Manuscripts Collection
Martin Weld was born on October 15, 1817 in Cornish, New Hampshire and died on January 6, 1899 in Groton, Vermont. He was the fifth of six sons born to Daniel (1781-1851) and Lydia Fuller Weld (1784-1846). Lydia Fuller Weld, born in Hardwick, Massachusetts, was the daughter of Deacon Thomas Fuller. Martin Weld's father, Daniel Weld of Cornish, N.H., was the second child of Deacon John and Deborah Plimpton Weld. Daniel and Lydia Fuller Weld's other five children were John Fuller Weld (1908-1892), Daniel Weld (1810-1848), Moses Weld (1813-1891), Eben Weld (1815-1857), and Charles Weld (1819-1891).
Genealogical information was taken from the collection.
Letters (1841-1878) addressed to Martin Weld, an attorney residing in Groton, Vermont, and to his father, Daniel Weld residing in Cornish, N.H., from three of his brothers. The letters discuss a variety of family business, as well as their lives in New England, Illinois, Minnesota, and Oregon.
The letters are from John Fuller Weld, a physician in Nauvoo, Illinois; from Eben Weld, a government farmer in Minnesota and a homesteader in Oregon; and from Charles Weld, a teacher in Maryland and Massachusetts and a businessman in Maine. John Weld is often referred to as "Doctor" or "Fuller" in the letters written by Eben and Charles. A common theme throughout all of the letters is a concern over the lack of communication amongst members of the family. The long lapses in correspondence are remarked on and deplored.
The letters are accompanied by biographical and historical information (1932-1934) related to Eben's experiences (1830s-1850) as a trader and government farmer to the Dakota Indians at Kaposia, near Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
Published versions of three of the letters written by Eben Weld are included in the article "A New Englander in the West: Letters of Eben Weld, 1845-50," in
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should
Accession Numbers: 3610, 3840, 3884, 3902
Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, May 1997
Catalog ID number: 09-00319506
Contains biographical information on the family and brief descriptions of some of the letters prepared by Mrs. Eben M. Johnson (1932); a letter from Grace Lee Nute to Mildred Weld (1934) containing an extract from Henry Lewis' journal of July 27, 1848 that mentions Eben Weld (available as part of the Henry Lewis and Family Papers in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections); draft and published versions of "A New Englander in the West: Letters of Eben Weld, 1845-1850," which appeared in Minnesota History 15:301-308 (Sept. 1934); and copies of accession notes from various issues of Minnesota History 15 (1934).
John, a physician, lived in Nauvoo, Illinois. These letters are of particular interest because of their outspoken views on religion and politics. A religious free thinker and a Democrat, John gives his opinions of the new president, Zachary Taylor, and of Martin Van Buren (November 19, 1848). Another letter gives his view on nullification (March 30, 1851). Although he opposed slavery, he also opposed the actions of the abolitionists. Other letters contain information on the growth of Illinois' population, its agricultural possibilities, weather, prices for goods, railroad extensions, his marriage (1845) and divorce (1847), his health, the lack of correspondence from family members, and his career as a physician.
The only member of the family to live in Minnesota, Eben arrived at Fort Snelling in the 1830s. The first letter (Jan. 18, 1845) contains a description of the fort; his trading with the Dakota Indians; his claim at the Falls of St. Anthony; the weather; other traders in the region; and his appointment as an agent at Kaposia to teach agricultural practices to the Dakota. Another letter (April 21, 1850) describes his leaving Minnesota; the voyage down the Mississippi River to New Orleans; and a brief mention of his visit to Panama on the way to California. Weld eventually settled on a claim near Oak Point, Oregon, near the Columbia River. The rest of the letters describe the region's abundance of crops and timber; prices for goods; Indians in the region; floods; and advice to Martin on items needed by those intending to emigrate to the West. The last letter from Eben is dated December 2, 1852. Subsequent letters written by S. B. Plympton (Dec. 5, 1857), [Jothum?] Reed (March 29, 1858), and Alexander Anderson (May 6, 1858) describe the death of Eben by drowning in the Columbia River and reply to family members regarding his estate and the exact nature of his death. Transcripts of some of Eben's letters are included.
Charles lived in three states: Annapolis and Great Falls, Maryland (1845-1846); West Dennis and Cape Cod, Massachusetts (1846); and Olamon, Maine (1847-1864). He was a teacher in Maryland and Massachusetts, and a merchant with a store in Maine. The letters from Maryland contain much information on growing and marketing tobacco and flour, and detailed discussions of slavery, particularly runaway slaves and their general treatment. There is also information on his schools; life in Maine, including his business trips to Bangor and Boston; information on Eben's death and estate (Feb. 5, March 29, 1858 and Sept. 18, 1864); and family news.