DANIEL CADY EATON - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 02/07/1869 - HFSID 283588

DANIEL CADY EATON
Botanist Daniel Cady Eaton, one of the first professors of botany in the U. S., wrote this letter to his father, Major General Amos Beebe Eaton, from New Haven, Connecticut in 1868. In it, he talked about the health of his daughter Bessy.
Autograph letter signed "D. C. Eaton". Pencil notation in top right corner of page 1. 3 pages, 4¾x7¾, 1 sheet folded, front and verso. New Haven, Connecticut. Feb. 7, 1866. Addressed to General A. B. Eaton, Washington, D. C. In full: "My dear Father - Last Wednesday I went to New York, principally to see Dr. about some of King's plants, the good Dr. having very kindly invited me to do so- Yesterday I came home and found your letter of the 4th waiting for me- It gives us a great deal of pleasure to have you here - and we want you to come whenever you can get away from your official duties, and my sister will let you go. Carrie is now taking Calisaya bark & iron with cod-liver-oil three times a day, and has,I think, begun a real improvement in her health- I was feeling quite anxious about her- Our good little girl is growing in stature and grace, 'pari passu', and gives every promise, if her life be spared, of making a good woman, and one perhaps not unworthy of the name she bears. Last evening I brought her three little red lady-apples, and she was perfectly delighted with them. This morning, while with the nurse she ate half of one of them, and bit into another before the nurse knew it. At noon when Carrie & I were with her I gave her bitten apple to play with. At first she offered to bite into it, and I told her 'No! No! Baby may play with the apple, but not eat it.' And the dear child played with it half an hour, and never offered to bite it again. She is so perfectly well now- and is asleep in the next room - quieter than a mouse. We know that she is not our own child - for God is the maker of her wonderful frame, and the Father of her spirit- and the Lord Jesus Christ is the Great Redeemer of her soul from the doom of sinful humanity- but since she is so mysteriously put into hands to nurture into our hearts to be loved, and into our very lives to make them bright, we thankfully accept the responsibility, and will faithfully and prayerfully endeavor to do our whole duty to this lovely little one. I am glad that Daisy does well at her school. I always think of her as being a pattern child, and do not feel any selfish desire that my little girl should in any way seem to rob Fanny's dear little one of the place in all our hearts. Give my love to my sisters, and believe me your devoted & affectionate son".Daniel'sfather AMOS BEEBE EATON (1806-1877) was made Commissary General of the U. S. Army upon Brigadier General Joseph P. Taylor's retirement in 1864 and was brevetted a Major General on March 13, 1865. DANIEL CADY EATON (1834-1895) was one of the first professors of botany in the U. S., as well as Curator of the Yale Herbarium for 31 years. His books include the two-volume Ferns of North America. Eaton contributed botanical accounts to a number of geological surveys, as well. These included the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey (1848-1855), which set the border between the U. S. and Mexico after the Mexican-American War; Clarence King's Geological Survey (1867-1873), conducted in a 100-mile strip of land along that parallel between California and Wyoming; the Geographical Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian, conducted by George Wheeler; and the Geological Survey of California. Lightly toned and creased. Show-through touches signature and body of letter. Body of letter, but not signature, is lightly smeared in places but legible. Ink transference touches body of letter but not signature. Random ink stains. Otherwise in fine condition.