[Mary Rathbone Acker papers :

Date1594-1995

Object numberMss 198

Institutional Credit LineCourtesy of the New Bedford Whaling Museum

DescriptionMaterials in this collection date from 1594 to 1995 and were compiled by Mary Rathbone Acker as part of her research on her book My Dearest Anna (Chicago: Adams Press, 1981). Items primarily span the years 1834 to 1908 and consist of correspondence written to and from various members of the Whitwell, Richmond, and Rathbone families. The bulk of these letters relate to Anna Elizabeth Whitwell during the years 1834 to 1890 and chiefly pertain to her day to day activities including her time attending Miss Lyon's seminary school, commentary on the recent fashion trends of the day, and the growth and maturation of her little brother Furman Whitwell Jr. Several letters contain well-intended humorous exchanges between Anna and her father, Furman Whitwell, complete with commentary concerning cultural, medical, and fashion trends of the 19th century in addition to noting the news of family affairs and events.Letters from Anna's husband Bradford span the years 1836 to 1897 and contain many endearing notes to his new wife in addition to updating his cousins regarding his business ventures. The few letters from Furman Jr. range from 1848 to 1888 and highlight his boyhood activities as a young teenager practicing his penmanship while later reflecting his business ventures in his adult years. The remaining letters in the collection relate to the Rathbone family, primarily Arthur Baker Rathbone from 1855 to 1893 and Georgia Rathbone from 1906 to 1908. These letters depict school activities and highlight childhood pursuits and budding romances. For the adults of the Rathbone family, letters include local and familial affairs, business adventures, horse sales, illnesses, and deaths in the family in addition to wedding planning and honeymoon travels.This collection also contains Mary Rathbone Acker's papers in the form of her correspondence and research notes dating from 1594 to 1995. Her correspondence dates from 1972 to 1995 and focuses on her travels, genealogical research, and the work she put into publishing her book My Dearest Anna. Mary's research materials span the years 1594 to 1995 and consist chiefly of her genealogical research notes for the Beagle, Clark, Morse, Rathbone, Richmond, and Whitwell families. Documentation compiled on these families ranges from research on individual family members, specifically with members of the Rathbone and Morse families, to photographic reproductions, house layouts, tombstone descriptions, death certificates, published articles, newspaper clippings, and family trees documenting the relationships between the Richmond family and the various other families highlighted in her book. In addition to her genealogical research, Mary also collected notes and materials related to a variety of other topics including New Bedford, New York, New Jersey, maritime history, Oregon, Winfield (Kansas), Mt. Holyoke College, railroads, the 1849 Astor Place Theatre Riot in New York City, and two Rathbone family conspiracy stories related President George Washington's lineage and President Lincoln's assassination. The collection also includes materials compiled between the years 1978-1994 related to her book My Dearest Anna and its publication. These materials include a draft of the text, bibliographic notes and references, and editing notes. Information related to Mary Acker's book sales include her invoice book for the years 1981 to 1994 in addition to bills and receipts of book sales for 1981 to 1991. Mary also collected several items related to the publicity of her book for the years 1978 to 1981 and gave several lectures related to her research and the book from 1981 to 1993 that are also represented in the collection.

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