Collection Title: Mary Austin Holley Letter
Series Number: MS10-48
Processed and Cataloged by: Processed by Dieter C. Ullrich on June 21, 2010.
Date Listed: June 21, 2010
Date Span: 1828
Size of Collection: 0.10 linear feet.
Number of Boxes: 1 legal size file folder; 1 item.
Type of Material: Correspondence.
Condition of Material: Fair with minor tears, foxing and fading due to aging and improper storage.
Arrangement: Chronological arrangement.
Biographical / Historical Information: Mary Phelps Austin Holley was a poet, travel author and land speculator. She was born in New Haven, Connecticut on August 30, 1784. She received her education at nearby schools. In 1805, she married Horace Holley who later served as president of Transylvania University from 1818 to 1827. Harriete Williman Holley, the daughter of Mary Holley, was born in 1808. During the time the letter was written, Mary was recovering from a severe case of yellow fever which had caused the death of her husband in July of 1827. After her recovery, she traveled to New Orleans and the Mexican territory of Texas. She wrote and published Texas: Observations Historical, Geographical and Descriptive describing her travels throughout Texas. Mary Holley died in New Orleans of yellow fever on August 2, 1846. Her daughter Harriete married William M. Brand, a prominent merchant from Lexington, Kentucky in 1825.
Scope and Content: Collection consists of a letter written by Mary Austin Holley to her daughter Harrietta Williman Holley Brand (Mrs. William M. Brand) of Lexington, Kentucky from New York City on May 14, 1828. The letter mentions the arrival and departure of friends from New York, people she recently met and family related issues.
Subject Headings / Descriptors:
Holley, Mary Austin, 1784-1846
Brand, Harriete Holley, 1808-
Brand family.
Holley family.
New York (N.Y.)
Additional Sources: See Mary Austin Holley Correspondence, 1800-1846 at the University of Louisville and the Holley Collections, 1797-1890 at Transylvania University.
