Wendell Family Correspondence, 1801-1896 – MS088
Provenance: Portsmouth Athenaeum Special Collections Purchase in 2009.
Citation: Wendell Family Correspondence (MS088), Manuscript Collections, Portsmouth Athenaeum
Size: 2 Hollinger Boxes
Access: No restrictions
Processed by: Courtney MacLachlin, 2009
Scope and Content
Primarily correspondence, but collection includes some other family material such as announcements and invoices. Dates range from 1801-1896. Bulk of the correspondence is between Jacob Wendell and his children and their spouses from 1840 to 1865. One set of letters was written from William Goodwin on a voyage to Calcutta in 1850-1851. Subjects include family news and some business topics.
Biographical Note
Jacob Wendell (1788-1865) was a Portsmouth entrepreneur. He and his brothers Abraham (B. 1785) and Isaac (B. 1786) established cotton mills in Dover. Although they lost money on the early mill attempts, he became a successful merchant and importer in the Russian and West Indies trade.
Jacob Wendell married Mehitable Rindge Rogers in 1816 and they had the following six children:
1. Mark Rogers Wendell, b. 1817, married Catherine Gates Thaxter in 1849 and lived in Boston.
2. Mehitable Rindge Wendell, b. 1818, d. 1847. She married Isaac Henry Stanwood in 1844. Lived in Woodville, Mississippi.
3. Caroline Quincy Wendell, b. 1820. Unmarried, she lived with her parents in the family home in Portsmouth.
4. Jacob Wendell, b. 1826. He married Mary Barrett in 1854 and lived in Boston, then New York.
5. Mary Evert, b. 1828. Married William Goodwin in 1852. Lived in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.
6. George Blunt, b. 1831, d. 1881. Clipper ship captain. Married Mary Thompson in 1861.Lived in Quincy, Massachusetts.
Sons of Jacob Wendell (#4) and Mary Barrett were:
1. James Rindge Stanwood (1847-1910), local historian.
2. Barrett Wendell (1855-1921), scholar, lived in Portsmouth.
3. Everts Wendell (1860-1917), philanthropist and athlete.
Related Collections
See also MS025, the Wendell Collection.
See also S0946, correspondence of Isaac Wendell.
Folder List
Box 1
F01: Abraham Wendell from various authors, 1816-1825.
F02: Abraham Wendell from various authors, 1826-1829 & und.
F03: A. & J. Wendell from Isaac Wendell, 1823-1824.
F04: A. & J. Wendell from Isaac Wendell, 1826.
F05: A. & J. Wendell from Isaac Wendell, 1827-1828.
F06: Jacob Wendell from Reuben Randall, 1806-1827.
F07: Jacob Wendell from Anna Wendell, 1830.
F08: Jacob Wendell from George Wendell, 1804-1829.
F09: Jacob Wendell from Mark, Mehitable, & Caroline Wendell,1836
F10: Jacob & Mehitable Wendell from Mark R. Wendell, 1845-46
F11: Jacob & Mehitable Wendell from Mark R. Wendell, 1847
F12: Jacob & Mehitable Wendell from Mark R. Wendell, 1849-50
F13: Jacob Wendell from Mark R. Wendell, 1851-1853
F14: Jacob Wendell from Mark R. Wendell, 1854-1855
F15: Jacob Wendell from Mark R. Wendell, 1856-1857
F16: Jacob Wendell from Mark R. Wendell, 1858-1860
F17: Jacob Wendell from Mark R. Wendell, 1861-1865
F18: Jacob Wendell from Jacob Wendell, jr., 1851
F19: Jacob & Mehitable Wendell from William Goodwin, 1850-51
F20: Jacob Wendell from William Goodwin, 1852-1853
F21: Jacob Wendell from William Goodwin, 1854
F22: Jacob Wendell from William Goodwin, 1855
F23: Jacob Wendell from William Goodwin, 1856
F24: Jacob Wendell from William Goodwin, 1857
F25: Jacob Wendell from William Goodwin, 1858-1859
F26: Jacob Wendell from William Goodwin, 1860-1865
F:27 Jacob Wendell from Isaac Stanwood, 1832 & 1846-47
F28: Jacob Wendell from Isaac Stanwood, 1848-1849
F29: Jacob Wendell from Isaac Stanwood, 1850-1851
F30: Jacob Wendell from Isaac Stanwood, 1852-1853
F31: Jacob Wendell from Isaac Stanwood, 1854-1855
F32: Jacob Wendell from Isaac Stanwood, 1856-1857
F33: Jacob Wendell from Isaac Stanwood, 1858-1859
F34: Jacob Wendell from Isaac Stanwood, 1860-1865
F35: Various people from Isaac Stanwood & family, 1845-1861
Box 2
F01: Jacob Wendell from Caroline Wendell, 1846-1856
F02: Jacob Wendell from Caroline Wendell, 1857-1865 & und.
F03: Jacob Wendell from Mehitable Wendell, 1836
F04: Jacob Wendell from Mary E.W. Goodwin, 1850-1859
F05: Jacob Wendell from Mary Barrett Wendell, 1864 & 1868
F06: Jacob Wendell from Catherine G.T. Wendell, 1821-1832
F07: Jacob Wendell from James Stanwood, 1864
F08: Jacob Wendell from various authors, 1821-1853
F09: Mehitable Wendell from Jacob Wendell, 1836-1854
F10: Mary & Caroline Wendell from Jacob Wendell, 1847-1865
F11: George & Jacob Wendell from Jacob Wendell, 1850-1865
F12: Mark Wendell from Jacob Wendell, 1845-1865
F13: Isaac Stranwood from Jacob Wendell, 1845-1865
F14: Various people from Jacob Wendell, 1806-1856
F15: Uncle from Isaac P. Wendell, 1830
F16: Isaac P. Wendell from Isaac H. Stanwood, 1833-1847
F17: Mark Wendell from Dorothy Stanwood, 1831-1832
F18: Barrett Wendell from N.A. Barrett, 1863-1867
F19: Jonathan Sherburne from Henry Sherburne, 1843 & 1846
F20: Mehitable Wendell from Sarah Blunt, 1850 & 1854
F21: Uncle & Cousin from Ann E. Wendell, 1863 & 1868
F22: Mary Wendell (Mrs. Jacob Wendell, jr.) from misc., 1877-1896
F23 Mary Wendell (Mrs. Jacob Wendell, jr.) from misc., 1897-1910
F24: Miscellaneous from Mary Wendell, 1879-1888
F25: Jacob Wendell, jr. from miscellaneous, 1881-1895
F26: Miscellaneous correspondence, 1801-1832
F27: Miscellaneous correspondence, 1835-1862
F28: Miscellanerous correspondence, undated
F29: Committee arrangements, Fourth of July Celebration, 1808
F30: Promissory notes, 1809-1828
F31: Orders to pay, 1809-1819
F32: Receipts, 1811-1830
F33: Business accounts, 1812-1828
F34: Invoices, 1813-1834
F35: Plan of I.H. Stanwood Cemetery Lot
F36: Civic activities, 1812-1825
F37: Barrett Wendell bill and well water test, 1875 &1883
F38: Invitations, announcements and calling cards, 1898 & und.