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Item Number: DM4056

The letter: Lanphier, A[rba Blair], (1822 – 1907) ALS, addressed to R[oswell M.] Raymond (1809 – 1890) of Delta, Oneida Co. NY.  5 7/8” x 7 3/4” folded letter with original envelope, the letter datelined “Rome, Dec. 8, 1857”, with the envelope postmarked “Rome” and the three cent stamp (Scott 26a - 3˘ Dull Red Washington Type IIa)  cancelled in 1858.  The envelope was crudely opened was used to make a large number of penciled calculations.  The letter itself is in fine condition, and signed “A. Lanphier”.

In the letter, Lanphier asks Raymond if he wants any hides tanned during the coming summer (1858) since he intends to make tanning his business. Since the 1850 and 1860 censuses indicate that his occupation is that of “farmer”, we must assume that his tanning operation was a sideline, rather than a full-time industrial undertaking.

Background Information: The writer, Arba Blair Lanphier, was a farmer in Rome, Oneida County, NY. He was born in Rome in 1822, married Elizabeth Dillenbock in 1846, and was the father of 9 children (Clayton, Dewitt, Catherine, Ida, Victor, Julia F., Rosalind, Della, and Nettie). He died in 1907.

The recipient, Roswell M. Raymond, was the village boot and shoe maker in Delta, NY from 1841 until 1885. Raymond was born in 1809, married Angeline J. ?, and was the father of William R. Raymond and Arabella A. Raymond.

Delta was located in the Town of Lee and was - for most of the 19th century - a thriving village surrounded by equally prosperous farms. In 1909, work commenced on a nearby dam that would be used to regulate the water flowing into the New York State Barge Canal. As part of the plan, the nearly 300 buildings in Delta were torn down or dismantled and moved. By 1912, its residents scattered and its cemeteries relocated, the former town was completely submerged under what is now known as Lake Delta
 

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