Twenty-one letters, 1846-1861, of the Coker family consist chiefly of correspondence of Anna Maria Coker with her parents, Caleb and H.A.L. Coker, and siblings in Society Hill while Anna was at Limestone Female High School. The school letters describe her studies, piano lessons, and May party events, 1847-1849. Also included are letters, 1853, from Anna Maria to her brother, James L. Coker, an Arsenal Academy cadet in Columbia. That same year Anna and a cousin travelled to New York City where they stayed at the St. Nicholas Hotel which had a "bridal chamber." This special room, Anna noted in a letter of 1 October 1853, was decorated with white satin, white silk, gilt, and a bed "hung with white satin curtains, falling from a golden canopy, over a gilt bedstead, a golden cupid on each corner holds them up," and cost $9,000 to furnish. Another letter of interest, 2 October 1861, from Anna's husband, who was recovering from an illness in Fairfax, Va., notes--"Sunday I walked into the garden, with great difficulty. Monday I struggled out about two hundred yards." In a postscript, James reports having seen the Colonel--"he is improving & looks a great deal better than before his attack. I think you may look for him home a few days after receiving this. His going will be a great privation to me...." Source: http://www.sc.edu/library/socar/uscs/1994/misc94.html The Manuscripts Division of the South Caroliniana Library collects and preserves a wide variety of unpublished materials significant to the study of history and culture in the Palmetto State. For further information, please contact the Manuscripts Division staff by e-mail or at the following address: Manuscripts Division South Caroliniana Library University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208 Tel: (803) 777-5183 Fax: (803) 777-5747 [email protected]