Horace Mann (1876-1859) was an American educational reformer who promoted public education. He married Mary Tyler Peabody Mann (1806-1887) in 1843, who was a teacher and author. Her sister, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody (1804-1894) was also an educator and opened a bookstore circa 1840 in Boston, Massachusetts. She then opened the first English-language kindergarten in 1860.
The collection includes one general response letter from Horace Mann to Miss E. P. Peabody in Salem, Massachusetts on June 11, 1840. Mann was most likely writing to Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, his future sister-in-law at the time. It is difficult to note the subject topic of the letter without the possession of Miss Peabody’s letter, since Mann frequently responds to the events she detailed.
Researchers are advised to contact Rhode Island College Special Collections for questions regarding permissions to reproduce, distribute, or otherwise publish material from this collection. Although Rhode Island College has physical ownership of the collection, it does not necessarily hold literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
The collection is open for research.
Horace Mann letter to Miss Peabody, MSS-0101, Special Collections, James P. Adams Library, Rhode Island College.
The collection is arranged in the order in which it arrived in the Rhode Island College Special Collections.
Provenance of the collection is unknown. It was in the holdings of Special Collections prior to 2023.
The collection was described by Special Collections intern, Melissa Moniz, in 2023 under the supervision of Digital Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, Veronica L. Denison.
This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact the Rhode Island College Special Collections.