Amelia Ball Coppuck Welby papers

Collection contains items related to Amelia's work and her close, extended family. Items related to her book, POEMS, include a subscription order form (undated, probably 1846) as well as two legal documents (1844, 1846) regarding copyright issues. There are also 13 newspaper articles (1901-1922 and undated) about Amelia and her work; a postcard showing her birthplace in St. Michael's, Md.; a black-and-white photograph of her burial plot in Louisville, Ky.; and an envelope with genealogical information, all undated. There are 6 letters (1838-1853) in the collection. The earliest is by Amelia (28 Jan. 1938) to her cousin, Thomas Martin. Amelia writes about what her relations think of her, the flattery she receives, the popularity of her poetry and her resulting fame, and her prospects for marriage. The next is by John Welby (26 March 1846) in Liverpool, England, to Amelia's husband, merchant George Welby, in Louisville, Ky. His topics include English politics, especially the elections of Gladstone and Pelham-Clinton; trade, including free trade and expected bad news regarding trade in the East Indies; and the effects of a recent snow on crops. The final letters are by George Welby to his brother, Thomas (5 Jan. 1853, 28 Feb. 1853, 9 July 1853), and to Thomas' wife and Amelia's sister, Mary (24 Nov. 1852), who are residents of St. Michael's, Md. George Welby's topics include the visits of relatives, travel plans for himself and other family members; the "Lamdin case," a legal suit regarding a dispute over land; other business matters; the placement of a monument (possibly the one on Amelia's grave); the prospects for sale of his farm so that he might relocate to St. Michael's; the potential sale of whiskey shipped to Thomas. He recommends that Thomas avoid purchasing machinery for use on his farm and shares his dismay regarding the difficulty of finding drinking company on Maryland's Eastern Shore. However, his main theme is the newborn son he is raising since Amelia's death, including the resulting difficulties of housekeeping, the portrait being painted of the boy, his love for the child, and his inability to be separated from this last link to Amelia or to entertain the suggestion that Mary and Thomas should raise the boy.