Sub-Series 3-B: David Ferris/Sarah Ann Underwood Family Correspondence

The David Ferris family settled on a farm near Rancocas, Burlington County, N.J., in 1854. In 1871, Ferris bought a farm in Fairfax County, Virginia, near Mt. Vernon, and in 1877, the family moved to his mother-in-law's farm near Jennersville, Chester County, Pa. The farm was sold in 1891, and his final years were spent in the family home in Wilmington, Delaware, where he was born.

He and Sarah Ann had six children: Francis Canby (1850-1880); William Canby (1851-1928); Matilda (1853-1937); Henry (1855-1941); Alfred Justice (1864-1950); and Walter (1868-1958). The three eldest of their six children did not marry.

Eldest child, Francis ("Frank") Canby Ferris, died in January 1880, just before his 30th birthday. He apprenticed as a printer, working with Howard Jenkins and Wilmer Atkinson. In 1877, he and younger brother Henry bought the printing company. Frank and his sister, Matilda, corresponded frequently and lovingly. Second child, William C. Ferris (1851-1938) became a machinist and engineer. He moved to Brooklyn and then the mid West seeking work, and in 1911 finally settled in Arden, Delaware, an experimental single tax community. Matilda, who remained unmarried, had a particularly close and affectionate relationship with her brothers Frank and Henry which is reflected in their extensive correspondence.

The youngest siblings, Alfred Justice (1864-1950) and Walter (1868-1958) are not as well represented in the collection. Alfred joined Henry in the Ferris Bros. Printing Company in Wilmington after Frank's death. He retained the printing business in Philadelphia when Henry went into advertising. Alfred died in Philadelphia. Walter also became a machinist. He later settled in Milwaukee.

In 1855, Sarah Ann's only surviving sibling, sister Elizabeth Coleman, died; eldest sister Mary had married out of unity, and no letters from her post-date 1850. David's sisters, Anna M. and Martha ("Patty") continued a warm correspondence, "Dear Sister," to the end of their lives. Letters are arranged by chronologically, beginning with David and Sarah Ann Ferris. Because of their volume, the correspondence of Matilda and Frank are arranged separately. The letters of William, Alfred, and Walter are filed with other family members.