Conditions Governing Use

The Library believes that all or nearly all material in this collection is likely to be in the public domain, free of copyright restrictions. Visit our Permissions and Publishing page for more information about use of Special Collections materials. The library can provide copyright information upon request, but users are responsible for making their own determination about lawful use of collections materials.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is minimally processed and open for research.

Preferred Citation

MSS 16854, Ellen Strong Bartlett letters, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was purchased from James Arsenault and Co. by the Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia on 29 May 2024.

Biographical / Historical Description

Ellen "Nellie" Strong Bartlett was born on March 28, 1849 to Ellen Root Strong and John Newton Bartlett in New Haven, Connecticut. Ellen began to write at a young age, principally focusing on her surroundings in New Haven. One of Bartlett's earliest books was "Bits from Great Grandmother's Diary", a collection of insights from her great grandmother who lived in Farmington and experienced the Revolutionary War. Ellen's great grandmother also served as an official editor for the Colony (later State) of Connecticut. Ellen's seminal work was "Historical Sketches of New Haven", published in 1897. The book is in part a collection of her writings that appeared in "New England Magazine" and "The Connecticut Quarterly". It offers a portrait of mid-nineteenth century New Haven, Connecticut through the exploration of centuries of history, photographs, architectural analysis, and folklore descriptions. Bartlett's "Historical Sketches of New Haven" set the precedent for how local histories were researched and written thereafter. Ellen died in New Haven on May 1, 1940 at the age of 91. She is interred at the Fairview Cemetery in Hartford County.

Content Description

This collection primarily contains the letters of Ellen "Nellie" Strong Bartlett, author and historian, when she was sixteen years old. Ten letters describe her trip to Washington, D.C., from January to early March 1864. She stayed with her aunt and uncle, Julia and David Bartlett. David Bartlett wrote an early and influential campaign biography of Abraham Lincoln and served as the Clerk of the Committee on Elections in the House of Representatives. The letters describe her travels to Washington and the scene in the nation's capital shortly before the close of the Civil War. She tells her impressions of Lincoln and other political and military officials, accounts of public events, private parties, sightseeing excursions in and beyond the city, and the trends of ladies' fashion. Most letters are from Nellie to her family, most to her parents, but one to her grandmother. Also included is a letter written by her grandmother while Nellie was in Washington and a letter from her mother to Nellie while she visited her Grandparents in September. There is also one letter addressed to a woman named Sadie, written by Nellie's grandmother. In addition to the letters are a Certificate of Non-Liability, which exempted her father from the draft, and a prospectus for her book "Historical Sketches of New Haven." Also included are transcripts of the letters from the vendor.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• James Arsenault and Co.
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
• United States History Civil War 1861-1865