1845 stampless folded letter from C. Stoddard and J. S. Lovering to O. S. Chaffee in Mansfield Centre, Connecticut, informing him that four cases of raw silk will be delivered to the Norwich Depot for him along with a letter of advice.  Apparently this silk is to be used to correct a problem with a previous order received in Boston that was unsatisfactory: “The twist of yours, made at Mansfield, is unsatisfactory. Until you make it exactly like that made at Northampton it will not answer for us.”

The 1855 Boston Board of Trade Annual Report lists Stoddard and Lovering as Dry Goods Importers located at 33 Milk Street.

From the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center: Orwell S. Chaffee was the son of Frederick Chaffee, a prosperous farmer who resided in northeast Mansfield, Connecticut, and Katherine Knowlton Chaffee. Orwell was born 10 June 1807 in Ashford, Connecticut and moved with his parents to Mansfield as a boy. Upon his marriage to Lucinda Amelia Conant, daughter of Joseph Conant, Orwell began his career in the silk manufacturing industry working in his father-in-law's mill. After Mr. Conant's retirement from the business, Orwell Chaffee continued to manage the business until about 1838, when he purchased a factory site in what is now the Chaffeeville area of Mansfield. Mr. Chaffee tore down the existing building and erected a larger structure, a dam and commenced production of silk thread and braid. In later years, his son, J. Dwight Chaffee, became a partner and in 1872 they established a factory in Willimantic, Connecticut under the title of O.S. Chaffee & Son. Mr. Chaffee was active in the business until his death on 2 April 1887. Mr. Chaffee is buried in the Gurleyville Cemetery in Mansfield, Connecticut. Clean letter with typical small tear where seal was broken.