Francis Family correspondence (MS.2013.009)

This collection contains correspondence from George Blinn Francis and Henry Newton Francis to their family members in West Hartford, CT. Both George and Henry worked as civil engineers on reservoir projects in Rhode Island during the entire time period of this correspondence, 1875-1882. Henry worked on the Fruit Hill Reservoir in North Providence, RI and George worked on the Sockanoset Reservoir and a reservoir in Pettanoset. They both worked for Samuel Merrill Gray who was the Engineer for the City of Providence during at least part of that time.

The content of the correspondence is primarily family news and pleas for them to write. Information about the work on the reservoirs is limited but they do discuss how many men are working, their desires for pay raises, and Henry provides a sketch of the hut built for the engineers at Fruit Hill Reservoir.

George's letter dated February 6, 1881 describes skating on Narragansett Bay during a cold snap. Henry provides a lot of details about work on his home - putting down carpets, painting, wall-papering, cleaning, installing a new stove, and purchasing new furniture.