Introduction to the Samuel and Sarah Wait Correspondence

Samuel and Sally's letters run the gamut of human emotion, at times passionate and playful and other times full of grief and sorrow. Sally's spelling is at times creative. In one letter Samuel writes, "See if you can find a "k" in the word need."

Sally Merriam was born on August 31, 1794 to Jonathan and Sarah Conent Merriam in Brandon, Vermont. She was the third of ten children born to the Merriams. Little is known about her courtship with Samuel Wait. Exactly how or where the couple met is unknown, although it seems that Samuel was acquainted with Jonathan Merriam, Sally's older brother. Sally probably met Samuel Wait in 1816, and after several requests for correspondence, Sally began exchanging letters with him. Unfortunately, none of these letters have survived. Sally only vaguely refers to Samuel in her diary, and never by name; only once is he mentioned as "Mr. W." Sally had several other suitors, but after a year of corresponding with Wait, the couple became engaged in February, 1817. Samuel and Sally were married on June 17, 1818, two weeks after Samuel's ordination at the Baptist church in Sharon, Massachusetts.

The couple never had a conventional lifestyle. Almost immediately after their marriage Samuel left to continue his religious education in Philadelphia. The two would see very little of each other over the next four years. While in Philadelphia Samuel wondered if it was their calling to live among the Native Americans as missionaries. Sally's disagreement with this idea is evident in one of her letters to him, "I hardly know what to say to you about the indian [sic] mission. You say I 'must take an active part in making the desission [sic].' The objections I made on a piece of paper I sent to you in Br. J's letter remain unmoved." Sally financially supported Samuel when he was in school by running a millinery from their home in which she produced and sold straw bonnets.

By the standards of their day, the Waits were considerably old when they married, Samuel being 28 and Sally 23. The couple would not have children until 1826 with the birth of their daughter Ann Eliza. Many of Sally's letters, particularly the earlier ones when they were separated for months on end, display her battle with depression. In one letter Sally apologizes for its tone, remembering that he had asked her not to write when "laboured under any depression of spirits." In 1829 Sally gave birth to William Carey, the Waits' second child. Tragically, their infant son died on January 1, 1831 while Sally and the children were in Vermont mourning the recent loss of her only sister. News of the child's death did not reach Samuel, who was back in North Carolina working for the Baptist State Convention, for four months. Apparently still in shock, Samuel wrote to Sally to give her instructions for their son's burial. In the same letter, Samuel asks that she leave as soon as possible for New Bern. The impact of Samuel's absence on Sally during this time of loneliness and grief is clear in her letter dated May 16, 1831: "You have sadly disappointed both your friends and mine, [sic] I am myself a little disappointed. When I think of taking so long a journey alone and the difficulties which I must encounter on the way My [sic] courage almost fails me."

Indeed, Sally's frustration over Samuel's continual travel around North Carolina and their lack of a permanent residence is evident in many of her letters. She did follow her husband's wishes and returned to North Carolina with Ann Eliza, reluctantly joining him on, as she puts it, his "wanderings." The couple would ultimately travel the state for three years in a wagon before settling in Wake County where Samuel had accepted the position of president of the Wake Forest Manual Labor Institute. Land was purchased in 1832 in from Dr. Calvin Jones for the construction of the school and it opened in 1834. Sally would become a "mother" to 70 young men and labored alongside her husband to insure the success of the school.

The letters of Samuel and Sally Wait reflect their profound devotion to their faith and calling. They also document the deep love and respect the Waits had for each other, even in the face of the considerable difficulties of prolonged separation and family tragedy. In addition to their importance to the history of Wake Forest University and North Carolina, these letters provide an invaluable glimpse into the everyday life of a Baptist minister, his wife and family in 19th century North Carolina.

Copy of a carte de vista donated by Mrs. Dorothy Brewer Mayer and Ms. Leslie Huybert of Norfolk, Virginia, May 2002