Letter signed Flora [Byrne], Byrnham Wood, to [Mrs. Charles F. Mayer, Franklin Street, Baltimore, Maryland]. “I see no prospect of ever repassing those mountains which now separate me from dear Baltimore! Annie had a little party just before Christmas and the children’s manners “would not disgrace a juvenile party in Baltimore.” If the weather is favorable we will take Annie to Palmyra this month to go to school. A brick church is being built in Winchester. “There is less bigotry here than in the East.” Would like a small organ for the church. Will “any of you good church people assist your Western brethren in their efforts…?” What is doing in the literary world? “I am getting unutterable, indescribably rusty and musty.” Individuals mentioned include Annie, Charley, Jamie, Miss Lane, Mrs. Barr, Edmond, Fletcher, Mary Smith, and Edward. Places mentioned include Baltimore, Palmyra, Virginia, and Winchester. (4 pages), 1847 Jan 4

Item — Box: 1, Folder: 2

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The Mayer Family Papers consist of the correspondence of Flora Byrne to Mrs. Charles F. Mayer. Describes her life and family at Byrnham Wood in Clark County near Winchester, Missouri. Includes correspondence from various members of the family in Baltimore, Maryland. The letters contain many sidelights on the state of development in that day, mention well-known characters, and show the facilities for transportation between the Atlantic seaboard and St. Louis. The latest letters, dated in 1861, document Civil War movements in St. Louis and Baltimore. The collection also includes miscellaneous correspondence regarding the donation and the drawings of Francis [Frank] Blackwell Mayer.