Letter signed Flora Byrne, St. Louis, to My dear Eliza [Mayer]. Aunt Flora was twenty days in coming “a thing almost unheard of in this time of rapid traveling.” Tell Mr. Mayer to forget all “Utopian schemes of farming.” No gentleman can succeed unless he is willing to hold the plough. Aunt Flora talks of taking coaches to San Francisco to see Billy Saunders. Am delighted with your Christmas gifts. Individuals mentioned include Eliza, Annie, Aunt Flora, Frank, Charley, Mr. Mayer, Billy Saunders, and Dinah Postlewaite. Places mentioned include San Francisco and Sandwich Islands. (4 pages), [1851] Dec 19

Item — Box: 1, Folder: 3

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.