1839 Stampless Letter Duncannon PA – Lindley Iron Works Family – Clarke’s Ferry For Sale

Original 1839 stampless folded letter, postmarked Duncannon, Pennsylvania, addressed to William Lindley at Duncannon Bridge, Perry County. This is a dual-authored family letter, written and mailed at the same time by two members of the same household, sharing a single sheet of paper — a common 19th-century practice.

• Hannah M. Lindley – sister of the recipient

• Libbie Lindley – niece of the recipient

Both letters appear on the same sheet and were written contemporaneously, offering two distinct voices within one mailing.

• Stampless letter, carried through the U.S. mails

• Circular DUNCANNON, PA postmark dated May 9, 1839

• Correct 12½¢ rate marking

• Manuscript routing notation “Clarke’s Ferry,” referencing the historic Susquehanna River crossing near Duncannon

• Original folds, period ink, legible throughout

• Typical edge wear and minor losses consistent with age

This is a content-rich family correspondence reflecting everyday life in Pennsylvania in the late 1830s. Topics include:

• Detailed mention of a social gathering hosted by Hettie Wister, attended by family members

• Health and illness, including widespread influenza affecting relatives and neighbors

• Household and visiting news, illustrating extended family relationships

• Seasonal and agricultural observations, including planting and rural routines

• Religious observance, with Sunday noted as a deliberate day for rest and writing

Numerous relatives are named throughout, making this a strong genealogical and social-history document, particularly valuable as a female-authored household letter.

William Lindley was born June 3, 1805, in Chester County, Pennsylvania, the son of Jacob Lindley and Ruth Anna (Rutter) Lindley. According to the Potts Memorial, William “was for many years connected with the iron-works at Duncannon, where he still lived unmarried.” By the 1830s, he was residing at Duncannon Bridge, Perry County, Pennsylvania.

William was closely associated with the Duncannon Iron Works, one of the region’s most important early industrial enterprises along the Susquehanna River, tied to canal traffic, ferries, and regional transportation networks. He never married and had no children, and appears to have served as a central figure within the extended Lindley family, regularly receiving correspondence from siblings and nieces.

He died at Duncannon on February 1, 1881, aged 76. His death was noted in multiple Chester County newspapers, and he was interred at New Garden, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Thomas Rutter Lindley, elder brother of William, was born January 24, 1803, in New Garden, Chester County, Pennsylvania, to Jacob Lindley and Ruth Anna (Rutter) Lindley. He was actively engaged with his brother in operating the Duncannon Iron Works, a major industrial complex located at the junction of the Susquehanna River and Sherman’s Creek.

By the late 1820s and 1830s, the ironworks included a forge, gristmill, sawmill, distillery, rolling mill, and nail factory. In 1839, the Pennsylvania Legislature authorized the construction of a bridge across the Juniata River at Baskins’ Ferry and a railroad from the Pennsylvania Canal at Duncan’s Island to Sherman’s Creek, both intended to support industrial transport. Thomas R. Lindley was appointed as a director overseeing these infrastructure projects.

In early 1842, Thomas traveled to Harrisburg on business connected with the ironworks and related transportation improvements, where he became suddenly ill and died unmarried on January 12, 1842, at the age of 38. His death was reported in the Village Record, which described his passing as sudden but peaceful. No will is recorded for him in Perry County, and he left no known descendants.

• Date: 1839

• Format: Stampless folded letter

• Origin: Duncannon, Pennsylvania

• Two authors, one household, one mailing

• Strong ties to early American industry, canal and ferry transportation, and family correspondence

• Ideal for collectors of postal history, Pennsylvania history, industrial history, or genealogical manuscripts

A well-documented, historically grounded artifact with real substance and context.