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Traveling in MidwestAfter graduating from Wesleyan University, James was nearly $200 in debt. To pay off his loans, he took a job as a map agent for Ensign & Thayer's Map Company of New York City. Traveling throughout the Midwest, he sold maps to the residents of these states as well as to those who were traveling westward on the canals and railroads. At the same time, he used the opportunity to scout out opportunities for employment as either a teacher or a preacher. This set of letters were written from small towns throughout Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. They provide an early glimpse of life in these small river and crossroad towns that reveal far more than we can learn from many history books. |
