1892_6-29-June 11002-ACA copy.jpg

Alice Austen Correspondence from Elly Barton

PI

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/9/2025, 9:44:09 PM | Created: 12/9/2025, 7:29:17 PM

Added description

Description

Alice Austen Correspondence from Elly Barton (June 1892)

Overview

This collection comprises two handwritten letters written by Elly Barton to Elizabeth “Alice” Austen on 28–29 June 1892, together with high‑resolution JPEG scans of the originals and typed transcriptions. The materials are part of the Austen Family Papers housed by the Alice Austen House Museum in Staten Island, New York. The correspondence is presented in English and is organized by date within a single folder for the month of June 1892.

Background

Elly Barton was a close friend and confidante of Alice Austen, living in the same upper‑middle‑class Staten Island community. The letters were sent during a period of active social engagement in the borough, reflecting the Victorian era’s emphasis on family, church, and community life. The Alice Austen House, now a museum, preserves these documents as part of its broader effort to document Austen’s personal and professional networks.

Contents

  • Letters: Two dated letters (28 June and 29 June 1892) addressed to Alice Austen, written in Elly’s hand.
  • Scanned Images: JPEG copies of the original pages, each accompanied by OCR text.
  • Transcriptions: Typed versions of the letters in plain text format.
  • Metadata: Descriptive fields include subjects such as “Correspondence,” “Victorian social life,” “Staten Island,” “Church events,” “Family relationships,” “Health,” and “Weather.”
  • Contextual References: The letters mention relatives (grandfather, aunt, grandmother), friends (Alfred Moore, Miss Potter, Julia Sopfield, Mrs. Lizzie Evans), and events (church service, bathing parties, a heavy rainstorm). Locations cited include Staten Island, the Adirondacks, New Brighton, Winona, Huron, and North Jetty.

Scope

The collection covers a narrow temporal window—two days in late June 1892—and focuses on personal, domestic, and social topics typical of Victorian correspondence. It does not include any of Alice Austen’s own responses or broader business correspondence. The materials provide a snapshot of the social fabric of Staten Island’s upper‑middle‑class community, illustrating how weather, health, and family affairs intersected with everyday life. The collection is accessible through the Alice Austen House digital archive and serves as a valuable resource for scholars studying late‑19th‑century American social history and the personal networks of a pioneering photographer.

Raw Cheimarros Data

@alice_austen_correspondence_elly_barton:collection {title: "Alice Austen Correspondence from Elly Barton", creator: @elly_barton, institution: "Alice Austen House", created: @date_1892_06_29, language: "en", subjects: ["Correspondence","Personal letters","Victorian social life","Staten Island","Church events","Family relationships","Health","Weather"]}


@elly_barton:person {full_name: "Elly Barton", role: "Correspondent"}

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

@grandfather:person {relation: "grandfather of @alice_austen"}

@aunt:person {relation: "aunt of @alice_austen"}

@alfred_moore:person {full_name: "Alfred Moore"}

@miss_potter:person {full_name: "Miss Potter"}

@charlie_poulton:person {full_name: "Charlie Poulton"}

@lucy:person {first_name: "Lucy"}

@mrs_lizzie_evans:person {full_name: "Mrs. Lizzie Evans"}

@julia_sopfield:person {full_name: "Julia Sopfield"}

@marion:person {first_name: "Marion"}

@mc_dowell_family:organization {type: "family"}

@doctor:person {role: "Doctor"}

@grandmother:person {relation: "grandmother of @alice_austen"}

@new_brighton:place {city: @staten_island, description: "Neighborhood on Staten Island"}

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

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

@north_jetty:place {description: "North Jetty area"}

@adirondacks:place {region: "Adirondack Mountains", state: @new_york, country: @united_states}

@lake_sturtevant:place {description: "Lake Sturtevant"}

@rain_event:event {description: "Heavy rain with thunder and lightning", when: @date_1892_06_28, location: @staten_island}

@church_service_june_28_1892:event {description: "Sunday church service", when: @date_1892_06_28, location: @staten_island}

@bathing_parties:event {description: "Bathing parties", scheduled: @date_1892_07_01, location: @staten_island}

@grandmother_travel:event {description: "Grandmother traveled by carriage after funeral", participants: [@grandmother], route: [@winona, @huron, @north_jetty], when: @date_1892_06_28}

@photo_frame:event {description: "Photo in the frame liked by writer", subject: @alice_austen}


@letter_1892_06_28_1:document {type: "letter", from: @elly_barton, to: @alice_austen, date: @date_1892_06_28, location: @staten_island}

@letter_1892_06_28_2:document {type: "letter", from: @elly_barton, to: @alice_austen, date: @date_1892_06_28, location: @staten_island}


@letter_1892_06_28_1 -> mentions -> @grandfather

@letter_1892_06_28_1 -> mentions -> @aunt

@letter_1892_06_28_1 -> mentions -> @alfred_moore

@letter_1892_06_28_1 -> mentions -> @miss_potter {illness: "bronchitis"}

@letter_1892_06_28_1 -> mentions -> @adirondacks

@letter_1892_06_28_1 -> mentions -> @mc_dowell_family

@letter_1892_06_28_1 -> mentions -> @marion

@letter_1892_06_28_1 -> describes -> @rain_event

@letter_1892_06_28_1 -> mentions -> @church_service_june_28_1892


@letter_1892_06_28_2 -> mentions -> @mrs_lizzie_evans

@letter_1892_06_28_2 -> mentions -> @julia_sopfield

@letter_1892_06_28_2 -> mentions -> @bathing_parties

@letter_1892_06_28_2 -> mentions -> @doctor

@letter_1892_06_28_2 -> mentions -> @charlie_poulton

@charlie_poulton -> called -> @alice_austen {when: @date_1892_06_28}

@letter_1892_06_28_2 -> mentions -> @new_brighton

@letter_1892_06_28_2 -> mentions -> @lake_sturtevant

@letter_1892_06_28_2 -> mentions -> @winona

@letter_1892_06_28_2 -> mentions -> @huron

@letter_1892_06_28_2 -> mentions -> @north_jetty

@letter_1892_06_28_2 -> mentions -> @grandmother_travel

@letter_1892_06_28_2 -> mentions -> @photo_frame


@date_1892_06_28

@date_1892_06_29

@date_1892_07_01

@date_1866

@date_1952

Metadata

Files (2)

1892_6-29-June 11002-ACA copy.jpgJPEG
1.61 MB
OCR Text

Staten Island June 28th, 192 My dearest one, I suppose this is the last time I shall write to you. Your Auntie and Grandpa wrote on Friday, directing to forward their letters with forwarded to you. There were also some hand papers that your Auntie sent. I have certainly accomplished a great deal, so much for energy, which you are intended to succeed in life—and he the world. I went to church on Sunday, a good-sized congregation. Elly Barton Aross has showed a little more. I expect Alfred Moore is making all your deportures; I know he will take a fancy to you. I hope you have managed to get a little sleep now and then. I have been to the City today, there are still a great many people in the stores especially at the cotton counters. Miss Potter at Sterns is quite ill with bronchitis, and has gone to the Adirondacks. The McDowells are coming out in August. Marion and her husband come with them. We have had a great deal of rain, with tremendous thunder and lightning. The vines are beginning to taste the pezza quite nicely. Bleaching has done them good. I have so much to ask you about my good and blessed child. You name

1892_6-29-June 11003-ACA copy.jpgJPEG
2.03 MB
OCR Text

After when you were coming home, Mrs. Lizzie Evans and Julia Sopfield came up to say the bathing parties would commence on the 1st of July. The Doctor announced that it would be the last time he should preach before his vacation, that his health and his wife's required a change, but personally he would rather remain at home! He spoke of plans for church work next autumn—as if he meant to be here. Charlie Poulton called here last Thursday evening quite late, I think he may have meant to go to the New Brighton yesterday, for he said something to Lucy about the Cricket Club, of course he did not know you were away. It is no wonder home since he was here. He brought people to build his raft—the high driving wagon and—how the folk ran her mad. Every thing very gorgeous of course. Your grandmother writes of going by Carriage after the funeral and then to Lake Sturtevant, from Winona to Huron of the North Jetty. He states they lay together you are bringing home—and, happy be, brother yours to you, I like your photo in the frame. I wish the rain of the

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/9/2025, 9:44:09 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/9/2025, 8:43:33 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/9/2025, 7:50:52 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/9/2025, 7:29:17 PM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Correspondence_Elly_Barton"

Parent

01KC28V3CW01JEVRNQYZBKPV7Q

No children (leaf entity)