Florence Porter Lyman (1870-1960) was born into the Chapin Moodey family in the late 19th century. She married Charles Wendell Porter, a Northampton lawyer who spent his summers in Northern Maine, in 1894. After her first husband's death in 1899 she continued to spend her summers in Maine. She then married Frank Lyman of the prominent Lyman family in 1903. They had three children together and lived in both Northampton and Brooklyn. During her summers in Northern Maine, Florence Porter Lyman stayed in touch with her many family and friends who lived in Massachusetts and New York.
This collection contains almost forty years of Florence Porter Lyman's in-coming correspondence. Letters refer primarily to domestic matters including: her first husband's train accident and death, her engagement and re-marriage to Frank Lyman, and the birth of her three children.
Florence Porter Lyman with her dog, Lyman Family Papers
Florence Porter Lyman (1870-1960) was the daughter of Moses Kerr Moodey and Hannah Maria Chapin. She was born Florence Chapin Moodey and grew up in Northampton, Massachusetts with her siblings Herbert Lyman Moodey and Cornelia Chapin Moodey. She married Charles Wendell Porter (1866-1899) on June 7th 1894 in Northampton. Although he grew up in Massachusetts, Porter's family summered near the border of Canada in the town of North Perry, Maine. Porter was a graduate of Northampton High School, Amherst College, and Columbia University. He passed the bar in 1892 and started his law practice in Northampton. In 1896 he was struck by a train; the accident left him injured and unable to practice law. Three years later, in 1899, he was killed by an accidental discharge of his gun while in Northern Maine.
After four years of widowhood, Florence married widower Frank Lyman, Sr. (1852-1938) on August 25th, 1903 in North Perry. Frank Lyman had previously been married to Mary Sanger (1859-1890). Frank Lyman, Sr. was a member of the prominent Northampton Lyman family. His brother was Joseph Lyman (1851-1883) and his cousin was Benjamin Smith Lyman (1835-1920). Frank Lyman attended Harvard University, Columbia School of Mines, and the Ecole des Mines in Paris. Lyman worked in various fields before becoming the president of the Brooklyn Gas Light Co. Florence Porter Lyman spent most of her time in Northampton, Massachusetts or Brooklyn, and summered in Northern Maine. Florence and Frank had three children together: Joseph Lyman (1906-1979), Frank Lyman, Jr. (1908-1992), and Hannah C. Lyman (b. 1910).
Scope of collection
This collection contains the personal correspondence of Florence Porter Lyman during the years of 1894 to 1931. The letters were primarily sent to Florence Porter Lyman by family and friends during her summers in Northern Maine. The letters refer primarily to domestic matters. The nearly forty year span of letters coincide with a variety of changes in Florence's life including her marriage to her first husband Charles Wendell Porter, Porter's train accident and death, her years as a widow, her engagement and marriage to her second husband Frank Lyman, and the births of her children. These topics are often referred to by friends and family. The correspondence is organized chronologically.
Inventory
Postcards
ca. 1894
Box 1: 1
Correspondence
1895 Feb
Box 1: 2
Correspondence
1896 April
Box 1: 3
Correspondence
1898 Feb
Box 1: 4
Correspondence
1898 Dec
Box 1: 5
Correspondence
1899 Jan
Box 1: 6
Correspondence
1899 May
Box 1: 7
Correspondence
1899 June
Box 1: 8
Correspondence
1899 July
Box 1: 9
Correspondence
1899 Aug
Box 1: 10
Correspondence
1899 Sept
Box 1: 11
Correspondence
1900 June
Box 1: 12
Correspondence
1900 July
Box 1: 13
Correspondence
1900 Aug
Box 1: 14
Correspondence
1900 Sept
Box 1: 15
Architectural Drawings
ca. 1900
Box 1: 16
Correspondence
1901 April
Box 1: 17
Correspondence
1901 June
Box 1: 18
Correspondence
1901 July
Box 1: 19
Correspondence
1901 Aug 2-14
Box 1: 20
Correspondence
1901 Aug 17-30
Box 1: 21
Correspondence
1901 Sept
Box 1: 22
Correspondence
1901
Box 1: 23
Correspondence
1902 Apr-May
Box 1: 24
Correspondence
1902 June
Box 1: 25
Correspondence
1902 July
Box 2: 1
Correspondence
1902 Aug
Box 2: 2
Correspondence
1902 Dec
Box 2: 3
Watercolor and Map
ca. 1902
Box 2: 4
Correspondence
1903 May
Box 2: 5
Correspondence
1903 June
Box 2: 6
Correspondence
1903 July
Box 2: 7
Correspondence
1903 July
Box 2: 8
Correspondence
1903 July
Box 2: 9
Correspondence
1903 July
Box 2: 10
Correspondence
1903 July
Box 2: 11
Correspondence
1903 Aug
Box 2: 12
Correspondence
1904 Jan-Feb
Box 2: 13
Correspondence
1904 May-June
Box 2: 14
Correspondence
1904 July
Box 2: 15
Correspondence
1904 July
Box 2: 16
Correspondence
1904 Aug
Box 2: 17
Correspondence
1904 Aug
Box 2: 18
Correspondence
1904 Aug
Box 3: 1
Correspondence
1905 June-July
Box 3: 2
Correspondence
1905 Aug
Box 3: 3
Correspondence
1905 Aug
Box 3: 4
Correspondence
1905 Aug
Box 3: 5
Correspondence
1905 Aug
Box 3: 6
Correspondence
1907 July
Box 3: 7
Correspondence
1909 Apr
Box 3: 8
Correspondence
1909 June
Box 3: 9
Correspondence
1909 June
Box 3: 10
Correspondence
1909 June
Box 3: 11
Correspondence
1909 July
Box 3: 12
Correspondence
1909 Aug
Box 3: 13
Correspondence
1909 Aug
Box 3: 14
Correspondence
1909 Aug
Box 3: 15
Correspondence
1909 Sept
Box 3: 16
Correspondence
1909 Sept
Box 3: 17
Accounts and Receipts
ca. 1909
Box 4: 1
Correspondence
1910 Mar
Box 4: 2
Correspondence
1910 June
Box 4: 3
Correspondence
1910 May
Box 4: 4
Correspondence
1910 June
Box 4: 5
Correspondence
1910 July
Box 4: 6
Correspondence
1910 July
Box 4: 7
Correspondence
1910 July
Box 4: 8
Correspondence
1910 July
Box 4: 9
Correspondence
1910 July
Box 4: 10
Correspondence
1910 Aug
Box 4: 11
Correspondence
1910 Aug
Box 4: 12
Correspondence
1910 Aug
Box 4: 13
Correspondence
1910 Sept
Box 4: 14
Correspondence
1910 Sept
Box 4: 15
Correspondence
1910 Sept
Box 4: 16
Correspondence
1911 Jan
Box 4: 17
Correspondence
1911 June
Box 4: 18
Correspondence
1911 July
Box 4: 19
Correspondence
1911 July
Box 4: 20
Correspondence
1911 Aug
Box 5: 1
Correspondence
1911 Aug
Box 5: 2
Correspondence
1911 Aug
Box 5: 3
Correspondence
1911 Sept
Box 5: 4
Correspondence
1911 Dec
Box 5: 5
Correspondence
1912 May
Box 5: 6
Correspondence
1912 June
Box 5: 7
Correspondence
1912 July
Box 5: 8
Correspondence
1912 July
Box 5: 9
Correspondence
1912 Aug
Box 5: 10
Correspondence
1912 Aug
Box 5: 11
Correspondence
1912 Aug
Box 5: 12
Correspondence
1912 Sept
Box 5: 13
Correspondence
1913 Mar
Box 5: 14
Correspondence
1913 April
Box 5: 15
Correspondence
1913 June
Box 5: 16
Correspondence
1913 July
Box 5: 17
Correspondence
1913 Aug 1-17
Box 5: 18
Correspondence
1913 Sept
Box 6: 1
Drawings
ca. 1913
Box 6: 2
Correspondence
1914 June
Box 6: 3
Correspondence
1913 Aug
Box 6: 4
Correspondence
1913 Sept
Box 6: 5
Correspondence
1914 May
Box 6: 6
Correspondence
1914 June
Box 6: 7
Correspondence
1914 July
Box 6: 8
Correspondence
1914 July
Box 6: 9
Correspondence
1914 July
Box 6: 10
Correspondence
1914 Aug
Box 6: 11
Correspondence
1914 Aug
Box 6: 12
Correspondence
1914 Sept
Box 6: 13
Correspondence
1914 Dec
Box 6: 14
Correspondence
1915 Jan-May
Box 6: 15
Correspondence
1915 June
Box 6: 16
Correspondence
1915 July
Box 6: 17
Correspondence
1915 July
Box 6: 18
Correspondence
1915 Aug
Box 7: 1
Correspondence
1915 Aug
Box 7: 2
Correspondence
1915 Sept
Box 7: 3
Correspondence
1916 Mar
Box 7: 4
Correspondence
1916 Apr
Box 7: 5
Correspondence
1916 July
Box 7: 6
Correspondence
1916 Aug
Box 7: 7
Correspondence
1916 Aug
Box 7: 8
Correspondence
1916 Aug
Box 7: 9
Correspondence
1916 Aug
Box 7: 10
Correspondence
1916 Sept
Box 7: 11
Correspondence
1916 Sept
Box 7: 12
Correspondence
1916 Sept
Box 7: 13
Correspondence
1916 Sept
Box 7: 14
Correspondence
1916 Oct
Box 7: 15
Correspondence
1916 Oct
Box 7: 16
Correspondence
1916 Oct
Box 7: 17
Correspondence
1916 Oct
Box 7: 18
Correspondence
1917 Feb
Box 7: 19
Correspondence
1917 Mar
Box 7: 20
Correspondence
1917 May
Box 7: 21
Correspondence
1917 June
Box 7: 22
Correspondence
1917 July
Box 8: 1
Correspondence
1917 July
Box 8: 2
Correspondence
1917 Aug
Box 8: 3
Correspondence
1917 Aug
Box 8: 4
Correspondence
1917(?) Sept
Box 8: 5
Correspondence
1917 Dec
Box 8: 6
Correspondence
1918 Mar
Box 8: 7
Correspondence
1918 May
Box 8: 8
Correspondence
1918 June
Box 8: 9
Correspondence
1918 July
Box 8: 10
Correspondence
1918 July
Box 8: 11
Correspondence
1918 July
Box 8: 12
Correspondence
1918 Aug
Box 8: 13
Correspondence
1918 Sept
Box 8: 14
Correspondence
1918 Sept
Box 8: 15
Correspondence
1919 April
Box 8: 16
Correspondence
1919 July
Box 8: 17
Correspondence
1919 July
Box 8: 18
Correspondence
1919 Aug
Box 9: 1
Correspondence
1920 Mar
Box 9: 2
Correspondence
1920 May
Box 9: 3
Correspondence
1920 June
Box 9: 4
Correspondence
1920 Jul
Box 9: 5
Correspondence
1920 Aug
Box 9: 6
Correspondence
1920 Aug
Box 9: 7
Correspondence
1920 Sept
Box 9: 8
Correspondence
1920 Sept
Box 9: 9
Correspondence
1921 June
Box 9: 10
Correspondence
1921 July
Box 9: 11
Correspondence
1921 Aug
Box 9: 12
Correspondence
1921 Aug
Box 9: 13
Correspondence
1921 Sept
Box 9: 14
Correspondence
1922 June
Box 9: 15
Correspondence
1922 Jul
Box 9: 16
Correspondence
1922 Aug
Box 9: 17
Correspondence
1923 June
Box 10: 1
Correspondence
1923 July
Box 10: 2
Correspondence
1923 July
Box 10: 3
Correspondence
1923 Aug
Box 10: 4
Correspondence
1923 Sept
Box 10: 5
Correspondence
1924 June
Box 10: 6
Correspondence
1924 July
Box 10: 7
Correspondence
1925 July
Box 10: 8
Correspondence
1925 Aug
Box 10: 9
Correspondence
1925 Aug
Box 10: 10
Correspondence
1925 Sept
Box 10: 11
Correspondence
1927 May
Box 10: 12
Correspondence
1927 June
Box 10: 13
Correspondence
1927 July
Box 10: 14
Correspondence
1927 Aug
Box 10: 15
Photographs
Various Dates
Box 10: 16
Correspondence and Printed Material
Undated
Box 10: 17
Correspondence
1931 June
Box 10: 18
Correspondence
1931 July
Box 10: 19
Correspondence
1931 Aug
Box 10: 20
Correspondence
1931 Aug
Box 10: 21
Correspondence
1931 Aug
Box 10: 22
Correspondence
1931 Sept
Box 10: 23
Administrative information
Access
The collection is open for research.
Provenance
Gift of the Pembroke Historical Society (Pembroke, Maine), 2016.
