Hewes Family Papers

Materials in the collection include many family letters, the diaries of two members of the family, and a few documents related to Benjamin’s attendance at Bowdoin College.

The majority of the letters were saved by Benjamin W. Hewes and were written to him by friends and family members including his parents, sisters, and cousins. One document served to guarantee payment of Ben’s tuition at Bowdoin College and was signed by his brother-in-law, Llewellyn Powers. Ben’s wife, Cora, saved a few letters written to her from mother, Phebe Tupper, and Ben’s sister, Puss. One of the letters was written by Cora’s aunt, I.N. Wier, to her father, Eliakim.

The vast majority of items, both letters and diaries, were transcribed prior to their donation. Brief comments have been recorded about many of the letters, noting topics that include family marriages, deaths, a trial, a murder in Levant in 1866, and a new railroad in 1871. A letter from Puss to her aunt Laura provides a detailed account of Martha’s two year affliction and treatment for cancer before her death in 1876. The majority of the topics in letters, however, relate to light-hearted, day-to-day affairs.