1896_8-30-1896 Aug 2001-trude copy.jpg

Alice Austen Correspondence with Trude, 1896

PI

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/9/2025, 9:51:56 PM | Created: 12/9/2025, 7:38:28 PM

Added description

Description

Trude Correspondence Collection, 1896

Overview

This is a digitized set of five handwritten letters written by J. Irving Goddard to Elizabeth Alice Austen on August 30, 1896. The letters were produced while Goddard was staying at Mountain Rest House on Mohonk Lake, Ulster County, New York. Each letter has been scanned as a JPEG image and accompanied by an OCR‑derived text file. The collection is part of the Alice Austen House Museum’s Austen Family Papers (MS1) and represents a snapshot of Victorian social life and personal relationships in the late 19th century.

Background

J. Irving Goddard was the proprietor of Mountain Rest House, a popular summer retreat on Mohonk Lake. Alice Austen (1866‑1952) was a pioneering American photographer from Staten Island whose personal papers include extensive correspondence. The 1896 letters were captured by the museum’s digitization project and are now accessible through the museum’s online portal. The collection reflects the close friendship between Austen and Goddard, as well as the broader social network of the time.

Contents

  • Five scanned letters (dated 1896‑08‑30) with OCR text.
  • Subject matter: social activities (music, lake visits), family updates (Emily, Mrs. Vinally, Edith, Papa, Mother, Kejoy, Dr.), travel plans (Vineyard Haven), and reflections on health and daily life.
  • Metadata: creator (J. Irving Goddard), institution (Alice Austen House), language (English), subjects (correspondence, Victorian social life, family relationships, travel, music, Mountain Rest House, Mohonk Lake).

Scope

The collection covers a single date but includes multiple copies of the same letter, offering insight into the letter’s composition and the context of its creation. Geographically, it is tied to Mohonk Lake and Vineyard Haven in New York. Thematically, it focuses on personal correspondence, social leisure, and family dynamics within an upper‑middle‑class Victorian milieu. The collection is not a comprehensive record of all correspondence between Austen and Goddard, but it provides a detailed glimpse into their interactions during a summer stay at Mountain Rest House.

Raw Cheimarros Data

@alice_austen:person {full_name: "Elizabeth Alice Austen", birth_year: @date_1866, death_year: @date_1952, occupation: "photographer"}

@j_irving_goddard:person {full_name: "J. Irving Goddard", role: "Proprietor"}

@mountain_rest_house:place {location: @mohonk_lake, description: "rest house"}

@mohonk_lake:place {state: "New York", county: "Ulster County"}

@vineyard_haven:place {state: "New York"}

@emily:person {first_name: "Emily"}

@mrs_vinally:person {title: "Mrs.", last_name: "Vinally"}

@edith:person {first_name: "Edith"}

@papa:person {relation: "father"}

@mother:person {relation: "mother"}

@kejoy:person {health_status: "sick with enlarged tonsils"}

@dr:person {title: "Dr.", role: "physician"}

@barnetts:organization {type: "family"}

@date_1896_08_30 {year: 1896, month: 8, day: 30}

@file_pinax:document {title: "Alice Austen Correspondence with Trude, 1896", creator: @j_irving_goddard, institution: "Alice Austen House", created: @date_1896_08_30, language: "en", subjects: ["Correspondence","Personal letters","Victorian social life","Family relationships","Travel","Music","Mountain Rest House","Mohonk Lake"], description: "Collection of correspondence from J. Irving Goddard to Alice Austen in 1896, discussing social activities, family matters, and personal reflections while staying at Mountain Rest House in Mohonk Lake, New York.", place: [@mohonk_lake, @vineyard_haven]}

@file_1896_8_30_1896_aug_2001_trude_copy_jpg:file {filename: "1896_8-30-1896 Aug 2001-trude copy.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@j_irving_goddard -> wrote -> @file_1896_8_30_1896_aug_2001_trude_copy_jpg {date: @date_1896_08_30, location: @mountain_rest_house}

@j_irving_goddard -> addressed to -> @alice_austen

@file_1896_8_30_1896_aug_2002_trude_copy_jpg:file {filename: "1896_8-30-1896 Aug 2002-trude copy.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@j_irving_goddard -> wrote -> @file_1896_8_30_1896_aug_2002_trude_copy_jpg {date: @date_1896_08_30, location: @mountain_rest_house}

@j_irving_goddard -> addressed to -> @alice_austen

@file_1896_8_30_1896_aug_2003_trude_copy_jpg:file {filename: "1896_8-30-1896 Aug 2003-trude copy.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@j_irving_goddard -> wrote -> @file_1896_8_30_1896_aug_2003_trude_copy_jpg {date: @date_1896_08_30, location: @mountain_rest_house}

@j_irving_goddard -> addressed to -> @alice_austen

@file_1896_8_30_1896_aug_2004_trude_copy_jpg:file {filename: "1896_8-30-1896 Aug 2004-trude copy.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@j_irving_goddard -> wrote -> @file_1896_8_30_1896_aug_2004_trude_copy_jpg {date: @date_1896_08_30, location: @mountain_rest_house}

@j_irving_goddard -> addressed to -> @alice_austen

@file_1896_8_30_1896_aug_2005_trude_copy_jpg:file {filename: "1896_8-30-1896 Aug 2005-trude copy.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}

@j_irving_goddard -> wrote -> @file_1896_8_30_1896_aug_2005_trude_copy_jpg {date: @date_1896_08_30, location: @mountain_rest_house}

@j_irving_goddard -> addressed to -> @alice_austen

@j_irving_goddard -> mentions -> @emily

@j_irving_goddard -> mentions -> @mrs_vinally

@j_irving_goddard -> mentions -> @edith

@j_irving_goddard -> mentions -> @papa

@j_irving_goddard -> mentions -> @mother

@j_irving_goddard -> mentions -> @kejoy

@j_irving_goddard -> mentions -> @dr

@j_irving_goddard -> mentions -> @barnetts

@j_irving_goddard -> mentions -> @vineyard_haven

@j_irving_goddard -> mentions -> @mohonk_lake

Metadata

Files (5)

1896_8-30-1896 Aug 2001-trude copy.jpgJPEG
2.67 MB
OCR Text

Mountain Rest House J. Irving Goddard Proprietor Mohonk Lake, Ulster Co., N.Y. Aug. 30th 189 My dearest Alice, I am trying to write and talk at the same time so if this letter is a little runic you will know the reason why. Thanks so much for the figures I have spent my Sunday

1896_8-30-1896 Aug 2002-trude copy.jpgJPEG
1.95 MB
OCR Text

afternoon. Being in my coach & I feel very wicked & sinful but intensely comfortable & obliged to you - I'm certainly here proved that you are quite capable of taking care of yourself after this last successful trip of yours & your mother ought to be able to trust you any distance. I think I have gained pounds since your departure. I have only had one long walk with Papa & miles to end Queen like well

1896_8-30-1896 Aug 2003-trude copy.jpgJPEG
2.69 MB
OCR Text

Mountain Rest House J. Irving Goddard Proprietor Mohonk Lake, Ulster Co., N.Y. I've been to the lake. Do you see I have been very lazy. We all spent a delightful musical morning over at the Hotel yesterday. Emily & I sang to our heart's content & Mrs. Vinally played for us. She reads music very well so played all of an

1896_8-30-1896 Aug 2004-trude copy.jpgJPEG
2 MB
OCR Text

accompaniment in us much to our delight. Edith & I were glad to find that we had not lost our voices, we wished we might have had you in an audience. I miss you very much my dear & feel quite lost in my leg room I haven't even got the B.B.'s in company any more. Papa & I are going to Vineyard Haven on Sunday in a week's visit. Mother & Edith may not leave there for home on account of Kejoy who is at present sick with enlarged tonsils - he has been in bed

1896_8-30-1896 Aug 2005-trude copy.jpgJPEG
1.93 MB
OCR Text

all day poor little fellow & has had fever continually but the Dr. says it is nothing serious & that he will soon be well. They will not go home until he is. I have your camp safe & sound and hope you will not want it until you get home as I will put it in your trunk & not take it with me, of course if you do want it Mother can send it to you. She will forward my letters to me to the Barnetts so if you write me direct to home as I am not sure of the address I think it is just Vineyard

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/9/2025, 9:51:56 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/9/2025, 9:04:19 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/9/2025, 7:55:48 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/9/2025, 7:38:28 PM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Trude_Correspondence_1896"

Parent

01KC29F80BVHWX6K5P1B6BZ2KS

No children (leaf entity)