1892_6-13-June 3002-JTM copy.jpg

Alice Austen Correspondence with Julia T. Martin, June 1892

PI

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/9/2025, 9:43:19 PM | Created: 12/9/2025, 7:29:15 PM

Added description

Description

Julia T. Martin Correspondence with Alice Austen, June 1892

Overview

This collection comprises seven handwritten letters exchanged on 13 June 1892 between Alice Austen (photographer, Staten Island) and her close friend Julia T. Martin (Albany). The items are digitized as high‑resolution JPEG scans of the original paper and accompanied by typed transcriptions (TXT). The collection is part of the Austen Family Papers (MS1) held by the Alice Austen House Museum.

Background

Alice Austen (1866‑1952) was a pioneering American photographer whose personal papers provide insight into late‑Victorian social life among Staten Island’s upper‑middle class. Julia T. Martin, a friend from Albany, maintained a regular correspondence with Austen, discussing travel, social events, and personal matters. The letters were produced during a brief visit to Pennington, New Jersey, and reference other locations such as Williamstown, Massachusetts, and the Infirmary in Staten Island.

Contents

  • Seven letters (3002‑3007), each dated 13 June 1892, written by Julia to Alice.
  • Themes:
  • - Travel and hospitality: invitations to stay in Pennington, arrangements for visits in Albany, and plans to visit Williamstown. - Social life: mentions of gatherings with friends (Amy, Howard, Mrs C., Mrs Grively, Mrs Bud, Lily Bud, Mrs Cooper, Mattie Phelps, Mrs L., Mrs Robinson, Miss Sally Gibbs, Mrs Lively). - Personal reflections: Julia’s thoughts on her future, family matters, and her interest in the Staten Islander newspaper and the local infirmary.
  • Accompanying metadata: place tags (Staten Island, Albany, Pennington, Williamstown), person tags (e.g., John S. Martin), and subject tags (social life, travel, friendship).

Scope

The collection covers a single day’s correspondence (13 June 1892) and is limited to letters from Julia T. Martin to Alice Austen. It does not include any responses from Austen or other correspondence from the period. The material offers a snapshot of mid‑19th‑century social networks and travel patterns among friends of a prominent Staten Island photographer.

Raw Cheimarros Data

@date_1866

@date_1952

@date_1892_06_13


@staten_island_ny:place {state: @new_york, country: @united_states}

@albany_ny:place {state: @new_york, country: @united_states}

@pennington_nj:place {state: @new_jersey, country: @united_states}

@williamstown_ma:place {state: @massachusetts, country: @united_states}


@alice_austen:person {full_name: "Elizabeth Alice Austen", birth: @date_1866, death: @date_1952, occupation: "photographer", residence: @staten_island_ny}

@julia_t_martin:person {full_name: "Julia T. Martin", relationship: "close friend of @alice_austen", residence: @albany_ny}

@amy:person {first_name: "Amy"}

@howard:person {first_name: "Howard"}

@mrs_c:person {title: "Mrs C."}

@mrs_grively:person {title: "Mrs Grively"}

@mrs_bud:person {title: "Mrs Bud"}

@lily_bud:person {first_name: "Lily", last_name: "Bud"}

@mrs_cooper:person {title: "Mrs Cooper"}

@mattie_phelps:person {full_name: "Mattie Phelps"}

@mrs_l:person {title: "Mrs L."}

@mrs_robinson:person {title: "Mrs Robinson"}

@miss_sally_gibbs:person {full_name: "Sally Gibbs", title: "Miss"}

@mrs_lively:person {title: "Mrs Lively"}

@john_s_martin:person {full_name: "John S. Martin", relation: "possible relative of @julia_t_martin"}


@staten_islander:publication {type: "newspaper"}

@infirmary:place {location: @staten_island_ny}


@file_pinax:document {title: "Alice Austen Correspondence with Julia T. Martin, June 1892", created: @date_1892_06_13, creator: [@alice_austen, @julia_t_martin], institution: "Alice Austen House", subjects: ["Correspondence","Personal letters","Social life","Victorian era","Friendship","Travel","Family relationships"], description: "A collection of correspondence between Alice Austen and her close friend Julia T. Martin from Albany, dated June 13, 1892. The letters discuss social activities, travel plans, and personal reflections.", place: [@staten_island_ny, @albany_ny, @pennington_nj, @williamstown_ma]}


@letter_3002:document {author: @julia_t_martin, recipient: @alice_austen, date: @date_1892_06_13, location: @pennington_nj, content: "you to stay with her & if Mrs C. was not a pig, begging her pardon, she would ask you if for only one night... Just think Alice, Amy & Howard came all the way to Albany last week to see me & I was"} {topics: ["social visit","friendship"]}

@julia_t_martin -> wrote -> @letter_3002

@alice_austen <- receives <- @letter_3002


@letter_3003:document {author: @julia_t_martin, recipient: @alice_austen, date: @date_1892_06_13, location: @pennington_nj, content: "not then. If they had only telegraphed me—I can not get over it... Mrs. Bud, my friend's Lily Bud's mother came & asked Mrs. Cooper if she would let me spend a week with Lily at Lusurn... stay three days at Mattie Phelps' place in Albany"} {topics: ["travel plans","family connections"]}

@julia_t_martin -> wrote -> @letter_3003

@alice_austen <- receives <- @letter_3003


@letter_3004:document {author: @julia_t_martin, recipient: @alice_austen, date: @date_1892_06_13, location: @pennington_nj, content: "Family must all have some part of the time & any way I really do not think it best to ask Mrs L..."} {topics: ["family advice","personal reflections"]}

@julia_t_martin -> wrote -> @letter_3004

@alice_austen <- receives <- @letter_3004


@letter_3005:document {author: @julia_t_martin, recipient: @alice_austen, date: @date_1892_06_13, location: @pennington_nj, content: "something which should be my life work... I feel that if I live with Mrs C— for five years & then she dies & I am 30 years old... Rumington looks as usual..."} {topics: ["career concerns","personal life"]}

@julia_t_martin -> wrote -> @letter_3005

@alice_austen <- receives <- @letter_3005


@letter_3006:document {author: @julia_t_martin, recipient: @alice_austen, date: @date_1892_06_13, location: @pennington_nj, content: "times tiresome. After breakfast Mrs. L. comes down & we sit on the piazza... I met a Miss Sally Gibbs the other day..."} {topics: ["daily routine","social acquaintances"]}

@julia_t_martin -> wrote -> @letter_3006

@alice_austen <- receives <- @letter_3006


@letter_3007:document {author: @julia_t_martin, recipient: @alice_austen, date: @date_1892_06_13, location: @pennington_nj, content: "every day & think I am glad we ever together here that summer... I think Mrs. Lively will come here this week... I have been so interested in the \"Staten Islander\" & the Infirmary... Now farewell old lady... Ever lovingly, John S. Martin"} {topics: ["social events","publication interest","health"]}

@julia_t_martin -> wrote -> @letter_3007

@alice_austen <- receives <- @letter_3007

@john_s_martin -> signed -> @letter_3007

@letter_3007 -> mentions -> @staten_islander

@letter_3007 -> mentions -> @infirmary

@julia_t_martin -> mentions -> @amy

@julia_t_martin -> mentions -> @howard

@julia_t_martin -> mentions -> @mrs_c

@julia_t_martin -> mentions -> @mrs_grively

@julia_t_martin -> mentions -> @mrs_bud

@julia_t_martin -> mentions -> @lily_bud

@julia_t_martin -> mentions -> @mrs_cooper

@julia_t_martin -> mentions -> @mattie_phelps

@julia_t_martin -> mentions -> @mrs_l

@julia_t_martin -> mentions -> @mrs_robinson

@julia_t_martin -> mentions -> @miss_sally_gibbs

@julia_t_martin -> mentions -> @mrs_lively

@june_13_1892_correspondence:event {date: @date_1892_06_13, participants: [@alice_austen, @julia_t_martin], locations: [@pennington_nj, @albany_ny]} 

@julia_t_martin -> participated in -> @june_13_1892_correspondence

@alice_austen -> participated in -> @june_13_1892_correspondence

Metadata

Files (6)

1892_6-13-June 3002-JTM copy.jpgJPEG
2.1 MB
OCR Text

you to stay with her & if Mrs C. was not a pig, begging her pardon, she would ask you if for only one night. There is no one here now & there is to be no one for a week, after that her house is to be full of known friends & it would give me such pleasure to see you. Just think Alice, Amy & Howard came all the way to Albany last week to see me & I was Pennington, N.J. June 13th 1892 Dear Alice: I was so glad to receive your letter. You are always so good & kind to me. Would it not be a lark if we could meet before you go home, but I have been making inquiries & to come this way takes you way, way out of your way. If Mrs Grively were here I knew she would ask

1892_6-13-June 3003-JTM copy.jpgJPEG
1.29 MB
OCR Text

not then. If they had only telegraphed me—I can not get over it. There were so many, many things I wanted to see Amy about—it certainly is a great disappointment to me. I was so afraid you might get hold of your letter that I tore it up but I remember you asked me what I intended to do the ten days vacation. I thought I wrote you that Mrs. Bud, my friend's Lily Bud's mother came & asked Mrs. Cooper if she would let me spend a week with Lily at Lusurn & Mrs. Cooper said yes! On May way back I am going to stay three days at Mattie Phelps' place in Albany. Mrs. C. as yet does not know this. It would hardly pay to come to S.I. for so short a time for Amy & you & my own

1892_6-13-June 3004-JTM copy.jpgJPEG
773.7 KB
OCR Text

Family must all have some part of the time & any way I really do not think it best to ask Mrs L. You know alii, on no account must you in any way limit at anything I write you. I trust you in writing, & I think it better for you to hear my letters. If I ever left Mrs Cooper it should be on the plea of beginning some

1892_6-13-June 3005-JTM copy.jpgJPEG
666.41 KB
OCR Text

something which should be my life work, which would be true. I feel that if I live with Mrs C— for five years & then she dies & I am 30 years old & each year now will be harder for me to begin any work. Now that is enough about myself. Rumington looks as usual. We have been three times already on the Williamstown road—that everlasting road. My life is pleasant, though some—

1892_6-13-June 3006-JTM copy.jpgJPEG
813.57 KB
OCR Text

times tiresome. After breakfast Mrs. L. comes down & we sit on the piazza or arrange her flowers till eleven, then drive till one, then read to Mrs. L. upstairs till four, then sit on the piazza till tea & thus each day passes. Mrs. Robinson is not here yet. I met a Miss Sally Gibbs the other day. She is awfully nice. Her uncle owns that place beyond the Robinsons—don't you remember it? I look up at our room

1892_6-13-June 3007-JTM copy.jpgJPEG
677.18 KB
OCR Text

every day & think I am glad we ever to gether here that summer. I think Mrs. Lively will come here this week I shall be so glad. I have been so interested in the "Staten Islander" & the Infirmary. It is awfully good of you all to think of me. Now farewell old lady much love & many thanks for your kind invitation. Ever lovingly, John S. Martin

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/9/2025, 9:43:19 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/9/2025, 8:42:41 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/9/2025, 7:50:28 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/9/2025, 7:29:15 PM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Julia_Martin_Correspondence_June_1892"

Parent

01KC28V1R09BVZ5BCZHF3WP37S

No children (leaf entity)