The Dooley–Redyard Letters (+ Playbill & Photos)
1923-1925
This remarkable collection of early twentieth-century letters preserves the voice of a young Southern woman navigating work, love, and independence during the 1920s. Written primarily from small towns in Alabama to her love Jess in Arkansas, the letters trace an evolving relationship marked by affection, humor, longing, and occasional tension.
Through vivid, unguarded prose, the writer recounts everyday life as a schoolteacher—her students, social circles, travels, and ambitions—while also documenting extraordinary moments, including a dramatic train wreck and the emotional complexities of distance and courtship. Her reflections on homesickness, community expectations, and professional uncertainty offer a rare and personal perspective on the lived experience of women in a rapidly changing America.
Together, these letters form a cohesive narrative of connection across miles, capturing not only the rhythms of daily life but the intimate negotiations of identity, independence, and romance in the early twentieth century. As a whole, the collection stands as a powerful testament to the enduring human need for communication, belonging, and understanding.
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Adventures of a Traveling Salesman (on hotel letterdhead)
1908-1909
Traveling paper salesman Geo. W.D. (George), writes sweet letters about his travels to his wife and children back home.
Bradford A. Gibson’s Boat Trips
1890
In 1890, when he was just 20 years old and still attending university, Bradford A. Gibson went on some boat trips to Lowell, Massachusetts and Squam Lakes, New Hampshire. He even drew his own map of his journey and drew some sketches of scenes from along the way.
Bradford was born in 1870 in Worcester County, Massachusetts. He attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute for Civil Engineering; his thesis was an “Investigation of the Stability of the Bear Valley Dam”. After graduation, he became president of the Central Building Company and married local schoolteacher Edith (Herrick) Gibson.
Unfortunately, Edith died too young, at the age of 33. Bradford passed away in 1938 at the age of 68. At the time of his death, he was the president of Leicester Savings Bank. He and his wife are buried alongside his family in Woodlawn Cemetery in Clinton, Massachusetts.
It’s incredible to think about an entire life lived and that we’re able to get to know someone long-dead through a diary left behind. Bradford’s observations include mundane details, interesting sites and historical information. For example, on one day the group encountered a bull that “bellowed and pawed” at them from shore. After that, they kept rowing to an island and then further down the river until it turned into a canal, complete with a gatehouse that was completed in 1886. He notes passing by mills, brick buildings, waterfalls, railroads and other vessels.
In July 1890, the journal notes that they were travelling on the Chinton, down the Nashua River. One of the sketches is from this particular voyage. At various points along this journey and others, the group picked up their boats and had to carry them over to nearby waterways to continue on their way.
In addition to being a travel journal, this pocket notebook also appears to have been used to jot down notes from Bradford’s classes at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
In the entire notebook, there are only one or two blank pages. Plus, there are pages from older notebooks tucked into this one that date to 1887.