Alice Austen Correspondence from Lewis Austen
PI
Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/9/2025, 9:50:48 PM | Created: 12/9/2025, 7:41:10 PM
Added description
Description
Correspondence from Lewis Austen to Alice Austen (June 26 1895)
Overview
This small digital collection preserves two pages of a personal letter written by Lewis Austen, a brother of photographer Elizabeth Alice Austen, to his sister on 26 June 1895. The material is presented as JPEG scans of the original handwritten documents, accompanied by typed transcriptions. The letters were sent from New York and discuss Lewis’s duties with the National Guard’s Company B, Seventh Regiment, as well as family matters.Background
Lewis Austen served as a military officer in the New York National Guard during the late 19th century, a period when volunteer militia units were a common civic institution. His correspondence to Alice reflects the close familial ties that bound the Austen family, who resided on Staten Island. The letters were digitized as part of the Alice Austen House Museum’s Austen Family Papers (MS1), a broader collection of Alice’s personal documents spanning 1883‑1898.Contents
- Letter 1 (Front page): Describes daily drill schedules, the regiment’s routine, and a brief note about “Taps.”
- Letter 2 (Back page): Mentions a knapsack, a tent‑mate who is the son of Foster of Acker, and a reference to Merric O’Connor. It also conveys a message of affection to family members and notes that Lewis has “just been ordered out for duty.”
- Transcriptions: Typed versions of both pages are provided for ease of reading.
- Metadata: Includes creator, date, language, subjects (National Guard, military life, Victorian‑era social life, family relationships), and place (New York).
Scope
The collection covers a single date—26 June 1895—and is limited to two pages of correspondence. It offers a snapshot of military life in the National Guard, the everyday concerns of a volunteer officer, and the personal network of the Austen family. The material is relevant for scholars studying late‑Victorian social history, militia culture, or the personal life of Alice Austen and her relatives.Raw Cheimarros Data
@alice_austen_correspondence_from_lewis_austen:collection {title: "Alice Austen Correspondence from Lewis Austen", creator: @lewis_austen, institution: @alice_austen_house, created: @date_1895_06_26, language: "en", subjects: ["National Guard", "Military life", "Personal correspondence", "Victorian-era social life", "Family relationships"], place: @new_york}
@alice_austen:person {full_name: "Elizabeth Alice Austen", birth_year: @date_1866, death_year: @date_1952, occupation: "photographer", residence: @staten_island}
@lewis_austen:person {full_name: "Lewis Austen", relation: "brother of @alice_austen", occupation: "military officer"}
@national_guard:organization {type: "military organization"}
@company_b_seventh_regiment:organization {type: "military unit", affiliation: @national_guard, location: @new_york}
@letter_1895_06_26_1:document {title: "Letter from Lewis Austen to Alice Austen (June 26, 1895)"}
@letter_1895_06_26_1 -> authored by -> @lewis_austen
@letter_1895_06_26_1 -> addressed to -> @alice_austen
@letter_1895_06_26_1 -> sent on -> @date_1895_06_26
@letter_1895_06_26_1 -> sent from -> @new_york
@letter_1895_06_26_1 -> mentions -> [@company_b_seventh_regiment, @national_guard]
@letter_1895_06_26_2:document {title: "Letter from Lewis Austen to Alice Austen (June 26, 1895) – second page"}
@letter_1895_06_26_2 -> authored by -> @lewis_austen
@letter_1895_06_26_2 -> addressed to -> @alice_austen
@letter_1895_06_26_2 -> sent on -> @date_1895_06_26
@letter_1895_06_26_2 -> sent from -> @new_york
@letter_1895_06_26_2 -> mentions -> [@mother, @foster_of_acker, @merric_o_connor]
@mother:person {relation: "mother of @lewis_austen"}
@foster_of_acker:person {surname: "Foster", location: @acker}
@acker:place {description: "likely a locality referenced in the letter"}
@merric_o_connor:person {full_name: "Merric O'Connor"}
@alice_austen_correspondence_from_lewis_austen -> contains -> [@letter_1895_06_26_1, @letter_1895_06_26_2]Metadata
Files (2)
1895_6-26-June 6001-Lewis-Austen copy.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
Company B Seventh Regiment National Guard S.N.Y. New York, June 26, 1895. Dear Alice, I thought I would drop you a line before my candle goes out and "Taps" sounded. We have to work so hard during the day that even the freight owls are very glad to turn in. We are up at 4:30 and our first drill is at 5 and the last one at 8 so the day is pretty well filled.
1895_6-26-June 6002-Lewis-Austen copy.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
This is written on the back of a knapsack and there are three men in the tent loading up on all sorts of "lush", making it a triple doubtful if I can finish. I hoped to see you and have not given up yet Mother came this afternoon saying she could not stay alone any longer. My tent-mate is a son of Foster of Acker, Merric O'Connor which means plenty of good things to eat for self. Drop me a line and give best regards to the family. Very sincerely Yours S.S. Have just been ordered out for duty.
Version History (4 versions)
- ✓ v4 (current) · 12/9/2025, 9:50:48 PM
"Added description" - v3 · 12/9/2025, 9:00:40 PM · View this version
"Added knowledge graph extraction" - v2 · 12/9/2025, 7:54:54 PM · View this version
"Added PINAX metadata" - v1 · 12/9/2025, 7:41:10 PM · View this version
"Reorganization group: Correspondence_Lewis_Austen"
Parent
No children (leaf entity)