Louisa Merritt Field Stabler family papers
Stabler, Louisa M. (Louisa Merritt)
The Louisa Merritt Field Stabler family papers span the period 1818 to 1954 and consist of three linear feet of material, the majority of which is made up of correspondence between Louisa Merritt Field Stabler and her daughter, Louise Merritt Stabler Parker. There is also a considerable amount of correspondence amongst other members of the Stabler and Parker families, though a notable amount comes from Louise Parker's great aunt Hannah of Pine Cottage, the original Field family homestead in Port Chester, Westchester County. The collection also contains notebooks, a copy of Louisa Stabler's will, various newspaper clippings, and ephemera. To facilitate better access to the materials, the collections has been divided into three series:
Jillian Cuellar and Marilyn H. Pettit
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 11:16:46 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English.
Brooklyn Historical Society
ARC.071 3 of 3 (Material Type: Text)
ARC.071 1 of 3 (Material Type: Text)
ARC.071 2 of 3 (Material Type: Text)
Series 1: Correspondence from Louisa Stabler to Louise Parker, 1886-1914, inclusive
This series comprises the bulk of the collection and contains extensive correspondence from Louisa Stabler to her daughter, Louise Parker. Stabler's letters create a continuous narrative from 1886 until her death in 1914, and offer insight into the culture of upper-middle class life in Brooklyn Heights at the turn of the century. More importantly, the letters richly illustrate a closeness between mother and daughter during a time of change. The mother stayed at home but fostered education for women in general and her daughter in particular, and as she did so she filled her frequent and affectionate letters to her daughter with news of neighborhood events and cultural activities in Brooklyn. She also offered advice on housekeeping, touching upon fabric samples, cooking, and managing servants. The whole correspondence is one portion of a discourse between mother and daughter that not only illustrates traditional parental values, but also reveals the dramatic social and cultural changes in the late 19th-century United States, the economic power of wealthy females, advocacy of education for females, and the expansion of opportunities for women while nurturing traditional values between generations.
Series 2: Additional correspondence of Louisa Stabler, 1833-1914, inclusive
This series consists of Louisa Stabler's correspondence with various individuals, including her husband, Edward H. Stabler. Other materials include three notebooks belonging to Louisa Stabler, a copy of her will, and a telegram to Louise Parker notifying her of her mother's death.
Series 3: Correspondence of the Stabler and Parker families, 1818-1954, inclusive
This series contains correspondence amongst various members of the Stabler and Parker families, as well as family friends. Letters from Louise Parker to her husband, George Howard Parker, can be found here, as can letters from Louise Parker to her brother, Edward, and her sister-in-law, Elizabeth, concerning a trip she and her husband took to the American West, often accompanied by memorabilia Parker collected to document the trip. Also included are Louise Parker's obituary and correspondence concerning her death, other various memorabilia, textile samples, and a pressed flower.