Personal Papers of Nathaniel Gerrish and Harriet Blanchard Gerrish, 1786-1890

Nathaniel Gerrish (1810-1890) was one of the early settlers of Oberlin. Harriet Blanchard (1820-1898) was his second wife. Before their marriage in 1861, Harriet taught school for a number of years. The couple had two children:  William Blanchard Gerrish and Mary Gerrish (the name of William Blanchard's sibling is questionable and could not be verified in official documents). The identity of Nathaniel Gerrish's first wife is also somewhat uncertain, but according to letters in this collection it was probably Mary. Her maiden name may have been Harris, and she and Nathaniel apparently had no children.