One of these family history caches include some love letters, circa 1850s, between David P. Nichols and Matilda Averill, my third great grandparents. I love how the mail looks from that time — pre postage stamps, with just the price, 10 in the upper right corner. There is also no envelope. It is actually a folded letter with a wax stamp on the back to close it.
![one from the vaults: miss matilda averill one from the vaults: miss matilda averill](http://m5.paperblog.com/i/72/724058/one-from-the-vaults-miss-matilda-averill-L-KrQ3GI.jpeg)
Apparently Matilda was the pack rat, or more generously, romantic — I have many letters from him to her, but not the other way around. Nichols was a widower with five (!) children. He courted Matilda through the mail and in person, and they eventually married and had one daughter, Mariette Nichols, my great great grandmother. He was a prosperous businessman in Danbury, Connecticut, and held the position of State Treasurer of Connecticut at his death in 1882.
I love these little glimpses into the past.