a teaching position for Stephen.

Barnstable (Mass.). School Committee: Thanks to Stephen Thacher for teaching (Barnstable, Mass.)
1802 May 20
p.59

Written after deciding not to employ a teacher for the next year.

Waterman, Jonathan: letter to Stephen Thacher (Barnstable, Mass.)
1802 July 27
p.60

Relating news of Mr. Bangs’ inquiries after Thacher’s suitability for a ministerial position in Vermont. . .. “When the sun dimmed, He and the Decon entered into a very warm political discussion. The Deacon advocated Republicanism; and the person who called himself your uncle, advocated Federalism. He said every Jacobin was a devil, brassed Jeff[erson] up hill and down….”

Waterman, Jonathan: letter to Stephen Thacher (Barnstable, Mass.)
1802 Aug. 19
p.61
Thacher, Apphia: letter to Stephen Thacher (Gorham, Me.)
1802
p.57

Seeking correspondence.

Gorham, William: Poem
ca.1802
p.58
Granger, Gideon: letter to Stephen Thacher (Washington, D.C.)
1803 Oct. 11
p.64

Thanks to Thacher for sending a copy of his July Fourth oration on civic freedom: Republicans have taken the political lead in Maryland.

Richardson, Celinda: letter to Stephen Thacher (Lebanon, Conn.)
1804 Feb. 15
p.67
Note on letter from Celinda Richardson to Stephen Thacher, Feb. 15, 1804
p.66
Dana, Judah: letter to Stephen Thacher (Fryeburg, Me.)
1808 Mar. 18
p.65

Letter of introduction for Samuel Fessenden.

Cutts, Richard: letter to Stephen Thacher (Washington, D.C.)
1810 Mar. 4
p.68

Has nominated Thacher to fill vacancy as postmaster at Wells.

Cutts, Richard: letter to Stephen Thacher (Washington, D.C.)
1810 Mar. 29
p.69

Postmaster has accepted the oath as modified by Thacher.

Gregory, Celinda: letter to Stephen Thacher (Towanda, Pa.)
1810 June 6
p.70

Has moved to the banks of the Susquehanna.

Bradbury, J.: letter to Stephen Thacher (Saco, Me.)
1810 June 11
p.71

Mr. Patten, a trader at Kennebunk, is a master of most instruments of music.

Swift, Charles: letter to Stephen Thacher (Lebanon, Conn.)
1810 July 20
p.72

Sorry to hear of the death of Thacher’s uncle Josiah.

Gregory, Celinda: letter to Stephen Thacher (Towanda, Pa.)
1810 Sept. 8
p.73
Preble, William P.: letter to Stephen Thacher (Alfred, Me.)
1811 July 13
p.75

“Mr. Holmes has not only ceased to support the federalists but has actually joined himself and his talents to the cause of the people. You will therefore be safe in treating him with confidence. . .”

Newspaper clippings
1811 Nov. 19, 1817 Mar. 28
p.62

Stephen Thacher offers sale of property in Kennebunk for law office or country trader (1811) and announces establishment of school in Kennebunk (1817)

Thacher, Peter: letter to Stephen Thacher (Hartford, Conn.)
1812 Apr. 20
p.74

Family news.

Thacher, Stephen: letter to Jonathan Waterman (Kennebunk, Me.)
1812 Aug. 18
p.63

Apologizes for his eccentric uncle, who has been that way for years; indebtedness to his uncle, etc.

Bailey, Theodorus: letter to Stephen Thacher (New York, N.Y.)
1812 Oct. 9
p.76

News of death of Samuel Thacher.

Republican Party of York County (Me.) : Appointment for Stephen Thacher as Chair of the County Committee (Boston, Mass.)
1812 Oct. 30
p.77
Bailey, Theodorus: letter to Stephen Thacher (New York, N.Y.)
1812 Nov. 5
p.78
Bailey, Samuel: letter to Stephen Thacher (Lebanon, Conn.)
1813 Apr. 19
p.79

Sending transcriptions of the epitaphs on the graves of Stephen’s parents and sister ;the English are blockading the harbor and taking their ‘coasters’

Massachusetts. Collector of Revenue fopr the 8th District: Certificate to Stephen Tacher for a two wheeled carriage called a chaise (Saco, Me.)
1813 July 24
p.80
Massachusetts. Commissioner of Revenue: License to Stephen Thacher as retailer of merchandize other than wines and spirits (Wells, Me.)
1813 Dec. 25
p.80
Bailey, Theodorus: letter to Stephen Thacher (New York, N.Y.)
1814 Jan.20
p.81

Account of cousins in the city
to whom Thacher wishes to distribute money.

Thacher, Harriet: letter to Stephen Thacher (New York, N.Y.)
1814 Feb. 16
p.82
Thacher, George W.: letter to Stephen Thacher (New York, N.Y.)
1815 Dec. 2
p.84

Thanks Stephen for the advice; is in the army.

Thacher, William: letter to Stephen Thacher (New York, N.Y.)
1815 Dec. 12
p.85

The search for Mrs. Manwaring led him to the almshouse, however she had been discharged in 1814 and had not yet been located. Has been teaching himself Greek; “It is inspiring what a complete death has taken place as to the rage of Party Politics. Our rectors can not govern us in Peace, and the many bugbears that were about to swallow up our naion are proved to have been but phantoms: the national insolvency, the madness of Congress, the British omnipotence, the Essex Junto, and Hartford Convention together with the dissolution of our union! all have vanished as a Dream when man awakes!!!”

Shepley, Esther: letter to Stephen Thacher (Saco, Me.)
1816 Mar. 28
p.88
Thacher, Stephen: letter to John Holmes (Kennebunk, Me.)
1818 Feb. 5
p.89

Concern over delays in his appointment as collector at Passamaquoddy

Holmes, John: letter to Stephen Thacher (Washington, D.C.)
1818 Mar. 12
p.86

Informing Thacher he has been nominated to Collector at Passamaquoddy.

Shepley, Esther: letter to Stephen Thacher (Saco, Me.)
1818 Mar. 20
p.87

Congratulations of appointment as collector at Passamaquoddy.

Thacher, Stephen: letter to John Holmes (Kennebunk, Me.)
1818 Mar. 23
p.90
King, W.: letter to Stephen Thacher (Bath, Me.)
1819 Mar. 22
p.91
Kellogg, Elijah: letter to Stephen Thacher (Portland, Me.)
1819 May 6
p.92

Advises Thacher to remain entirely quiet in fulfilling his office espite the clamor of opponents.

Palmer, Barnabus: letter to Stephen Thacher (Kennebunk, Me.)
1819 July 29
p.93

Long discourse of impact of Maine separating from Massachusetts.

Kinsley, Martin: letter to Stephen Thacher (Washington, D.C.)
1820 Feb. 2
p.94

Long analysis of the Missouri question: “Extend this principle beyond the Mississippi, into the interminable regions of the West, and in a few years they will send us twenty more, so that instead of the Free Men governing the slaves, the slaves will virtually govern the free men; Whenever we talk of Restricting them as to their slaves, they call them their ‘property’ and when we speak of Representtion, they call them ;people,’ each one hadn 3/5th of a voter,,,:

Kinsley, Martin: letter to Stephen Thacher (Washington, D.C.)
1820 Feb. 20
p.95

Still making long speeches on Maine and Missouri in Congress: “All virtuous and good men who are not slave-holders who have spoken or written upon the subject are loud in their execrations against their conduct. I am very happy to find that your opinion coincides on this subject so fully with my own: We have for a time trembled at the responsibility which rested upon us: not dancing to become instrumental in extending and perpetuating slavery in the interminable regions of the West, and yet recoiling at the thought of voting indirectly, at least, against the independence of Maine…”

Palmer, Barnabus: letter to Stephen Thacher (Kennebunk, Me.)
1820 July 20
p.96

Eastport business.

Storer, Joseph: letter to Stephen Thacher (Kennebunk, Me.)
1820 Sept. 4
p.97

On machinations to remove Thacher as collector at Passamaquoddy.

Kinsley, Martin: letter to Stephen Thacher
1820 Oct. 13
p.98

On the Tariff Bill.

Hill, Mark Langdon: letter to Stephen Thacher (Washington, D.C.)
1820 Nov. 25
p.100

Warning to look out for those who would entrap him, despite the decision not to proceed further in the case against Thacher without further evidence

Holmes, John: letter to Stephen Thacher (Washington, D.C.)
1820 Nov. 26
p.99

The Sec. of Treasury plans to do nothing further in Thacher’s case unless new charges or evidence are produced.

Thacher, George W.: letter to Stephen Thacher (Coxsackie,N.Y.)
1821 Jan.01
p.101

Family news.

Sprague, P.: letter to Stephen Thacher (Hallowell, Me.)
1821 Apr. 21
p.102

Has requested the President to inquire into Thacher’s work as collector for Passamaquoddy.

Maine. Secretary of State: Appointment of Stephen Thacher to Bowdoin College Board of Overseers (Portland, Me.)
1821 May 3
p.103
Holmes, John: letter to Stephen Thacher (Washington, D.C.)
1822 Jan.05
p.106

On appointment of Asher Ware to district judge.

Preble, William P.: letter to Stephen Thacher (Portland, Me.)
1822 Feb. 7
p.104

On investigation into Thacher’s conduct as collector.

Whitman, Ezekiel: letter to Stephen Thacher (Washington, D.C.)
1822 Feb. 19
p.105

On Thacher’s nomination and appointment to a second term as collector at Passamaquoddy.

Lincoln, Enoch: letter to Stephen Thacher (Washington, D.C.)
1822 Feb. 22
p.107

Assurance that Thacher will be reappointed collector.

Holmes, John: letter to Stephen Thacher (Washington, D.C.)
1822 Mar. 30
p.108

Thacher’s nomination has been confirmed.

Thacher, Stephen: letter to Jeremiah Day (Lubec, Me.)
1823 Apr. 23
p.109

Thanks Day for his support; pride in Yale classmaters’ achievements.

Gregory, Celinda: letter to Stephen Thacher (Owego, N.Y.)
1827 Feb. 13
p.110
Gregory, Ebenezer B.: letter to Stephen Thacher (Owego, N.Y.)
1827 Mar. 22
p.111
Kellogg, Elijah: letter to Stephen Thacher (Perry, Me.)
1827 July 16
p.112
Kellogg, Elijah: letter to Stephen Thacher (Lubec, Me.)
1828 Mar. 6
p.116

Parish in Lubec.

Thacher, Peter: letter to Stephen Thacher (Hartford, Conn.)
1828 Apr. 29
p.114

Family history; Hartford Female Seminary and Miss Beecher.

Dewey, Asahel: letter to Stephen Thacher (Lebanon, Conn.)
1828 June 12
p.113

On research into Thacher’s family history.

Holmes, John: letter to Stephen Thacher (Alfred, Me.)
1828 Sept. 28
p.115
Palmer, Barnabus: letter to Stephen Thacher (Kennebunk, Me.)
1829 May 14
p.117

Would be grieved at Thacher’s removal from office.

Palmer, Barnabus: letter to Stephen Thacher (Kennebunk, Me.)
1829 May 20
p.118

After inquiries, believes Thacher is safe in office.

Bontecou, Harriet B.: letter to Harriet P. Thacher (Springfield, Mass.)
1829 May 21
p.119

Will not be able to visit; enjoys life in Springfield.

Evans, George: letter to Stephen Thacher (Washington, D.C.)
1830 May 10
p.120

Politics in Washington; Jacksonian party; the Indian question; Henry Clay.

Holmes, John: letter to Stephen Thacher (Alfred, Me.)
1831 Aug. 25
p.121
Anthony, Thomas: letter to Stephen Thacher (New Canaan, Conn.)
1835 Sept. 16
p.123

Teaching school.

Gregory, Celinda: letter to Stephen Thacher (Owego, N.Y.)
1838 May 13
p.125
Rogerson, Harriet M.: letter to Stephen Thacher (Livingston, Ala.)
1838 July 9
p.124

Thoughts of family and home: “five years ago this place resounded only to the yell of the Savage — it is the location of a Choctaw village. But the change has been rapid in every direction are extensive Plantations, attention being given wholly to the culture of cotton…”

Thacher, Emilius: Discourse on whether love is stronger before or after marriage
1838 Nov.
p.147

Written at age 11 for the Juvenile Debating Club.

Thacher, Harriet: letter to Stephen Thacher (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
1841 Oct. 30
p.126
Thacher, Harriet H.: letter to Stephen Thacher (Boston, Mass.)
1843 Apr. 27
p.127

Including copy of letter from A. Mazzanghi

Cook, Harriet: letter to Stephen Thacher (Demopolis, Ala.)
1844 Feb. 6
p.129

Demopolis has a delightful climate and healthy/

Thacher, Peter: letter to Stephen Thacher (Hartford, Conn.)
1845 Oct. 30
p.131

Family history.

Thacher, Elizabeth: letter to Stephen Thacher (Albany, N.Y.)
1848 June 19
p.133

News of family and friends.

Thacher, Thomas Anthony: letter to Stephen Thacher (New Haven, Conn.)
1849 Aug. 17
p.135

Cousin Peter has died.

Thacher, Thomas Anthony: letter to Stephen Thacher (New Haven, Conn.)
1851 July 17
p.136

Wishes Thacher would visit.

Bacon, Ebenezer: letter to Stephen Thacher (Barnstable, Mass.)
1852 Jan.26
p.137

Hannah Lewis moved from Barnstable to Hyannis and has since died; great changes in town since Thacher kept school there.

Thacher, Thomas Anthony: letter to Stephen Thacher (New Haven, Conn.)
1852 May 12
p.138
Abell, Asa: letter to Stephen Thacher (North Bergen, N.Y.)
1853 Mar. 4
p.141

Family news.

Thacher, Apphia: letter to Stephen Thacher (New Haven, Conn.)
1853 Apr. 9
p.143

Family news.

Thacher, George W.: letter to Stephen Thacher (Edgartown, Mass.)
1854 Apr. 17
p.145

Visit to cemetery in Chillmark to view family graves; family history.

Thacher, Stephen: letter to Peter Thacher (Lubec, Me.)
1854 Oct. 28
p.139

Account of his visit to Lebanon, Conn.

Day, Jeremiah: letter to Stephen Thacher (Yale College, New Haven, Conn.)
1855 July 18
p.144

On fiftieth anniversary of their graduation from Yale.

Thacher, Peter: Family history notebook
1836
Box 2

Pages 1-55 is partly a commonplace book with extracts from family writing; p. 58 on is largely genealogical notes.

Thacher, Peter: Family history notebook
ca.1895

Volume containing research notes on Thacher and Potter family history, including a transcription of a long autobiographical letter from Stephen Thacher (the writer’s grandfather). The volume includes the name of Stephen Thacher, but appears to be in the hand of Peter Thacher (who signs the last entry with initials).

Thacher, Stephen, Jr.: Thacher family history
1757-1855
Box 2

Volume, with index, on Thachers from their time of emigration to America.

Series 2. Graphic materials
1805-1930
Box 2
Channing, Alice Thacher (b. 1863)
1874-1920
9 images

An image linking to Credo

Alice Thacher, later wife of historian Edward Channing.

An image linking to Credo

Alice Thacher, later wife of historian Edward Channing.

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Alice Thacher as a young girl, later wife of historian Edward Channing,

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Alice Thacher as a young girl, later wife of historian Edward Channing.

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Alice Thacher as a young girl, later wife of historian Edward Channing,

An image linking to Credo

Alice Thacher, later wife of historian Edward Channing, ‘The year she was married.’

An image linking to Credo

Alice Thacher, later wife of historian Edward Channing, ‘The year she was married.’

ca.1920
Gelatin silver print
Box 2: 1
(i042)

An image linking to Credo

Bust portrait of wife of historian Edward Channing.

Channing, Alice (1888-1985)
1888-1915
14 images

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Alice Channing, daughter of historian Edward Channing and his wife Alice Thacher Channing.

An image linking to Credo

Image of Margaret Higginson (8 years old) and Alice Channing (at 18 months). Margaret Waldo Higginson was daughter of Thomas Wenthworth Higginson and married James Dellinger Barney in 1905.

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Alice Channing, daughter of Harvard historian Edward Channing, as an infant.

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Alice Channing, daughter of Harvard historian Edward Channing, at 18 months.

ca.1891
Gelatin silver print
Box 2: 3
(i053)

An image linking to Credo

Apparently later print of the daughter of Harvard historian Edward Chaning and his wife Alice Thacher Channing.

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Alice Channing, daughter of Harvard historian Edward Channing, as a young girl.

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Alice Channing, daughter of Harvard historian Edward Channing, as an infant.

An image linking to Credo

Alice (b. 1888) and Elizabeth (b. 1892) Channing were the daughters of Harvard historian Edward Channing and his wife Alice Thacher Channing.

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Alice Channing, daughter of historian Edward Channing and his wife Alice Thacher Channing.

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Alice Channing, daughter of historian Edward Channing and his wife Alice Thacher Channing.

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Alice Channing, daughter of Harvard historian Edward Channing, as a young girl.

ca.1911
Gelatin silver print
Box 2: 3
(i049)

An image linking to Credo

Portrait in cap and gown of daughter of Harvard historian Edward Chaning and his wife Alice Thacher Channing.

ca.1915
Gelatin silver print
Box 2: 3
(i048)

An image linking to Credo

Candid portrait of daughter of Harvard historian Edward Chaning and his wife Alice Thacher Channing.

Channing, Edward (1856-1931)
1858-1930
7 images

An image linking to Credo

Ambrotype of historian Edward Channing (1856-1931) as an infant; with label for Heywood’s Photograph and Ambrotype Gallery (228 Washington Street) on verso of image. Channing was son of William Ellery Channing (1818-1901), nephew of Margaret Fuller, and married Alice Thacher.

ca.1865
Gem tintype
Box 2: 4
(i036)

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Harvard historian Edward Channing as a boy.

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Harvard historian Edward Channing as a boy.

An image linking to Credo

Alice (b. 1888) was the daughter of Harvard historian Edward Channing and his wife Alice Thacher Channing.

ca.1925
Gelatin silver print
Box 2: 4
(i043)

An image linking to Credo

Harvard historian Channing standing on deck of an unidentified ship.

ca.1925
Gelatin silver print
Box 2: 4
(i045)

An image linking to Credo

Formal portrait of Harvard historian.

ca.1930
Gelatin silver print
Box 2: 4
(i044)

An image linking to Credo

Harvard historian Channing standing by a tree.

Marshall: Channing, Edward: studio portrait (Cambridge, Mass.)
ca.1930
Gelatin silver print ; 36 x 27 cm.
OS 1: 1
Mac Donald, Pirie: Channing, Edward: studio portrait, autographed (New York, N.Y.)
ca.1930
Gelatin silver print ; 36 x 27 cm.
OS 1: 1
Marshall: Channing, Edward: image of painted portrait by Charles Hopkinson
ca.1930
Gelatin silver print ; 36 x 27 cm.
OS 1: 1
Channing, Edward Tyrrel (1790-1856)
1853-1880
3 images
ca.1853
Quarter-plate daguerreotype
Box 2: 5
(i002)

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Edward Tyrrell Channing, Professor of Rhetoric at Harvard and brother of William Ellery Channing and Walter Channing.

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Edward Tyrrell Channing, Professor of Rhetoric at Harvard and brother of William Ellery Channing and Walter Channing.

An image linking to Credo

“My Uncle Edward Tyrell Channing’s house on Quincy St., Cambridge — he built it, & lived in it almost all his married life. The S. E. room was his study — S.W. parlor, N.W. dining room, up stairs S.E. their bed room — S.W. the guest chamber where I always slept in my many lovely visits — hedge of lilacs on Quincy St. Elm trees outside on the edge of the side walk. M. F. C. C.” [Mary Ruth Channing Coolidge]

Channing, Elizabeth T. (b. 1892)
1893-1905
5 images
Channing, Elizabeth T.: half-length studio portrait, seated (Cambridge, Mass.)

Vignetted image of infant Elizabeth (b. 1892), daughter of Harvard historian Edward Channing.

ca.1895
Gelatin silver print
Box 2: 6
(i052)

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of younger daughter of Harvard historian Edward Channing and his wife Alice Thacher Channing.

An image linking to Credo

Vignetted image of Elizabeth (b. 1892) as a young girl, daughter of Harvard historian Edward Channing.

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Elizabeth T. Channing as a young girl, daughter of historian Edward Channing.

ca.1900
Gelatin silver print
Box 2: 6
(i051)

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of younger daughter of Harvard historian Edward Channing and his wife Alice Thacher Channing.

ca.1905
Gelatin silver print
Box 2: 6
(i050)

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of younger daughter of Harvard historian Edward Channing and his wife Alice Thacher Channing.

Channing, Ellen Fuller
1853
1 photograph
Channing, Ellen Fuller: vignetted portrait

Portrait of Ellen Fuller Channing, sister of Margaret Fuller, and wife of the poet William Ellery Channing. The image has apparently been rematted up into whole-plate size. Based on stylistic similarities the image has tentatively been ascribed to Southworth and Hawes, who also photographed both William Ellery Channing and Edward Tyrell Channing.

Channing family trip to the U.K.
ca.1893
4 items

An image linking to Credo

Image of Channing family visit to England: Alice Thacher Channing is likely the woman at center.

An image linking to Credo

Image from Channing family visit to England.

An image linking to Credo

Image from Channing family visit to England.

Goddard, Mary Storer (d.1806)
ca.1805
1 item
ca.1805
Silhouette
Box 2: 8
(i046)

An image linking to Credo

Silhouette of young woman with white ink embellishment: note on verso reads “This looks so much like mother I think it was probably Aunt Mary [Storer] Goddard, the first Mrs. Wm. Goddard — E. A. Potter.” Mary Goddard died in childbirth in 1806.

Lathe, Harriet Preble Thacher (1852-1938)
1885
1 photograph

An image linking to Credo

Image of Harriet Preble Lathe, daughter of Stephen Thacher.

Perkins, Samuel Gardner (1767-1847)
1850
1 photograph

An image linking to Credo

Daguerreotype portrait of elderly Samuel Gardner Perkins, Boston merchant and author of a memoir of his experiences in Haiti during the Revolution. Identified on label as “grandfather.” Perkins’ was father of Barbara Higginson Perkins, who married Walter Channing (1786-1876), and through her, grandfather of William Ellery Channing (1818-1901).

Smith, Mary Thacher (1812-1838)
1837-1850
2 items

An image linking to Credo

Miniature portrait of Mary Thacher Smith, daughter of Stephen Thacher (1774-1859) and wife of William Bartlett Smith; oil on ivory in silver setting with lock of hair in niche on rear; red morocco case. Mary Thacher married William Barlett Smith on Oct. 13, 1837 and died May 18, 1838.

An image linking to Credo

Daguerreotype copy of miniature portrait of Mary Thacher Smith, daughter of Stephen Thacher (1774-1859) and wife of William Bartlett Smith. Mary Thacher married William Barlett Smith on Oct. 13, 1837 and died May 18, 1838. In Frederick De Bourgh Richards case (144 Chestnut Street: Richards operated there 1848-1851 according to Craig’s Daguerreian Registry).

Thacher, Anne Barrett (1849-1917)
1880
2 images

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Anne Thacher as a young woman, daughter of Peter Thacher and granddaughter of Stephen Thacher. Backmark for A. Marshall, Newton, but with addition “C[aleb] A. Stevens, operator.”

Thacher, Margaret Josephine (1855-1922)
1880-1885
2 images

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of daughter of Peter Thacher.

An image linking to Credo

Image of Margaret Josephine Thacher (1855-1922), daughter of Stephen Thacher.

Thacher, Margaret Louisa Potter (1817-1901)
1830
1 item

An image linking to Credo

Inscription on verso: ‘M.L.T. when a child. Done by Master Hanks, Portland, Maine.” and in later hand “Margaret Louisa Potter Thacher, 1817-1901. Margaret was the wife of Peter Thacher, and daughter-in-law of Stephen Thacher; her date of birth is recorded both as 1813 and 1817.

Thacher, Stephen, Jr. (1846-1933)
1858-1875
2 images
ca.1858
Ninth-plate ambrotype
Box 2: 12
(i007)

An image linking to Credo

Ambrotype of Stephen Thacher (LLB Harvard, 1871), grandson of Stephen Thacher and son of Peter Thacher.

An image linking to Credo

Portrait of Stephen Thacher , son of Peter Thacher and grandson of Stephen Thacher.

Thacher, Stephen (1774-1859)
1850
1 photograph
ca.1850
Sixth-plate daguerreotype
i006

An image linking to Credo

Daguerreotype of Stephen Thacher of Lubec, Maine, graduate of Yale College (1793), clergyman, and later merchant and farmer.

Winsor, Justin (1831-1897)
1896
1 photograph

An image linking to Credo

Image of Winsor, writer and historian, with hat and cane in hand and granddaughter posed on his lap.

Miscellaneous and unidentified images
ca.1870-1880
1 photograph

Administrative information

Access

The collection is open for research.

Language:

English

Provenance

Gift of Ben Forbes, Fran Soto, and family, 2017.

Related Material

Antislavery

Connecticut

Education

Maine

Massachusetts (East)

Photographs

Printed materials

Processing Information

Processed by I. Eliot Wentworth, Dec. 2017.

Digitized content

Photographs and other visual materias have been digitized and are available for viewing online through SCUA’s digital repository, Credo.

Bibliography

Bowdoin College Library Bulletin, numbers I-IV. Brunswick, Me. : the Library, 1895. p. 254-255

Copyright and Use (More informationConnect to publication information)

Cite as: Thacher-Channing Family Papers (MS 1005). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

Search terms

Subjects

  • Employers’ associations–Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts–Economic conditions–20th century

Names

  • Smith Art Enterprises
  • Smith, Harriet D.

Genre terms

  • Newsletters
Gift of Ben Forbes and Fran Soto, 2017

Subjects

Channing familyMaine--Politics and government--19th centuryMassachusetts--Politics and government--19th centuryThacher family

Types of material

AmbrotypesDaguerreotypesPhotographsSilhouettes