Collection number: MC 235
Size: 10 boxes
(3.3 cu.ft.)
About the Hardy Family papers
Hardy Family
The Hardy family of Nelson, New Hampshire, had its origins in seventeenth-century Massachusetts. In 1779, Noah Hardy, a veteran of the Revolutionary War and the ancestor for the individuals described in this collection, moved to Packersfield, New Hampshire. In keeping with family tradition, Noah kept busy as a farmer, cooper, and faithful church steward; in 1811, he was awarded a deaconship. About that time, the residents of Packersfield elected to change the town name to “Nelson,” presumably after the British admiral Horatio Nelson. Noah’s descendants in Nelson took up such occupations as farmer, captain, deacon, pastor, minister, and schoolteacher well into the early twentieth century.
Noah Webster Hardy (1820-1898) and Maria Rollins Stone (1821-1880)
Noah Webster Hardy married Maria Rollins Stone in 1846. They joined Nelson’s First Congregational Church that same year. Between 1848 and 1865, Mariah gave birth to five children. Their second child, Sarah Melville, died at age twenty-one, and very little is known about her. The collection contains letters written by each of their other four surviving children, however: Webster Oliver (1848-1928), Rosette Maria (1856-1943), Edwin Noah (1861-1950), and Carrie Elizabeth (1865-1947). After the death of Maria in 1880, Noah married Sarah E. Wilson (d. 1900); the collection includes some letters by her.
Noah was active in public affairs, serving in various positions throughout his life, including town agent, selectman, representative, Justice of the Peace, State Justice, Census Enumerator, Director of the State Agricultural Society, and as a member of the Republican State Committee. He also published a number of articles on agricultural improvement. His farm spanned nine-hundred acres and included sheep, cattle, bees, and apple and sugar trees.
Webster Oliver Hardy (1848-1928) and Mary E. Putnam (1848-1928)
The firstborn son of Noah and Maria Hardy, "Web" went on to become a physician after attending Boston University and Harvard Medical College. He married Mary E. Putnam of Boston in 1876 and had four children by her. Web’s successful physician’s practice in Winchester, New Hampshire, was terminated by an illness that affected his hearing. Soon after, he and his wife Mary bought and managed a bakery business near Boston. “Dr. Hardy was an intellectual type,” A History of Nelson, New Hampshire (Keene, New Hampshire: The Sentinel Printing Company, Inc., 1968) reports, “had a fine sense of humor, and a talent for writing, especially poetry.”
Rosette Maria Hardy Barker (1856-1943) and Thaddeus W. Barker (d. 1918)
"Rose" wrote many letters that kept Edwin apprised of his family's well-being and other matters while he lived in Quincy. She married the Honorable Thaddeus W. Barker . The couple had four children.
Edwin Noah Hardy (1861-1950) and Nellie May Severy Hardy (1867-1961)
Edwin studied at Amherst College and then at Hartford Theological Seminary. He would later earn a Ph.D. at Boston University. When he married Nellie May Severy of Westboro, Massachusetts, in October of 1890, Edwin was at his first pastorate in South Boston, Massachusetts. Soon after his marriage, Edwin became the pastor at the First Congregational Church in Quincy, Massachusetts. He and Nellie had four children, one of whom died in infancy. The three that lived were Noah Phillips (b. 1892), Miriam (b. 1898), and Christine Nellie (b. 1902).
Carrie Elizabeth Hardy (1865-1947) and Alfred Luther Struthers (1860-1947)
Carrie lived at home with her parents as a young adult. That changed, however, when she married the Reverend Alfred Luther Struthers in May of 1890. Struthers had been a fellow classmate with her brother Edwin at Amherst College, and he first met Carrie when he came to visit Edwin’s home in Nelson, New Hampshire. Struthers worked for a time in the early 1890s at the City Mission of Minneapolis, a missionary training institute, though his work appeared to have been more along the lines of fundraising and accounting than of active instruction. The couple had four children, one of whom, Parke Hardy Struthers, became the editor of A History of Nelson, New Hampshire, 1767-1967(Keene, New Hampshire: The Sentinel Printing Company, Inc., 1968). Carrie’s letters to her brother Edwin range from her pre-marital to marital life. In 1947, Carrie and Alfred's home in Nelson caught fire during the early moring hours and both were unable to escape alive.
William Prescott Hardy (b. 1862)
William was the son of George Granville and Mary Stevens Hardy, the brother and sister-in-law, respectively, of Noah Webster Hardy. William’s parents did not outlive his tenth birthday, however. From then on, he lived in the household of his uncle Noah. Like Edwin, William went to Amherst College and to Hartford Theological Seminary. His attendance explains why some of the letters from Noah and Maria in the early years are addressed to "Ed" and "Will" at school. Later, William would become a Congregational minister and would serve parishes in California. While living on the West Coast, however, he made many trips home to visit loved ones.
About the Hardy Family Papers
The collection is primarily comprised of correspondence, containing approximately 720 letters and totaling well over 2,000 pages. A miscellaneous folder at the end of the collection contains a weather diary for the year 1928, some unidentified correspondence, and an order to James Merrick of Wilbraham, Massachusetts, to repair his fences. The final box contains sermons and writings of EN Hardy.
The letters describe an extended white Northern family possessed of formal education, great literacy, and religious activity from the middle to late nineteenth century. Scholars of American religious life, education, courtship and romance, as well as those interested in rural New Hampshire and New England, would be particularly interested in the collection’s contents. Since the Hardy men were a mobile group, historians of American travel might also have some interest in the correspondence, though the letters are not always particularly descriptive of the actual means of travel. Alfred Struthers appears to be an exception, and he has a few letters that detail his birding and hunting expeditions. When recounting a canoeing and duck-hunting expedition with a fellow pastor in Minnesota, for instance, Struthers wrote on September 11, 1893, of the night’s “howling wolves and hoohing and screeching owls [who] did not disturb [but] simply added romance.” His account of an outing in the Moosehead Lake region of Maine, dated November 4, 1894, might also merit some study.
Above all, however, the collection is perhaps most notable for its insights into religious and ministerial life in late nineteenth-century America. Few correspondents provide these revelations better than Edwin Noah Hardy. His letters to his parents while at Amherst College reveal a precocious youth who felt called to God’s ministerial work at an early age. “I find each year more satisfaction and happiness in the study of Gods word and His dealings with His people,” Edwin wrote home on January 17, 1885, “and I think He has some where a work for me to do.” Many of Edwin’s letters in the collection were written during his pastorate at the First Congregational Church in Quincy, Massachusetts. Accordingly, they speak of faith, sermons, and other religious concerns. In addition, since Edwin was involved in various other ministries, the collection contains letters from such correspondents as Boston publishers of The Congregationalist, Mr. Francis E. Clark of the Boston Christian Endeavor, Lyman Abbott of the Christian Union, E. B. Sanford of the National Federation of Churches and Christian Workers, and the Rev. William H. Pheley of the Brotherhood of Andrew and Philip. Some researchers might find Edwin’s letters to Nellie especially of interest in that he confided in her more than in anyone else, offering readers a gaze into his personality. Scholars of religious life could therefore probe the relationship between Edwin’s more personal reflections in his letters to his wife and his messages from the pulpit. The letters of Edwin’s brother-in-law, the Reverend Alfred Struthers, also contains information concerning the life of a professional Christian in Reconstruction and Progressive America.
The Hardy family papers might also be useful in highlighting the cultural history of romance. Edwin’s long tours from home in the pursuit of his evangelical profession often kept him away from his beloved, and the couple’s correspondence are full of romantic sentiments. On September 22, 1887, for example, Nellie quoted from Shakespeare in a letter to Edwin that confessed her desire that “when night comes, that we be permitted to just spend our evenings together, if no more then I could be happy “in my place” and in addition receive the “good night.”’ Nellie’s letters to her distant husband could also be probed for studies of domestic gender relations. On May 6, 1888, for example, she wrote that the “happiest part of that home is the true and devoted husband in whom I can put my trust and feel so earnestly the protection he affords me.” Above all, Nellie’s letters demonstrate that she supported and encouraged her husband’s ministry even at the cost of his absence.
Some other topics discussed in the Hardy family correspondence include education and rural New England life and economics. Edwin wrote extensively of his studies, while his sister Carrie and wife Nellie were schoolteachers and wrote at length of their classes and students. In contrast, the letters of Edwin’s father, Noah Webster Hardy, take accounts of the weather, his animals, apple trees, firewood, hay, sleighs, and small town affairs. Similarly, Rosette’s letters are full of the details of family life and rural living. On January 18, 1890, she wrote to Edwin of a neighbor who bought some hay from their aunt. “He sells milk and ought to pay for his hay,” she reported, “but knowing he is a little ‘hard up’ that has been undecided whether to seek a sale there or not.”
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
This collection is open.
Copyright Notice
This collection is covered by United States Copyright Law. For questions, contact Special Collections staff.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], [Folder number], [Box number], Hardy Family papers, 1862-1962, MC 235, Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA.
Acquisitions Information
Multiple purchases (Accession numbers: 2011.05, 2019.08, 2022.00)
Collection Contents
Series 1: Edwin and Parents, 1877-1900
| Box 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 1, Folder 1 | Noah Webster to Edwin and other children, 1877-1885 | |
| Box 1, Folder 2 | Noah Webster to Edwin and other children, 1886-1889 | |
| Box 1, Folder 3 | Noah Webster to Edwin and other children, 1890-1898 and undated | |
| Box 1, Folder 4 | Maria S. H. to Edwin, Rose, and Carrie, 1880 | |
| Box 1, Folder 5 | Sarah E. Wilson to step-children, 1889-1900 | |
| Box 1, Folder 6 | Edwin to his father and step-mother, 1885-1895 | |
| Box 1, Folder 7 | Edwin to his father and step-mother, 1896-1941 and undated | |
Series 2: Edwin, Nell, and Children, 1880-1951
| Box 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 1, Folder 8 | Edwin to Nell, January-August 1887 | |
| Box 1, Folder 9 | Edwin to Nell, September 1887 | |
| Box 1, Folder 10 | Edwin to Nell, October-December 1887 | |
| Box 1, Folder 11 | Edwin to Nell, January-March 1888 | |
| Box 1, Folder 12 | Edwin to Nell, April 1888 | |
| Box 1, Folder 13 | Edwin to Nell, November 1888 | |
| Box 1, Folder 14 | Edwin to Nell, December 1888 | |
| Box 1, Folder 15 | Edwin to Nell, January-February 1889 | |
| Box 2 | ||
| Box 2, Folder 1 | Edwin to Nell, March-May 1889 | |
| Box 2, Folder 2 | Edwin to Nell, June-August 1889 | |
| Box 2, Folder 3 | Edwin to Nell, September-December 1889 | |
| Box 2, Folder 4 | Edwin to Nell, 1890-1891 | |
| Box 2, Folder 5 | Edwin to Nell, 1892-1911 | |
| Box 2, Folder 6 | Edwin to Nell, 1919-1939 | |
| Box 2, Folder 7 | Edwin to Nell, undated | |
| Box 2, Folder 8 | Nell to Edwin, 1880-1887 | |
| Box 2, Folder 9 | Nell to Edwin, January-April 1888 | |
| Box 2, Folder 10 | Nell to Edwin, May-September 1888 | |
| Box 2, Folder 11 | Nell to EdwinOctober, December 1888 | |
| Box 2, Folder 12 | Nell to Edwin, 1889-1894 | |
| Box 2, Folder 13 | Nell to Edwin, 1895-1897 | |
| Box 2, Folder 14 | Nell to Edwin, 1898-1899 | |
| Box 3 | ||
| Box 3, Folder 1 | Nell to Edwin, 1900-1915 | |
| Box 3, Folder 2 | Nell to Edwin, undated | |
| Box 3, Folder 3 | Nell to Edwin, undated | |
| Box 3, Folder 4 | Nell to Edwin, undated | |
| Box 3, Folder 5 | Carrie to Edwin, 1883-1947 (bulk 1883-1898)and undated | |
| Box 3, Folder 6 | Nell to son N. Phillips, 1915-1916 | |
| Box 3, Folder 7 | Nell to son N. Phillips, 1917 | |
| Box 3, Folder 8 | Nell to son N. Phillips, 1918 | |
| Box 4 | ||
| Box 4, Folder 1 | Nell to son N. Phillips, 1919 | |
| Box 4, Folder 2 | Nell to son N. Phillips, 1920 | |
| Box 4, Folder 3 | Nell to son N. Phillips, 1921 | |
| Box 4, Folder 4 | Nell to son N. Phillips, 1922 | |
| Box 4, Folder 5 | Nell to son N. Phillips, 1923 | |
| Box 4, Folder 6 | Nell to son N. Phillips, 1936-1939 | |
| Box 4, Folder 7 | Nell to son N. Phillips, 1940-1949 | |
| Box 4, Folder 8 | Nell to son N. Phillips, 1950-1951 | |
Series 3: Edwin and Siblings, ?????
| Box 4, Folder 8 | Nell to son N. Phillips, 1950-1951 | |
| Box 5 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 5, Folder 1 | Nell to son N. Phillips, 1952 | |
| Box 5, Folder 2 | Nell to son N. Phillips, 1953 | |
| Box 5, Folder 3 | Nell to son N. Phillips, 1954-1961 | |
| Box 5, Folder 4 | Nell to son N. Phillips, undated | |
| Box 5, Folder 5 | Edwin to N. Phillips, 1905-1916 | |
| Box 5, Folder 6 | Edwin to N. Phillips, 1917 | |
| Box 5, Folder 7 | Edwin to N. Phillips, 1918 | |
| Box 5, Folder 8 | Edwin to N. Phillips, 1919-1920 | |
| Box 5, Folder 9 | Edwin to N. Phillips, 1921-1923 | |
| Box 5, Folder 10 | Edwin to N. Phillips, 1935-1939 | |
| Box 5, Folder 11 | Edwin to N. Phillips, 1942-1948 and undated | |
| Box 5, Folder 12 | Rose to Edwin and Nell, 1875-1885 | |
| Box 5, Folder 13 | Rose to Edwin and Nell, 1886-1899 | |
| Box 5, Folder 14 | Rose to Edwin and Nell, 1900-1906 | |
| Box 6 | ||
| Box 6, Folder 1 | Rose to Edwin, Nell, and Miriam, 1907-1917 and undated | |
| Box 6, Folder 2 | Carrie to Edwin and cousin Will P. Hardy, 1878-1883 | |
| Box 6, Folder 3 | Carrie to Edwin, 1884-1887 | |
| Box 6, Folder 4 | Carrie to Edwin and Nell, 1891-1894 | |
| Box 6, Folder 5 | Carrie to Edwin (and ENH family members), 1895-1915 and undated | |
| Box 6, Folder 6 | Webster O.H. to Edwin and various others, 1862-1919 and undated | |
| Box 6, Folder 7 | N. Phillips, Miriam, Christine to Edwin and Nell, 1916-1920 | |
| Box 6, Folder 8 | N. Phillips, Miriam, Christine to Edwin and Nell, undated | |
Series 4: Other Relatives, 1878-1908
| Box 6, Folder 9 | Cousin Will P. Hardy to Edwin, 1878-1907 and undated | |
| Box 6, Folder 10 | W.W. Severy to Edwin and Nell, 1896-1907 | |
| Box 6, Folder 11 | Various NH relatives to Edwin and Nell, 1880-1887 | |
| Box 6, Folder 12 | Various NH relatives to Edwin and Nell, 1889-1908 and undated | |
| Box 6, Folder 13 | Correspondence from various other relatives outside of New Hampshire, 1898-1938 and undated | |
| Box 6, Folder 14 | Al Struthers to Edwin, 1889-1891 | |
| Box 6, Folder 15 | Al Struthers to Edwin, 1893-1899 | |
| Box 6, Folder 16 | Al Struthers to Edwin, 1900-1907 and undated | |
| Box 6, Folder 17 | Al Struthers to Edwin, 1908-1917 and undated |
Series 5: Friends/Acquaintances and Organizations, 1882-1962
| Box 5 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 5, Folder 1 | Miriam to N. Phillips, 1916-1922 and undated | |
| Box 5, Folder 2 | Christine to N. Philips, 1920-1962 | |
| Box 5, Folder 3 | Francis Struthers to N.Phillips, 1918-1958 | |
| Box 5, Folder 4 | Misc. Letters to N. Phillips, 1916-1935 | |
| Box 5, Folder 5 | Friends to Edwin, 1882-1884 | |
| Box 5, Folder 6 | Friends to Edwin, 1882-1884 | |
| Box 5, Folder 7 | Friends to Edwin, 1883-1899 and undated | |
| Box 5, Folder 8 | Classmates to Edwin, 1882-1897 | |
| Box 5, Folder 9 | Boston Business to Edwin, 1882-1891 | |
| Box 5, Folder 10 | Cushing Academy to Edwin, 1879-1903 and undated | |
Series 6: Quincy Parish and Other Business, 1882-1918
| Box 5, Folder 11 | Quincy parish to Edwin and Nell, 1897-1903 | |
| Box 5, Folder 12 | Edwin – Parish and other business, 1882-1896 | |
| Box 5, Folder 13 | Edwin – Parish and other business, 1897-1899 | |
| Box 5, Folder 14 | Edwin – Parish and other business, 1900-1901 | |
| Box 5, Folder 15 | Edwin – Parish and other business, 1902-1918 and undated | |
| Box 5, Folder 16 | Miscellaneous / Fragments of letters | |
| Box 8 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 8, Folder 1 | William Ballard to ENH, 1914 | |
| Box 8, Folder 2 | Helen Louise King to EN Hardy, undated | |
| Box 8, Folder 3 | WT McElveen to EN Hardy, 1914-1915 | |
| Box 8, Folder 4 | EJ Merrill to EN Hardy, 1911-1915 | |
| Box 8, Folder 5 | Rufus Miller to EN Hardy, 1895-1910 and undated | |
| Box 8, Folder 6 | Millard Powers to EN Hardy, 1915 and undated | |
| Box 8, Folder 7 | Henry Romeike, Inc., to EN Hardy, 1919 | |
| Box 8, Folder 8 | Rose R. Sears to EN Hardy, 1915 | |
| Box 8, Folder 9 | Mary A. Sidilinger to EN Hardy, 1910-1912 and undated | |
| Box 8, Folder 10 | EH Sinclair to EN Hardy, 1913 | |
| Box 8, Folder 11 | Edward C. Towne to EW Hardy, 1910 and undated | |
| Box 8, Folder 12 | Susie Walsh Waynard to EN Hardy, 1912 and undated | |
| Box 8, Folder 13 | Emma L. Welsh to EN Hardy, 1911-1915 | |
| Box 8, Folder 14 | Misc. Letters to NW Hardy, 1882-1895 | |
| Box 8, Folder 15 | Misc. Letters to EN Hardy, 1887-1902 | |
| Box 8, Folder 16 | Misc. Letters to EN Hardy, 1903-1905 | |
| Box 8, Folder 17 | Misc. Letters to EN Hardy, 1907-1909 | |
| Box 8, Folder 18 | Misc. Letters to EN Hardy, 1910-1911 | |
| Box 8, Folder 19 | Misc. Letters to EN Hardy, 1912-1914 | |
| Box 8, Folder 20 | Misc. Letters to EN Hardy, 1915-1917 | |
| Box 8, Folder 21 | Misc. Letters to EN Hardy, 1919-1920 and 1943 | |
| Box 8, Folder 22 | Misc. Letters to EN Hardy, 1919-1920 and 1943 | |
| Box 8, Folder 23 | Misc. Letters to EN Hardy, undated | |
| Box 9 | ||
| Box 9, Folder 1 | Misc. Letters 1885-1950 | |
| Box 9, Folder 2 | Misc. Letters, undated | |
| Box 9, Folder 3 | Misc. Postcards (family, friends, church), undated | |
| Box 9, Folder 4 | Misc. Letters to Nell, 1886-1958 | |
| Box 9, Folder 5 | Misc. Letters to Miriam and Christine, 1931-1944 and undated | |
| Box 9, Folder 6 | Misc. Letters to N. Phillips, 1916-1918 | |
| Box 9, Folder 7 | Misc. Letters to N. Phillips, 1935-1945 | |
| Box 9, Folder 8 | Misc. Letters to N. Phillips, 1951-1960 | |
| Box 9, Folder 9 | Misc. Letters to N. Phillips, undated | |
| Box 10 | ||
| Box 10, Folder 1 | Sermons / Church Writings from EN Hardy | |
| Box 10, Folder 2 | Church Programs, Ordination, Resignation | |
| Box 10, Folder 3 | Misc. Church-Related Writings | |
| Box 10, Folder 4 | EN Hardy - Unsorted Sermons | |
| Box 10, Folder 5 | EN Hardy - Unsorted Sermons | |
| Box 10, Folder 6 | EN Hardy - Book Materials | |
| Box 10, Folder 7 | EN Hardy - Non-Church Writings | |
| Box 10, Folder 8 | EN Hardy - Non-Church Writings | |
| Box 10, Folder 9 | Diary, 1911-1913; Account book, 1935-1938 | |
| Box 10, Folder 10 | Misc. Business letters, undated | |
| Box 10, Folder 11 | Photos: EN Hardy & NS Hardy (1919), Miriam Phillips (1919), FW Struthers (1918), Hardy house in Nelson (1918), misc. unidentified photos | |
