BLACKWELL FAMILY
ALCE STONE BLACKWELL            Feb.- Aug. 1898         Blackwell, Henry B.Alice Stone Blackwell
1621 Mass. Ave. Washington, D.C.
Feb. 22, 1898.
Darling Papa:
I came over here yesterday,
and found Mr. Spofford confined
to the house by neuralgia.
He was on the lounge in the
library, in a flannel 
dressing gown, with good
little Florence waiting
upon him in the most
devoted way. He had been
having a good deal of 
pain, but was not suf-
fering much then. Florence
had to go out in the
evening, so I spent the
evening reading aloud to
him from a book of
Irish fairy tales. He seemed
to enjoy it, and I know Idid. This morning Florence
took me with her when
she went to market. What
a wonderful market it is!
hundreds of dealers under
one roof, and not only meat 
and fish and fowls and vegetables,
but flowers, and cake, and
mice-meat in pots, and
all sorts of  things. It 
must be a great convenience
for housekeepers.
Most of the things looked
nice, too. Then Florence
went to a store where
there was a closing out
sale of sheets and towels, etc.,
and an embanked crowd 
of women waiting to 
get in; and she sent the 
coachmen home with

accommodation. When she 
gets back to Waren, O., she
is going to borrow it 
elsewhere and pay me back.
She can get a loan
without difficulty in her 
own town, but not here
in Washington without
paying higher interest 
than she wants to; and 
I thought we could 
spare it for a few weeks.
It was just to help the 
Association out of a 
temporary scrape. Mrs. 
Upton is perfectly good
for the money.
My present plan is 
to leave here Thursday
morning, make a little 
visit to Dr. Grace Kimball
at Vassar College, and getmyself useful by reading
aloud. One can't write
notes all day long, and it is
a change.
You will be glad to 
hear that Miss Hay got a 
pass for herself and Mrs.
Catt to New Orleans and 
back, for advertising in 
the W. J. That will save
the Association (or rather
the Organization [?].)
$110. I have done another 
thing which I am afraid 
you will not like so
well -- lent Mrs. Harriet
Taylor Upton $300. to pay 
the debts of the Suffrage
Association here in Washington.
It is merely a temporary

gold. When I see what 
beautiful care she takes of 
her father, it makes me
feel like a perfect pig. I 
wish I were half as good a
daughter. There is a shaggy 
little dog here, belonging
to Barbara, Charlie Spofford's 
little girl (but of 
course you know that;
I was forgetting that
you had just been here)
and even the dog adores Florence;
you can see it as he 
lies at her feet and looks 
up at her. Harry seemed
heartily glad to see me, and 
they are all as kind as
possible. I try not to 
give trouble, and to makeme. I read to Mr. Spofford again until she got home. By that time the pain had come on again, & he was in great misery. I left him to her ministrations, & came up here & wrote till lunch, & have been at it ever since lunch again. Am sending some more report to Mr. Youngjohn by this mail, & hope to finish it to- morrow. It is very nice to be in a big, comfortable room again, & with such nice people as the Spoffords. Florence is as good as 

OFFICE OF 
THE WOMAN'S JOURNAL 
NO.3 Park Street

Boston     189
home  Saturday by the Norwich line. It tales only $1.46 & two hours to go from NY to Poughkeepsie, & Dr. Kimball has sent me an urgent invitation. 
Mrs. Merrick of La. told me she was extremely fond of you, & felt as if she were your sister. A great many people have said pleasant things about you, & sent their love, whichI am afraid I generally forget
to give. Laura  Clay was 
one, & Miss Helen Morris 
Lewis of N.C. another.
       Mr. Spofford astonished 
me by the praise he gave to 
my little book of Armenian 
translations. I never thought 
the translations were much, 
from a literary point of 
view; but he says they have 
been much admired in 
Washington, & that he 
himself considers them 
very fine, & thinks they 
ought to be in all the
large libraries of the 
country! I am so puffed 
up that I expect to ascend 
through the ceiling, like a 
balloon. Please remember
me to Mrs. Atkinson [--corner folded over and might be obscuring a word--]

all the household. With much love, Kubbe.
Florence & the dog constantly remind me of Florence 
Dombey & Diogenes; only that our Florence's father 
appreciates her, & Mr. Dombey didn't.H.B.B.
Office of    
The Woman's Journal,
No. 3 Park Street.

Boston, Aug 10 1898
Dear Alicekin
No news of any consequence  since I last
wrote. Beth took a short drive yesterday
with Mr Hegissian as far as Granite
Bridge, but go into a mudhole, broke
a wheel & returned without further
accident. Mr Gookuis has the water,
for which I had to pay $7.83.
I collected & deposited in bank for you
$60. on a/c of Hollis St. rent. I 
have written to Phebe Beeman and to
Kate Stone for advice as to Luther's
condition. I have pleasant letters
from Long, McKinley's secretary Lodge
& Walker in regard ] to the Philippines-
They all agree with me that we cannot-
honorably let it go back into the 
tender mercies of Spain.
I am writing to the various States
for the latest lists of officers WCTUs so as to
send out sample copies of the W.
Column. It is raining & compara-[left page]
Lovely cool here today--
plenty? of matter for the paper.
The number will be, I think,
musically? varied & interesting--
?? has not yet gone on
her? vacation.
     Beth proposes that Lizzie
shall take a week's vacation
between now & Sept. 1. &
thinks she can do what
? is needed.
    Harry says he & his mother
are getting along well.
    Howard joins the family
at Old Desert Serpent in a
day or two.
   Yours aff.,
   Henry B. Blackwell

As nearly as I can recall Larry & I spent the
summer of 1855 at Walnut Hills--When Larry came
East I remained at Walnut Hills till Spring
of 1856.  Lucy & I spent summer and early
fall of 1856 at Virginia? & La Crosse, Wis.
going there to New York & boarding
with Elizabeth on 18th St. that winter
& following spring--Bought the house on

[left page side text]
Vine St. & Orange in the summer of 1857 and lived in it until
1859 -- bought the house next door on Lowe? St.  & lived
in it during 1859 and 60 -- moved to Mountain
in 1861 & remained there 1862 & 3 -- boarded at
Gramercy Park in winter of 1863--in 1864 boarded
in New York near East River--& bought house at Roseville
lived in Roseville ?  moved to Boston in 1869
during vote? years spent surrounding? at Corp's Hill
Martha's Vineyard & Kennebunkport.

[right page]
P.S. If you send those basins by
express, you might at the same
time send some W.J. paper &
envelopes.  My stock is almost
used up.
Gardner, Mass.
7:30 P.M., Aug.12, 1898

Darling Papa:
     Two letters from you 
in one day is an unusual
treat!  I strolled around
to the P.O. before supper
this evening, & was rewarded
by finding your second
epistle.  I have signed 
the check, and send it
to Miss Turner by this
mail.
     If Ethel goes to the
Vineyard on Monday, I

Alice Stone Blackwell
should think Howard Gardner would wait and go down with her.

Aug 12/98

      I was so delighted to 
hear that Mr. Heglessian
had gained two pounds 
in five days that it 
seemed as if I should 
immediately gain at least half a 
pound myself, merely 
on the strength of the 
good news. Aunt Sarah 
saw me laughing so 
over you letter (your 
calculation of what Mr. 
H. would weigh in a year
 if he continued to gain at 
the same rate) that she 
was quite surprised, & asked 
from whom the letter was, 
& what it was about.  I shall think of you & Ethel as driving off somewhere on Sunday. I wonder if you could manage so as to take Mrs. Wentworth to & from church? With much love, Kubbe

Alice Stone Blackwell
Gardener, Mass
Aug 13/98
Office of 
The Woman's Journal,
No. 3 Park Street.
Gardner, Mass
Aug.13, 1898

Darling Papa:
To-day it has cleared up.  
I worked in the morning, as 
usual; & this afternoon I 
have been up Doctor's Hill, 
and "viewed the landscape 
o'er", & avoided two horses 
& several cows -- one light-
colored one with a mild 
countenance & a ring of 
spikes around her gentle-
looking nose -- which were 
bivouacking on the very top 
of the hill.  I saw lots of 
checkerberry leaves, & hardhack, 
& some fine thistle-blossoms. 

I am here rather than there.  No special news. I suppose Ethel is with you now, & Howard will be over on Sunday.  I hope you will have pleasant weather. Kind regards to everybody. When does Lizzie mean to take her week's vacation when you buy fruit& a few ripe blackberries, & other nice things ; & the landscape is as fine as ever, though rather hazy. Then Uncle Henry showed me his corn & tomatoes & squash vines ; & I had a little chat with Aunt Sarah, & then strolled down to the station & back, in a very leisurely way. The air here is delightful. Aunt Sarah had a long letter to-day from Emma. She says the weather is so persistently rainy that they feel as if they were in Vancouver Island, or Alaska. They had given a successful dinner to the visiting Blackwells, or a section of them, & had a bathing party for the rest, which was unmercifully rained upon. On the whole I am glad

or anything eatable in this city, please tell Beth what it costs, & she will put it down in the book. She is helping me to keep my house keeping accounts. Yours affectionately, Kubbe.    

Alice Stone Blackwell
Gardner, Mass.
Aug. 14, 1898.
Darling Papa :
This morning I went to the Unitarian Church here. The minister, who is young (and lately married, Aunt Sarah tells me), took occasion in his sermon to preach against the doctrine that wives ought to obey their husbands ; which would have pleased you. He also preached against the idea that men ought to support the candidateof their party, no matter
who he might be; which
I am afraid would not 
have pleased you as well,
though it pleased me.
The sermon was
about wrong and right
kinds of loyalty.
It is a glorious 
day. I have thought
of Ethel as being at our 
house, & Howard too,
I hope. I suppose they
will go down to the
Vineyard together to-morrow,
though Howard finds
himself so comfortable
at Cambridge that 
Aunt Sarah thinks

he is reluctant to leave it.
I have letters from
Mrs. Catt & Miss Hay about
Oklahoma. She (Mrs. Catt) is willing 
to go out there & work for 
six weeks, giving her
services, if her travelling 
expenses can be paid. They 
would be from $200. to 
$250. She also wants to
have the papers of the
Territory supplied with
[pl] suffrage plate matter
from Oct. 1 to March 1, &
calculates that if 100 out
of the 130 papers in Oklahoma 
can be induced
to take it, it will cost
$180. to supply them.
[But she has mistakan]Mr. Garrison seemed to
think he might be disposed
to help towards paying for
plate matter for the 
Oklahoma papers; & I
am sending him Mrs. 
Catt's letter. The enclosed
from Miss Hay I send
to you; & if you think
well of the idea, as I 
do, you might speak
of it to Mr. Garrison.
I [???] hardly think
there is any more hopeful 
spot anywhere just
now than Oklahoma;
& certainly no one could 
do so much good there
as Mrs. Catt.
Yours with much love,
Kubbe.

It is a rare chance to
visit almost all our
folks at once, & you
ought not to miss 
it. Invite Mrs. Adkinson 
to stay at our
house during your
absence, which she
will be glad enough
to do, & kite off, my
dear, kite off! She
will "brood the nest,"
& get a little nest for
herself at the same
time.
We are having a 
storm this evening; the 
lightning is flashing & 
the thunder rolling
overhead as I write.which he mentioned that
he should leave on
the 18th, which would be 
just a month from the 
time he came; & he expressed 
his thanks, etc.
Of course I have not
said a word to him
about staying longer.
    My idea was to 
give Beth two
weeks at Ogunquit. You 
know we have both
of us felt rather uneasy
about her seeming
pale & their, & I thought 
two weeks would do 
her more good than
one. She always 
comes back from

Ogunquit looking like a 
new persson.
I hope you will
accept Emma's & Uncle
G's invitation to go to
the Vineyard after getting 
the paper off this week.
Go down Friday, &
come back Wednesday.
We hardly ever have 
so large a gathering 
of Blackwells in one 
place as there are at 
the Vineyard now, &
they would all be delighted 
to see you. 
All the Blackwells
on this side the ocean 
are there, except Aunts
Emily & Ellen, & myselfIt is a rare chance to 
visit almost all our
folks at once, & you
ought not to miss
it. Invite Mrs. Adkinson 
to stay at our
house during your 
absence, which she
will be glad enough
to do, & kite off, my
dear, kite off! She
will "brood the nest,"
& get a little rest for
herself at the same
time.
We are having a 
storm this evening; the
lightning is flashing &
the thunder rolling
overhead as I write.

The papers in the State
of Washington don't seem
to quote much, & none
of them quote a whole 
column a week, such as 
the plate matter furnishes.
But an editor will use
plate matter when it
saves him the expense
of setting up type.
So Beth was delighted
with my dream, was
she! I wasn't. It was 
extremely harrowing to 
my feelings. A card 
just rec'd from Mrs. 
Barrows says that the 
German student whom
the blighted young
man in my dreamBut I am sheltered
& comfortable.
I have no re-
memberance of ever
seeing that MS that 
this Iowa woman
writes about. Better
write & tell her that
so far as you can
learn it never was
received.
I cannot think
it would do as much
good to send the
Woman's Journal to
the Oklahoma papers
as to supply them
with plate matter. 

Office of
The Woman's Journal,
No. 3 Park Street.
Gardner, Mass. [Boston], Aug. 21 1898 
Sunday
Darling Papa:
Aunt Sarah is 
worrying a good deal over
Uncle Frank's household,
& wants me to write to
you to-day; so I write,
though you wont get it
before Tuesday or Wednesday.
We gather from Phebe
that Alice Mabel & Ernest 
have definitely made up 
their minds that they 

but I think they will be more comfortable in their 
own quarters. It is hard to uproot a man from his own
home at 92. The weather is fine, & we hope 
you are 
having 
the same
at the
Vineyard. 
I
went to
the
Unitarian
church 
again this 
morning,
& heard a will not stay after this 
fall. Alice Mabel says she 
shall go crazy if she 
does. It is evident that 
there is great & growing 
friction ; & both Aunt 
Sarah & I think it is 
best to let them go, & 
try to find a respectable 
man & woman to live 
with Uncle Frank & 
Aunt Harriet, & take care 
of things under their 
direction. So Aunt Sarah 
has been turning over
in her mind all the 
people she can think of, 
who might go there. The 

good sermon. No special news. Mrs. Babcock has
used your article "What Might Have Been," in her plates for
the patent insides; which will insure its appearing

Office of
The Woman's Journal
No. 3 Park Street 
Boston,   189

most eligible seems to be a 
certain Mary Flagg who 
used to work for Aunt 
Sarah, & whom Aunt 
S. knows to be kind 
& good. This Mary has a 
husband, rather an inefficient
man, & a little 
girl about eight years
old. Aunt Sarah says 
they are the sort of people 
who stay about a year 
in a place, & then want 
to leave. They have been 
about a year in their

in between 60 & 70 N. Y. & Mass papers. So it will be 
well distributed. I think it was a "ten-strike" to 
resurrect that old speech of Clara Barton's at this 
time. 
Was it
your idea? 
There 
are 
a 
number 
of 
interesting 
things 
in the 
W. J. 
this week. 
With much love, Kubbe. 
good sermon. No special news. Mrs. Babcock has used your article "What Might Have Been", in her plates for the patent insides ; which will insure its appearingPresent place, and are probably now desirous to make a change; and Aunt S. has written to them to-day to suggest to them the possibility of going to Nichewaug. She thinks the husband would be equal to the small amount of outdoor work that there is in winter -- mostly splitting wood and caring for the cow -- and she is sure Mary would be good to Uncle Frank and Aunt Harriet. She has a few other strap's to her bow if this fails,

I found an old letter of Aunt Eliza's, written in 1858, and asked her whether I should send it to her. It was written to Grandma Blackwell about Uncle Charles. At on time she rather liked to "reminisce" about him, (over)

330 Punam Ave
Brooklyn 
NY.
August 21, 1898

Dear Mrs Blackwell,
your letter to be forwarded was received a few days ago. Mrs Lane desired me to tell you that she does not wish to have the letter mentioned, sent toher-I myself would say to you, that any word or letter of the sacred past is more than she can stand in her weak state. Even with her sister, who is with us for a few days, the past is never mentioned.  Her chin will quiver and we know she is suffering. It is the breaking up of a beautiful, strong character, by the will 

of God in taking the soul to himself.  She seems stronger since the cooler weather has come, and sometimes it seems as if she might linger with us longer than we any of us thought possible. Her morning wish is always "I wish I were in Heaven".  Sincerely, E. A. Sharpbut I suppose now she is 
in no state to. It was 
stupid of me to propose 
sending it.
Please forward 
this letter to Emma 
when read.
Yours affectionately,
Alice Stone Blackwell 

POSTAL CARD - ONE CENT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
THIS SIDE IS FOR THE ADDRESS ONLY

Mr. Henry B. Blackwell
Scribnocket
[Boutwell Ave.]
[Dorchester]
Martha Vineyard Mass.

Alice Stone Blackwell
Gardner, Mass.
Rec Aug 21/98


Gardner, Mass.  Aug. 19, '98
Dear Papa:- I am sending
only cards to you at
Dorchester now, because
I hope you have gone to the Vineyard; although
there is such a downpour
of rain to-day
that it is enough to discourage
you from going.
There is almost nothing
to report from here,
especially on rainy days,
when the only kind of
exercise to be taken is
walking up and down
in my big room. We
are well. I work at the
memoir, and go to the
P.O., & that is about all.
Emma writes that she &
Frances are coming here
Aug. 28, so about Aug. 30

[*you may expect me home. With much love, [????].Office of
The Woman's Journal,
No. 3 Park Street.

[Boston] Gardner, Mass. Aug. 23 1898

Darling Papa:
The last three days
have been fine, and we
have been congratulating
ourselves upon the [fact]
probability that they were
fine also at the Vineyard.
Your card of Aug. 21, and
Emma's letter of the same
date, came last night, &
we were very glad to
have them.
Aunt Sarah wants

[*P.S. I climbed Doctor's Hill again
this afternoon, and browsed on
checkerberry leaves.
Please tell Beth the book came
safely & thank her.*]me to suggest to you that
perhaps Alive Mabel would
be willing to stay at Uncle
Frank's if we provided her
with a hired girl to help
about the work. I am
inclined to think myself
that a change would be
better, and since the
young people are thoroughly
sick of staying, it is not
worth while to urge them
to stay on.
I suppose when you
come home you will
plunge right into a whirlpool
of business cares;
otherwise I should suggest
that you run up on Friday
or Saturday to see Uncle

[*Frank & talk things over. My present plan is to come
home next Tuesday, and start for camp on Thursday.
You have had some splendid dips in the ocean, yet no
doubt you will be glad to get home to your own
bathtub. With much love, Kubbe.

Office of
The Woman's Journal,
No. 3 Park Street
Boston,    189

but I don't think any
of them
would answer: a widow
with three young children;
an old lady who can't
bear to dictated to; &
that forlorn little Mrs. 
Sampson who worked
for us once, years ago.
I have written to Mrs.
Barrows to see if she
knows of any kind &
capable women who
would undertake the 
inside work. That is
the hardest to providefor. If we can only
secure a good woman for
that, I can easily find
an Armenian to look after
the wood pile and the cow.
But Aunt S. [&] is very
desirous that you should
go up there & talk over
things with Uncle Frank
& Aunt H., & see what
they would really prefer.
She doesn't know whether
Alice Mabel has told
them of her determination
to leave, or not.
Aunt S. has considered
the idea of having Uncle
F. & Aunt H. come & live with her, or with Celara;Alice Stone Blackwell
Aug 24/98

Office of 
The Woman's Journal
No. 3 Park Street Yardner

Yardner, Mass. [Boston] Aug. 24 1898

Darling Papa:

Yours describing your 
call at Mrs. Sandford's came
to-day. I read it aloud to 
Aunt Sarah, + she shook
with laughter over the 
embarrassing situation of
Mr. Sandford + his friend
in the spring. She is 
much interested in hearing 
all the Vineyard letters.

I suppose you will 
get home to-day and sleep
in your own bed to-night. I
hope it will seem good to get
back. There is not much
news here. I work in the
A.M., & peregrinate in the
afternoon, or write letters. I
have been up Coey's hill, &
down to Crystal Lake, & all
over the fine hill opposite
Aunt Sarah's, & up Doctor's
hill twice, and have explored
the west village,
and the roads in various
directions.
Aunt Sarah's regular "help"
has been away, and the
gap has been filled alternately
by two little Swedish
sisters about 16, so intelligent
and gentle and nice that

Office of
The Woman's Journal,
No. 3 Park Street.
Boston,    189

I wish Aunt Ellen might
have such an one. I wonder
what sort of a girl she
has had this summer?
The regular handmaiden,
Mary Franklin, has now
returned, & her return is
a comfort to Aunt Sarah, as
she is older & more experienced
than the young
Swedish girls, & can take
more responsibility. She
seems capable & good-natured.
Aunt Sarah is much
pleased with the enclosed fromthe N.Y. Voice, + would like to 
have it republished in the 
Woman's Journal. I think
it is good. If you do not
print it, please return it
to her, as she wants to
send it to Howard--for
his future guidance in 
case of his making an
unwise marriage, I suppose! 
The Voice is really 
an able paper, + has published 
such an exposure of Quay's
doing as we ought to copy,
as an object lesson [i] on 
the need of woman suffrage.
On second thoughts, 
I will send these cuttings
to the printing office for you. 
Please tell Beth her nice
long letter came to-day, + I
have much enjoyed reading it. How is your eye? You
had not let me know that you were having trouble with it.
With much love, Kubbe. Kind regards to all the household.


Barsam's address is Barsam Bedig,
20 Charlton St.
Worcester.

Office of 
The Woman's Journal,
No. 3 Park Street

Gardner, Mass. [Boston]
Aug 25 1898

Darling Papa, 

Your card of Wednesday 
afternoon is just rec'd.
Glad to know you are
safe home again. What
an indefatigable battier in
the surf you are! I
should have thought 
you would have had to 
run for the stage without 
even taking time to wipe
the salt water off. That
would have given you a 
damp ride! The enclosedfrom Clara came yesterday,
and Aunt Sarah wants me
to forward it to you, & to
suggest that if Aunt Harriet
is coming down to Clara's,
it would be good for you
to go to Clara's at the same
time, & see her there.
Aunt Sarah thinks that
when it comes to the point,
Alice Mabel & her husband
will not easily find a
place for them all to go to,
in the fall; & that she
would very likely stay, if
it could be arranged to have
Uncle Frank & Aunt Harriet
occupy the bedroom & sitting
room on the other side
of the entry. Aunt Sarah is
strenuous in urging that 
they ought to do this. One
of Alice Mabel's chief grievances


is that she cannot live in
so hot a room as Aunt
Harriet requires to be comfortable;
& as long as Aunt
Harriet insists upon using
the kitchen as her sitting
room, Alice Mabel has to
be almost roasted about
her work. If Aunt Harriet
would occupy the room
on the other side, she
could keep it as hot
as she likes. A letter
received this morning from
Mary Flagg (the woman
with a husband & 8 year old
daughter) says she & her
husband have engaged tostay where they are for another
year. So either Alice Mabel
must remain at Nichewaug,
or we must find
some other man & woman
to stay there.
The enclosed from poor
[Barsa?] came this morning. 
I send it to you, as you can
give him wiser advise than
I can. It seems to me there
are two things that might be
done for him:
1. Give him letter of introduction
to Senator Hoar & Congressman
Walker, praising
him as he deserves, & asking if
they cannot find him a 
place in Worcester as coachman
& man of all work.
2. See if we cannot find him
such a place in Dorchester 
or Boston. He is so good a

Alice S Blackwell

worker & so thoroughly
good a fellow that [any]
anybody would be lucky
who got him; and I
think he could earn more
in this way than by
cobbling. I am very sorry
for him. Do let us do
the best we can to find
him a place.
I am glad Emma
will stay at Pope's Hill
of nights, when she 
first comes back. That
being the case, I shall plan
to come back Monday instead
of Tuesday.
We are having dog-dayish
weather here, with frequent
heavy showers, & Aunt
Sarah finds it quire oppressive.
I don't, it is so much
dryer * less sticky than
muggy weather in Dorchester.
My body is well,
but my head is very tired,
& when I go to camp I
don't mean to take along a
bit of work. How is
your eye? Beth wrote me
that it was quite sore
before you went to M.V.
Kind regards to all the
household. With much love,