What can historical letters teach us about past societies?
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What can historical letters teach us about past societies?
Before the internet and mobile phones, people wrote letters to stay in contact. The contents of these letters provide historians with fascinating glimpses into the lives of people in the past. At the University of Toronto in Canada, Professor Cecilia Morgan is reading letters held in museum archives to learn what life was like for British settlers in 19th century Canada. She is interested in what these letters reveal about the relationships and experiences of family members, and what this can teach us about life today.
Talk like a historian
Anti-colonialism — the campaign against the lasting impacts of colonisation
Archive research — the study of historical records and documents, such as letters, diaries, photographs, maps, and audio or video recordings, to create accurate historical narratives and learn about the past
British Empire — regions colonised by Britain
British settlers — individuals and families from Britain who moved to foreign lands to establish communities
Indigenous peoples — people and communities who are native to a region or place
Source — any evidence used to understand the past
When was the last time you wrote a letter? Chances are, in today’s digital world, you are more likely to communicate through social media, text messages or voice notes. Historically however, letters were the main form of communication.
By reading letters sent in the past, historians can learn a lot about the people who wrote them and the societies in which they lived. Professor Cecilia Morgan, a historian at the University of Toronto, is studying letters written between members of the Hamilton family to learn about the role of British settlers in 19th century Canada.
Who were the Hamiltons?
Robert Hamilton was a Scottish merchant who had links to the fur trade in the Great Lakes area of Canada. He settled in Canada in 1779 and married Catherine Askin, the daughter of John Askin, an Irish merchant and fur trader, and Manette/Monette, an enslaved Indigenous woman. Robert and Catherine’s son, Alexander, became a businessman, militia officer, government official and judge. He married Hannah Owen Jarvis in 1816, and they built their home, Willowbank, overlooking the Niagara River in modern-day Ontario. Alexander died in 1839 while Hannah was pregnant with their eleventh child, leaving her with significant debts and many children to support.
It is letters written over the years between those children, their families and their mother, Hannah, that Cecilia is now reading. “Hamilton family members were keen letter-writers,” she says. “Their letters discuss a wide range of topics that tell us much about their interests and concerns.”
What has Cecilia learnt from the Hamilton’s letters?
With many Hamilton men involved in business and engaged in politics, their letters shed light on political events of the time, as well as wars and uprisings in Canada and elsewhere in the British Empire. And it was not only the men who discussed politics: “The letters are striking for the amount of interest women displayed in political matters, even though they were formally excluded from politics,” says Cecilia.
On a cultural level, the letters reveal the fashions, home décor and shopping habits of British settlers in 19th century Canada, as well as how they spent their time: playing croquet and cricket, hunting and fishing, and attending the theatre and circus.
“Family finances are a theme that run though the letters, which suggests that being middle-class was not always a stable or secure position,” explains Cecilia. Several Hamilton sons travelled throughout Canada and the US looking for work, writing home about their travels and the societies in which they found themselves, and providing historians with a view of the challenges of 19th century travel.
For financial reasons, many Hamilton women did their own housework. “However, for those who could afford them, servants played an important part in keeping homes running smoothly and maintaining a middle-class lifestyle,” explains Cecilia. “Letters are full of concerns about hiring and managing servants. In a few cases, they show great concern about servants’ health and well-being, sometimes going beyond the conventional boundaries of the employer-employee relationship.”
“The Hamilton family contributed to the many social, economic, cultural and political networks and institutions that shaped Ontario society and helped connect it to the world beyond,” explains Cecilia. “Their histories show us how the middle-class of this colony was forged, its values, beliefs and practices, and the insecurity and instability individuals faced.”
How were emotions expressed in letters?
Family members were incredibly open about their emotions, with letters full of love, particularly between parents and children. “Irritation, and sometimes anger, also wends its way through these letters, often in the form of the writer telling their mother how exasperated they are with a brother, sister, or in-law’s behaviour, unkind words, or failure to write to them more often,” says Cecilia. Many writers expressed boredom with their daily life but would then write many pages of correspondence. “No matter what the emotion that these letters tried to convey, the fact that they were full of such feelings tells me that these correspondents felt a strong connection to their relatives – even when they were annoyed at them!”
In addition to the expected closeness between mothers and daughters, Cecilia was interested to discover very close relationships between mothers and sons. “Herbert Hamilton wrote almost daily to his mother, Hannah,” says Cecilia, “advising her about her health, worrying when she seemed sad or lonely, telling her about his work, social life and family, and sending her books and magazines.”
How did settler families interact with Indigenous peoples?
Although the Hamiltons had Indigenous ancestry (Alexander’s grandmother, Manette/Monette) and Willowbank was built on Indigenous land ceded to the British Crown in treaties negotiated with Indigenous nations, their letters only occasionally mention the Indigenous peoples who lived nearby. “The Hamiltons showed only intermittent awareness of or interest in Indigenous peoples,” says Cecilia. “Regrettably, this phenomenon was common in settler societies, based on settlers’ beliefs that Indigenous culture and society would soon die out, as Indigenous people were assimilated into white society.”
How can historical family letters inform society today?
“My research tells us about the importance of family and their contributions to creating settler society in the 19th century,” says Cecilia. “It demonstrates how family relationships could be complicated, being ones of care and kindness but also of conflict and disruption.” This knowledge helps us understand family relationships today. Cecilia explains, “In childrearing, old age, sickness and death, for example, we shouldn’t romanticise such relationships or underestimate the toll that ‘care work’ can take on family members, particularly wives and daughters.”
Professor Cecilia Morgan
Department of History and Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, University of Toronto, Canada
Field of research: History
Research project: Reading historical letters to learn what life was like for British settlers in 19th century Canada
Funder: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
Reference
https://doi.org/10.33424/FUTURUM523
© Willowbank School of Restoration Arts
© Willowbank School of Restoration Arts
© Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum, 984.1.256
© Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum, 2008.031.003
About history
Historians study how humans interacted, experienced life and made decisions in the past, and examine how and why things change. To do this, historians read widely and deeply, because they need to consult a wide range of sources to uncover the secrets of the past: “No one source is perfect,” says Cecilia. History covers every area of life, from culture, politics and religion, to medicine, technology and economics.
What does archive research involve?
Historians often work with historical sources of information held in archives, which can mean long days holed up in a museum reading ancient documents. This can be challenging, especially if the ink has faded or the handwriting is hard to read. “Reading cursive handwriting is a necessity for many historians,” says Cecilia. “Also, to save money on paper and postage, letter writers used a technique called ‘cross hatching’, where they would write a page, then turn the paper 90 degrees and write another page on top!” Despite the challenges of deciphering old handwriting, Cecilia is very enthusiastic about archive research: “One of the exciting aspects is finding new and unexpected stories that challenge my assumptions.”
How is history changing?
“History is based on interpretation, which means that our understanding of the past is constantly changing and is shaped by our engagement with the present,” says Cecilia. “The rise of social movements, such as the civil-rights movement, the women’s movement, gay liberation, Indigenous rights movements, anti-colonialism struggles and the environmental movement all shape the kinds of questions historians ask today.”
Not only is our understanding of history shaped by the present, but studying the past enables historians to view the present through a different lens. “One of the great advantages to being a historian is that it gives us a wide and deep perspective on contemporary questions,” says Cecilia. “We can see beyond our own, sometimes narrow, worldview when we think about how past societies dealt with crises and change.”
Pathway from school to history
School history classes will introduce you to past societies and events from different time periods. Beyond the classroom, explore more about the historical topics, people and places that interest you. For example, Canada’s History provides articles, podcasts and videos about a huge range of topics: www.canadashistory.ca
Get involved in community organisations that have a focus on history, such as your local museum or heritage society. “It’s always a good idea to explore the history of the place in which you live,” says Cecilia.
Studying history at university will allow you to focus on specific time periods or topics, while learning about history research methods.
Other useful subjects include literature (which will teach you to read and write well), sociology and anthropology (which will help you understand social structures and question your assumptions about what is ‘normal’), and languages (because you will need to understand the language(s) of the people or region you are studying).
Interdisciplinary studies are very important for historians, so take classes such as gender, Indigenous and disability studies. “These areas help us think about the nature of power in society, which is something historians need to consider,” says Cecilia.
Explore careers in history
In addition to ‘traditional’ history careers, such as history research, museum work, community heritage and history teaching, Cecilia’s history graduates have also pursued careers in law, public policy and government. “History is a good basis for such work,” she says. “Not only do we create narratives but we also craft arguments about significance and meaning, and we evaluate and work with evidence to underpin those arguments.”
Learn more about what you can do with a history degree: www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/history
Find education and career resources from national organisations such as the Canadian Historical Association (www.cha-shc.ca), the Historical Association (www.history.org.uk) or the American Historical Association (www.historians.org).
Meet Cecilia
My parents were British immigrants to Canada, and their grandparents had migrated to England from Ireland in the mid- to late-19th century. My mother, aunts and grandmother had lots of stories about where we had come from. Other family members had lived in different parts of the British Empire, including India and Borneo, and we were told about their voyages and lives there.
If I could travel back in time, I’d visit the late 18th and early 19th centuries. These decades were ones of great upheaval in the transatlantic world, a time when people wrestled with questions about equality and social transformation, whether in politics, religion, gender or race. So many questions about what those identities meant were debated during this period – it would be an exciting, if challenging, time to visit.
I am passionate about the role of women and the influence of gender in the past because the older women in my family played such an important part in my upbringing and education. Their lives weren’t always easy, and I’m grateful that I have had more choices and opportunities than they had. Their stories of life in north-eastern England often revolved around working-class or lower-middle-class women, so it seemed natural to me that history was more than just the stories of elite men.
I was fortunate to study history at a time when feminist historians had opened the discipline, in ways that showed the great range of women’s experiences. Their work demonstrated that gender, along with class, race and sexuality, had played a critical role in past societies, helping to shape their structures and also providing important ways for people to shape their own identities.
Cecilia’s top tips
1. Cultivate a love of reading and be prepared to read widely in whatever field of history you chose to study.
2. Being a historian is very rewarding, but it does involve a lot of solitary work, so you need to be very engaged with your subject and be comfortable working on your own.
Meet Victoria
Victoria Crosby is a history PhD student at Queen’s University in Canada
My ancestors were survivors of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. My grandmother told me their stories of survival, but people outside my family knew nothing about Armenia and the genocide. I became determined to teach the stories of people who were ignored and marginalised by mainstream historical discussions.
If I could travel back in time, I would visit 1920 to meet my great grandmother. Her harrowing story of survival and bravery has always been an important part of our family lore, but I would very much like to hear about her experience from her own point of view. And I would like her to know that her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren have been able to live happy and safe lives because of her sacrifices.
I love delving into archives because there is so much beauty in the everyday. I am interested in how people worried about the harvest or the baby teething while important events of Canadian history were happening in the background. I also enjoy learning about emotional bonds between people. It adds real, human feeling into the past.
When I studied history, there was so little being taught about women and gender. I wanted to see myself in what I was studying, so I decided to research and teach that history myself. As I trained as a historian, I became even more passionate about the intersections of race, gender, sexuality and disability. There are so many amazing people who have been ignored because of past societal biases, and their stories need to be told!
Victoria’s top tips
1. Study topics that you are passionate about, because it is a long journey through postgraduate studies.
2. Your interests will adapt and change as your studies progress, so you will probably end up studying something very different than you originally intended. One of the great things about studying the past is that there are always surprises, which means you need to remain flexible.
Do you have a question for Cecilia or Victoria?
Write it in the comments box below and Cecilia or Victoria will get back to you. (Remember, researchers are very busy people, so you may have to wait a few days.)
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