Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of correspondence of the Hovey family—Henry Porter Hovey and his daughter Susan Elizabeth Hovey—by friends and relatives from 1854 to 1887. Also included is a business ledger of unknown origin with entries from 1846 to 1885, and a variety of ephemeral material dating from 1863 to 1887. The collection illustrates the experiences of white settlers in Illinois and nineteenth-century familial relationships, particularly over long distances.
Henry Porter Hovey (1810-1885) was born in East Machias, Maine on September 4, 1810, to Captain Moses Hovey (1773-1827) and Mary Foster. Henry P. Hovey briefly lived in Canada and Ohio before settling in Illinois as a farmer in 1839, first in Freedom, Illinois, and subsequently in Ottawa, Illinois. On January 31, 1850, Hovey married Mary Ann “Polly” Sinclair (1826-1893), the daughter of Amos Sinclair and Elizabeth Chamberlain Watkins. The Hovey family was one the earliest groups of white settlers in the town of Ottawa, Illinois.
The couple had one child, Susan Elizabeth Hovey (1851-1936), who was born on January 3, 1851, in Freedom, Illinois. Susan E. Hovey attended Jennings Seminary in Aurora, Illinois around 1870 to 1871. She lived in Ottawa, Illinois for most of her life. Upon her death on March 8, 1936, Susan Hovey was buried in Serena, Illinois, alongside her parents.
The collection chiefly contains letters sent to Henry P. Hovey and Susan E. Hovey by family and friends from 1854-1887. There are 267 letters with 161 retained mailing envelopes. There is also an unsigned business ledger with a variety of transactions, including many for lumber, and some entries at Indian Creek, Illinois, dating from 1846-1885. Additionally, there are approximately 110 related ephemeral materials. These ephemera items, dating from 1863-1887, primarily include mailing envelopes, receipts, taxation documents, and advertisements for cartes-de-visite.
The Library purchased this collection in 2019 with support from the Bruce C. Creamer Fund.
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