Letters Home, Time and Again: The Coming of Age of a Modern Woman a Century Ago - Dorothy Hedges Original Letters

She was born July 19, 1894 and died August 20, 1918. After a long illness her end came swiftly, and tragically. She had proved to have the smarts, moxie and determination to make the most of what life had to offer but her life was cut short at 26 years by diseases that modern medicine most likely would have cured. Her name was Dorothy Hedges and she was the oldest daughter of William Huntting Hedges, the fourth Keeper of Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, Anglesea, NJ.

In 2012 I inherited several boxes of family records, personal letters, and pictures. These had been stored away in attics for almost a century, untouched - their contents remaining in pristine condition as I found out when I finally opened them in November 2016. Included was a formidable collection of professionally taken photos of kin presumably, with faces familiar in chin and eyes. Frustratingly, there were few names written anywhere front or back, folks then certainly knew who they were seeing, so why bother putting a name to a face, a place or a relation.

The context was provided by what I found carefully saved in a small decorative box. Inside were over 60 letters, written by Dorothy to her mother, sisters (among them my grandmother) and friends, describing her exploits as a modern young woman experiencing college and career. Reading these letters was like being transported back in time - an experience I hadn't expected but had found so appealing and palpable I felt compelled to share them. I began researching in earnest to expand the context around these letters and connect the various references to people, places and things.

Strangely, Dorothy had mentioned her father only twice in all these letters and then when she did, it raised more questions - "I wrote Papa yesterday and told him I expected to be home next week. I said I did not know which day but you would probably come for me anytime from Wed. on. I said I was sorry not to see him when he was home before but that the girls said something about his coming again soon so I ought to be there then. Was that all right?." Where was he? Why was he not home? What was he doing? "Was that all right?" Family lore was painfully void of answers beyond William's estrangement from first wife and family in 1906. He literally disappeared from mention.

The answers begrudgingly emerged.