Boston Public Library Rare Books and Manuscripts Department

Boston Public Library
Rare Books and Manuscripts Department Finding Aid
Isabel Carret Peirce Papers, n.d., 1849-1888
MS 3869
Collection Summary
Title: Isabel Carret Peirce Letters
Span Dates: n.d., 1850-1888
MS Number: 3869
Creator: Adeline Carret and other Carret family members
Extent: 2 folders/14 letters
Language: Material is in English
Abstract This collection contains fourteen letters written to Isabel Carret Peirce (18311888) of Lincoln, Massachusetts, between 1850 and 1888. Letters written to Isabel from
her sister Adeline date from 1870-1888 and describe life on a Cuban sugar plantation
during and after the Ten Years War (1868-1878). Letters written to Isabel from her
mother, sisters, and aunt in Massachusetts during the 1850s discuss local trips and other
family news.
Subjects
Cuba--History--Insurrection, 1868-1878.
Domestic life--1850-1870.
Sugar plantations--Cuba.
Peirce, Isabel Carret, 1831-1888.
Women--correspondence.
Administrative Information:
Provenance
Unknown
Processing History
Finding aid prepared by Lauren Pey, November 2010.
Preferred Citation
Courtesy of the Trustees of the Boston Public Library/Rare Books.
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
Scope and content note
This collection contains fourteen letters written to Isabel Carret Peirce (1831-1888) of
Lincoln, Massachusetts, from 1850-1888. The eight letters to Isabel from her sister
Adeline written between 1870 and 1888 document life on the Carret family sugar
plantation near Trinidad, Cuba during and immediately after the Ten Years War. The war
began in 1868 when rebels declared Cuban independence from Spain and called for the
emancipation of slaves. The letters contain descriptions of dangers faced by the family,
including the looting and burning of local towns and plantations by bands of insurgents.
The letters also document interactions with soldiers sent to protect the sugar plantations
from rebels. The failure of neighboring plantations and the economic decline of Trinidad
in general are frequently described, as are the mounting debts of the Carret plantation.
The imminent abolition of slavery in Cuba is also discussed.
The six letters written from Isabel’s mother, Eliza H. Carret; aunt, E. H. Henchman; and
sisters Theresa and Maria Carret in Massachusetts during the 1850s focus on family
news, including trips to Dedham, Lynn, Scituate, Watertown, and Wolfsborough.
Organization of the materials
The collection is organized alphabetically by author.
Container List
Folder
Contents
Date
1
Carret, Adeline to Isabel Carret Peirce
24 Apr 187?
2
Carret, Adeline to Isabel Carret Peirce
Jul 187?
3
Carret, Adeline to Isabel Carret Peirce
30 Jul 187?
4
Carret, Adeline to Isabel Carret Peirce
29 Nov 187?
5
Carret, Adeline to Isabel Carret Peirce
2 Nov 1874
6
Carret, Adeline to Isabel Carret Peirce
10 Aug 1876
7
Carret, Adeline to Isabel Carret Peirce
31 Jan 1880
8
Carret, Adeline to [William Peirce?]
12 Dec 1888
9
Carret, Mrs. E. H. to Isabel Carret Peirce
n.d.
10
Carret, Mrs. E. H. to Isabel Carret Peirce
n.d.
11
Mrs. Carret to Isabel Carret Peirce
n.d.
12
Carret, Maria to Isabel Carret Peirce
9 Aug 1854
13
Carret, Theresa to Isabel Carret Peirce
15 Feb 1850
14
Henchman, Mrs. E. H. to Isabel Carret Peirce
6 Aug 1849