Orvis, Marianne Dwight (1816-1901). Letters, 1843-47 | Illinois History and Lincoln Collections

Marianne Dwight, younger sister of John Sullivan Dwight, was a resident member of the Brook Farm Community, West Roxbury, Mass., when she married John Orvis in 1846. In these letters, most of which are addressed to Anna Q. T. Parsons, Marianne describes life at Brook Farm, personal happenings, and the finances of the community.

In 1942, the Massachusetts Historical Society microfilmed this collection for Arthur E. Bestor, Jr., who donated the film to the Illinois Historical Survey in 1956. Some of the letters have been published in Amy L. Reed, ed., Letters from Brook Farm, 1844-1847 (1928).