My Dear Friend

I have just come to the conclusion that you have entirely forgotten there is such a being as me living. I am determined that you shall not forget me. I have thought of you often since I left my native home, and how many times have you thought of me, not once I dont expect. Be candid now and tell me if you have. You ought to see me. I am perfectly carried with Cassville or some of the olks in it. One I scarcely know which it is. What is the cause of your long silence Sallie. Are you angry with me or what is the matter with you. I have been thinking of writing to you for some time but have not had an opportunity of doing so until now. I am very much pleased with Cassville. I have to study very hard but if you was to see me you would not think so. I have grown an inch or two taller since I have been here and have gained five lbs. If you want to grow I would advise you to come over to Cassville and stay a while. Well I will give you a sketch of a pleasure ride I have had since I have been here. One night I received a note from My President stating that the rules was suspended for us to go to the beautiful Flower Gardens. Well I was perfectly astonished.

Some young gentleman had asked me to go with him and I was wondering how I was going when the Lady of the house says Mr. Latimer and Anderson send their compliments to Misses Rush & Erwin and wish to accompany them to the Flower Gardens. You never heard such laughing in your life as the girls did. They teased me almost to death. I have cut Nettie out of her Beaux, dont you think that mean in me. I dont say myself that I have cut her out but all the girls say so and all the boys to. Well I went with the first one I named and I tell you what. We had what you call a nice time. He is about the size of Hosea Winn but a great deal worse than he is. Well Sallie we are going to have a Concert in May and you must be sure and come over to it. It will be the first night in May. You must be sure to come and bring all the Calhoun folks with you. You must not let any body see this. Give my love to your Ma and Henry. Write Soon.

Fannie

P. S. I will be at home the first week in May and you must come down to see me. Your true friend,
Fannie Rush
Write soon



Female Seminaries
The period from the 1790s to the 1850s was an age of renewed religious fervor in America. "The ideal of the Christian wife, mother and teacher gave repeated urgency to women's education."4 The influence of women in families, communities and churches became more important than ever before. This justified an improved education for women. One result was the female seminary which "may be said to have been the prevailing type of institution for girls' education from 1750-1865."5 At first many seminaries were nothing more than "finishing schools" where young women received instruction in "ornamental studies" such as drawing, singing or piano playing. However, "[t]he best institutions offered, over decades, an increasingly substantial portion of the liberal studies provided at men's colleges."6 When the female seminary reached its height from 1830-1860, these institutions began to raise their standards and expectations. Emma Willard founded the Troy Female Seminary (New York) in 1837. Willard's efforts have been widely recognized as marking the beginning of higher education for women in the United States. What Emma Willard did was point out the faults in the existing system. She believed that the basis for female education rested on two principles: "...studies must be selected either because they 'improve the faculties or that they may be useful for future life."7 She elevated women's education to an equal level with men's and by doing so "undermined the assumption that women were intellectually inferior to men that prevailed even among educators of women."