The letters in the collection cover the period of Anna (Mason) Bronson's schooling at the Thetford Academy in Vermong and her employment in the cotton mills of Manchester. The letters from Thetford provide an interesting perspective on a situation that was probably not all that common in the 1840's - a young woman attending a college preparatory school and boarding away from home.

Anna Dorothy Mason was born in September, 1830, in Grafton, New Hampshire. Of the five children of Jesse and Dorothy Mason, she was the only daughter. After completing public school, she studied the classics at the Thetford Academy in Vermont. In 1851, the family financial situation worsened and Anna felt compelled to leave the Academy and seek employment.

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