Letter to daughter, Dorothy Ashley in Boston

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From the collections of PVMA • Digital image © Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Assoc. • Image use information


About this item

The Reverend Jonathan Ashley (1712-1780) wrote a cautionary letter to his seventeen-year-old daughter, Dolly, when she left home to attend school in Boston in 1760. The minister wanted his daughter to learn the graces suitable to her social class and knew that she, as a child of one of the finer families, needed more worldly knowledge than was available in Deerfield. Like all parents, he also was concerned about Dolly’s safety and morality. He signed his full name, as was the custom, but declared himself, “your affectionate Father.”

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Details

Item typeLetter
AuthorAshley, Reverend Jonathan
Date1760-05-31
PlaceDeerfield, Massachusetts
TopicManners, Morals, Ethics
Family, Children, Marriage, Courtship
EraColonial settlement, 1620–1762
MaterialPaper
Process/FormatHandwriting
Dimension detailsProcess Material: manuscript, paper, ink Height: 7.00 in Width: 6.00 in
Catalog #L99.100
View this item in our curatorial database →
Ashley, Reverend Jonathan. Letter to daughter, Dorothy Ashley in Boston. May 31, 1760. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l99-100/. Accessed on October 11, 2024.

Please note: Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.