2014_020_009-003_ConsultingOnTrees1883

OverviewTranscribeVersionsHelp

Facsimile

Transcription

Status: Needs Review

Subject: Consulting Mt. A.C. on Trees

22 Berkeley St

Cambridge

June 30th

[sfr?] one/[?] of the note

[image of Stoughton family coat of arms]

James W. Lovering. Esq.

Dear Sir;

Could you
kindly tell me how near
the trunk of one elm tree
one can cut The roots, to
place a house, without
injury to the tree?

My question may
seem strange, but I was
advised to consult you
as one who would know.

Yours Truly

Mary Fisk Stoughton

Notes and Questions

Please sign in to write a note for this page

kelseydchung

Some words difficult to deciper.

martinnolan

Challenging writing - I think that the words that couldn't be deciphered in the body by kelseydchung are "near" and "advised", but may need another check.

margoburns

The coat of arms at the top of the page is the Stoughton family coat of arms.
See:
https://www.geni.com/people/Thomas-Stoughton-I/6000000000967088544

margoburns

NOTES:

1) The use of this coat-of-arms by Mary Fisk Stoughton (1821-1904) came through her late husband, Edwin W. Stoughton (1818-1882). He was a lawyer and diplomat, and the great-great-great-grandson of Thomas Stoughton Jr., of Windsor, Conn., who came over from England to Boston/Dorchester with the Winthrop Fleet in 1630 and moved to Connecticut a few years later. Thomas was the uncle of Lt. Governor William Stoughton, the Chief Magistrate of the Salem witchcraft trials in 1692-93.

2) This letter likely was part of the preparation work to build her house at 90 Brattle St., Cambridge, in 1882-3, after the death of her husband. The house is designated as a National Historic Landmark. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Fiske_Stoughton_House