Letters to Joseph Lawrence, 1792
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Letters to Joseph Lawrence, 1792
- Creator
- Wood family.
- Extent
- 3 items.
- Subjects
- Lawrence, Joseph.
- Wood, Benjamin.
- Wood, Joseph.
- Wood family.
- Frontier and pioneer life--Kentucky--Lexington.
- Lexington (Ky.)--History
- Arrangement
- Arrangement is chronological.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- The Wood family came to Lexington from New Jersey in the early 1790s. They were tailors by trade.
- Scope and Content
- These three letters describe life in pioneer Lexington, Kentucky in 1792. The letters, all to Joseph Lawrence of Allentown, New Jersey, are dated March 6, May 10, and June 27, 1792. Joesph Wood describes crop yields and the family's satisfaction with life in Lexington in the March 6th letter. He writes, "When the Ground is Wet [it] is about half leg deep but much Better now... When lexington was first made a Station the Women went from house to house Shuveing a Small Cannew on the mud..." The May 10 letter mentions a rumored Indian raid and notes that Lexington has "upwards of twenty large Stores... the Indians have kiled a few people on the frontiers and Stole Some horses and Negroes..." In a letter dated June 27th Benjamin Wood writes to Lawrence, whom he addresses as grandfather, and comments on the extensive building activity in Lexington, their work as tailors and the plentiful fruits available.
Special Collections Research Center - Closed
The Breckinridge Research Room will be closed starting May 11, 2026, and anticipates re-opening Fall semester 2026 in an alternate location for the duration of the King Library renovation.
Reproduction requests will still be available during the closure.
Contact SCRC with questions.
Table of Contents
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Special Collections Research Center - Closed
The Breckinridge Research Room will be closed starting May 11, 2026, and anticipates re-opening Fall semester 2026 in an alternate location for the duration of the King Library renovation.
Reproduction requests will still be available during the closure.
Contact SCRC with questions.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
