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Original two-page handwritten letter dated March 13, 1888, on ornate Shrewsbury Savings Institution letterhead from Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania.
The letter was written and signed by A. D. Collins, identified on the letterhead as cashier of the institution. James Gerry, M.D., is named as bank president.
Most notably, Collins describes being stranded during the Great Blizzard of 1888:
“We have been snowed in at [Stratford?] ever since Sunday by one of the worst storms ever known in this Country.”
He reports that his party expects to leave for New York on the 12:06 train but probably will not reach home until the middle of the following week.
The letter is dated March 13, during the Great Blizzard of March 11–14, 1888. This historic storm paralyzed railroad and telegraph service throughout much of the northeastern United States, leaving numerous travelers and trains stranded. Collins’s letter is therefore a compelling firsthand account written while the storm and its transportation disruptions were still unfolding.
Additional subjects include the successful sale of a county bond, plans for a boarding house and brick construction, travel arrangements, and an interesting early reference to the recipient’s use of a typewriter.
The Shrewsbury Savings Institution was incorporated by the Pennsylvania legislature in 1850. Dr. James Gerry, whose name appears on this letterhead, was among its original incorporators. The bank continued operating into the twentieth century. A. D. Collins was later recorded as Shrewsbury Borough treasurer and as president of the institution, although further research would be required to confirm that every later reference concerns the same individual.
An attractive and historically significant piece for collectors of:
• The Great Blizzard of 1888
• American weather history
• Railroad and transportation history
• Pennsylvania banking history
• York County and Shrewsbury ephemera
• Nineteenth-century business correspondence
• Early typewriter history
The location where Collins was stranded appears to read “Stratford,” but the handwriting is difficult and the place-name is not guaranteed. Please examine all photographs carefully.
The original letter shown is included. No envelope is present.
