Eliza Birdsall Van Tuyl was born on September 2, 1799, daughter of Lewis Birdsall and Patience Lee and sister to Jane Harris. Eliza married Dr. Abraham Van Tuyl in New York. He received a medical license from the State of New York in 1819, and in 1823, he was appointed a military surgeon in the New York Militia. The Van Tuyls remained in New York despite the continuous encouragement from family members to join them in Texas. While Eliza desperately wanted to be with her family, lack of money and Abram's refusal to accept the Birdsalls' offer to pay their passage kept them in New York. Eliza lamented that they were no better off in New York, where she must live
The papers are divided into two groups: the papers of Abram Van Tuyl and the papers of Eliza Van Tuyl and consist of correspondence and printed materials. Abram Van Tuyl received letters from his father-in-law, Lewis Birdsall (2), and his brother-in-law, Maurice L. Birdsall (1) writing from Harrisburg, Texas. Printed materials consist of 3 certificates: his medical license from the County of Seneca, New York (1819), an appointment as military surgeon for the New York Militia by New York Governor Joseph C. Yates (1823), and an appointment as commissioner to New York by the Pennsylvania governor, David R. Porter (1840).
Correspondence from family members - Lewis Birdsall (4), Maurice L. Birdsall (7), Patience Lee Birdsall (3), Egbert B. Birdsall, Lewis A. Birdsall, and Lewis B. Harris - to Eliza Van Tuyl documents life in the Republic of Texas, including epidemics, career potential, and family affairs. Of interest is a letter written by Lewis Birdsall to his daughter concerning her mother's death. A letter written by Lewis A. Birdsall to Eliza concerning her daughter's marital problems and intercepted by Eliza Jane's estranged husband Thomas D. Sumper who appended an angry response, demonstrates the control of husbands over their wives in the 19th century. An 1840 letter written by Egbert Benson Birdsall highly praises Texas and attempts to persuade Eliza and
Other related papers from the Adele Briscoe Looscan Collection include the John R. and Jane Harris Papers, and the Lewis Birdsall Family Papers. All photographs are located in the Adele Briscoe Looscan Papers. Transcripts of John Birdsall's letters are located in the Adele Briscoe Looscan Papers, MC041, 125-02.
Organized into two groups and two series; arrangement is alphabetical and chronological.
None.
Open for research by appointment.
Copyright has not been assigned to the San Jacinto Museum of History. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Library Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Jacinto Museum of History as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Mr. and Mrs. George A. Hill, Jr., Houston Public Library, Annie Hume, 1939-1940.
Processed by Sandra Eileen Yates, 2002.
[Identification of Item], Abram and Eliza Van Tuyl Papers, MC068, San Jacinto Museum of History, Houston, Texas.