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Grandpa Bell shares stories with Alec

In our world of electronic and digital communications, one wonders what evidence of our day-to-day lives will exist for our descendants in the next century. Modern technology has given us the ability to be in almost constant touch with one another. But, will our emails and texts still exist a hundred years from now? For decades, letter writing was often an everyday occurrence for most people. Keeping in touch meant sitting down with pen and paper. Receiving a letter was often an exciting event, especially from someone miles away. And, for many, including Alexander Graham Bell and his family, these letters were something to be kept, not simply discarded once read. The Bells were profuse writers and as a result, their story can be told today through thousands of letters.

Born in Scotland in 1847, Alexander Graham Bell lived a unique life. Influenced by his father, Melville, a professor of elocution, and his deaf mother, Eliza; the loss of his brothers, Melville and Edward, to Consumption; and marriage to his deaf pupil, Mabel Hubbard, Bell left a legacy to the world that few could imagine living without. How this came to pass is best revealed through the letters between these individuals. Here, we present those letters to you.

Grandpa Bell shares stories with Alec Back to video

Mabel tells Eliza about a cooling trip to Rye Beach and Grandpa Bell’s frail but cheerful arrival to share stories of War of 1812 with Alec in Cambridge.

Cambridge Aug 8th 1879

Your kind letter the other day has made me properly ashamed of my delay in writing. I can’t plead heat in excuse since you write in spite of it but it has been very warm and last Saturday drove us to seek coolness by the seashore.

Vain hope it was hotter than ever there and much did I wish we had staid at home. On Monday it was delightfully cool and we staid on but it was rather disgusting to hear that it was quite as pleasant at home. We were at Rye Beach, N.H. and thought of staying through the week but Grandpa suddenly made up his mind to come on and Mr. Marsh brought him before he could change his mind. Poor Grandpa he is very weak and feeble. I think rather prematurely worn out, for his elder brother an old man of over eighty is not half so feeble as he but then he has not worked and toiled for others as Grandpa has.

It is very nice to have him here and he is bright and cheerful and has been telling Alec stories of his young days. One of the War of’12 when British Officers were quartered on his Aunt and he and other small boys armed with old pistols and swords surrounded the house, and how she came out and saying the officers had done no harm had paid for everything and were only doing their duty, put herself at their head and ordered them to right about face March home. Which they did…..

Stay tuned for next week’s continuation of the letter

The Bell Letters are annotated by Brian Wood, Curator, Bell Homestead National Historic Site

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