1872 - 1915 HANDWRITTEN ARCHIVE OF A PROSPEROUS INDUSTRIALIST'S TRAVELING FAMILY FROM BOSTON AND PLENTY OF INTRIGUE

On offer is a remarkable, very intriguing, grouping of handwritten letters, drawings and covers from the William Tudor family of Boston Massachusetts. There are twelve [12] letters with their envelopes the [five letters are from 1872 and 1873 when William was in Paris to marry his wife Elizabeth Whitwell], three empty covers and two slips of paper with drawings. The letters date from 1873-1915 and curiously one last letter from 1961. The drawings don't have dates but look like late 1800's. The three remaining empty envelopes are from 1879, 1894 and one has no date. William Tudor was born to Frederic "The Ice King" Tudor and Euphemia Fenno Tudor on September 27, 1848. He was the fourth of six children. He attended Harvard University and graduated in 1871. He married Elizabeth Whitwell (b. 1851), daughter of William Scollay Whitwell and Mary Hubbard, in Paris, France, on May 24, 1873. Together they had five children: Henry Dubois, William, Elizabeth, Delia Aimee, and Mary. William Tudor had an intense interest in his own genealogy and collected information on his Tudor ancestry. In 1896, he edited and published the diary of his great-great-grandfather, Deacon John Tudor, as Deacon Tudor's Diary. His primary occupation, however, was investing in mines. He served on the Boards of Trustees of many of the mining companies he invested in and held positions as an officer in many of them. In 1908, Tudor became the treasurer of the Salida Copper Company, in which he held a very large share. In July 1909, Salida Copper Company bought out Sedalia Copper Company. In October, Tudor traveled to Salida, Colorado, to inspect the companies' mines. In 1910, the Mountain Mining Company, a spin-off of the Salida Copper Company, was formed, and in January 1911, Tudor became its president. In 1913, Tudor became treasurer of the Shawmut Consolidated Copper Company. Although Tudor owned homes in Hancock, New Hampshire, and Auburndale, Massachusetts, his primary business address was the St. Botolph Club in Boston. He did a great deal of traveling, inspecting mines in Juneau, Alaska, and Salida, Colorado, and he was married and had his first child in Paris, France. He painted for relaxation. William Tudor died in 1923. There is a lot of extraordinary content; one written by William Sturgis Bigelow, a famous collector and historian of Japanese culture writes of mediums and speaking to the dead: "My Dear Mrs. Tudor, Katy told me a little of your late adventures. Will you pardon a friendly suggestion? You had better let the whole thing alone for a while. Put it out of your mind, as if you had never heard of it. You cannot find out, by seeing such things, how and why they exist. …..The forms of people you saw are not the real people but reflections from the minds of the spectators or mediums……Just how they "Materialize" you would not now understand if you were told. It would be harmless enough, apart from the excitement incidental to "seeing ghosts", if the medium were a person so good and pure as yourself. But she is not, as you can see by the class of "spirits" especially connected with her. The last thing for you to do would be to establish a connection with such entities…..But at any rate, put the whole thing out of your head for a while. And when you feel quieter, let me know. It is just possible I may be able to help you a little…..Keep this letter to yourself, W. S. Bigelow." Another letter in which William is writing to his wife and it date April 25th, 1893. He's writing from Jacksonville Florida on "Everett Hotel" letterhead. Says he's having a difficult time with the railroad people and says he doesn't mind Florida too much but prefers a small French village." There are also letters written to Bessie from her father and mother after her marriage to William. Here is a delightful example: My Dear baby Bessie, A good big baby but my baby still……Your life seems full of excitement and events compared to ours. Nothing can be quieter if rest is to make me well. I ought soon to be in perfect health. The bathing is the main event of the day and you would enjoy it very much. The water is not very cold and the more pleasant for swimmers. I have been sorry to be obliged to give it up these few past days on account of severe head ache which I thought the bathing increased but they are better now…..There are some fine views in the neighborhood but it is a hard climb to reach them. Last evening May and I walked to the top of a high hill where there is a large private house with extensive grounds magnificently situated commanding a view far out to sea……The owner of the house is proud to show our little room, with it's fine sea view, it balcony, its unpainted shell lac'd wooden furniture and little bright rugs on the bare floor is very comfortable and pretty. Leoni, our devoted femme de chambre, he's brought us a large bunch of flowers……You see what quiet lives we lead…. Always your loving mother, that you know if nothing else." Her mother is not in very good health and has decided to take on the healing waters of the European spas and bathhouses. Bessie and William are still in France, one assumes, on their honeymoon or perhaps William is working because some are addressed "in care of Monroe & Co. Paris France." Each letter is packed with interesting content from this eclectic family. They are all in a variety of conditions from Fair to VG. .