Letters Home

Homesick_William Smith Letter SC 24_Box1.pdf

A letter from Gladys Moyer to her mother in which she confesses to being homesick, September 30, 1909.

A letter from Gladys Moyer to her mother describing life at William Smith College, October 4, 1909.

Many of the early students of William Smith College communicated with friends and family back home via letters. Their letters often included details about daily life at William Smith. They would write about their classes, classmates, the faculty, and events happening both on and off campus.

Gladys Moyer of the class of 1912 wrote regularly to her mother back home in Buffalo, NY. This is a selection of letters she wrote from 1909-1910.

To view the letters in thier entirety, please click on the images.

Smith Observatory Letter SC 24_Box 1.pdf

A letter from Gladys Moyer to her parents describing a visit to the Smith Observatory, October 27, 1909. Gladys describes the Smith Observatory and what she saw in great detail.

"The first object we observed was the star Vega, of the constellation of Lyra, the harp. It is trillions of miles away and looks just like a diamond with different colored rays, that shoot out and in, corresponding with the twinkling of the star seen with the naked eye. Then we saw Mars, and being a planet, it looked just like a round ball of light with a clear outline. We saw a white spot on it, which Dr. Brooks said was the ice-ring around the pole."

Princess Chrysanthemum Letter SC 24_Box 1.pdf

A letter from Gladys Moyer to her mother, May 12, 1910. In the letter Gladys writes about having tea with Mrs. Eaton, wife of her Biology Professor Elon Howard Eaton, and the preparations for the operetta Princess Chrysanthemum. She also discusses some current events.

"Isn't it sad about King Edward. The day he died the girls came in just bubbling over with the news, King Edward had died, there had been an earthquake and Mr. More had shaved off his mustache. The flag was at half mast and the day was such a queer darkness that we thought the world must have been struck by Halley's comet and was coming to an end, but it is still whirling."

A letter from Gladys Moyer to her mother telling her of a comet sighting, May 19, 1910.

A letter from Gladys Moyer to her mother, June 12, 1910. In it Gladys writes about her last few days at William Smith College before the summer break, during which she attended Hobart College's annual burning of "Anna Lit."

"It was a great night at Hobart - the burning of Anna Lit that is analytical geometry. They build a huge fire and all the Soph's dress as freaks and they form a procession, which ends at the bonfire. Then they hold a mock trial at which Anna Lit is condemned to be burned and they hoist a dummy on the fire. Then they sing and dance around the fire at a great rate."