Draft of Letter to Francis Sessions of Columbus, Ohio from Mary Johnson of Worthington, Ohio

This is an earlier draft of a letter that was written to Francis C. Sessions of Columbus, Ohio from Mary Johnson of Worthington, Ohio. Another draft of letter was written the day before. In this draft, Mary relates her happiness and bright hope for the future as a result of her meeting with Frank on the previous Saturday evening in which he may have proposed. This draft was probably written after the letter that was begun on May 10th and continued into May 11th after an interruption of a visit from Dr. Cramer and Miss Shilds. The interruption is not mentioned in this draft.

Francis Sessions was a successful dry goods merchant in Columbus, who prospered in the wholesale wool business, invested in railroads, and eventually became founder and president of the Commercial National Bank. Francis married Mary Johnson on August 18, 1847. Mary was daughter of one of Worthington's founders, Orange Johnson and wife Achsa (Maynard) Johnson. The Sessions were interested in promoting art and art instruction in Columbus. Their art collection formed a basis for the Columbus Museum of Art collection. Francis planned upon his death for his estate to found the Sessions Academy of Fine Arts and museum to foster art education in Columbus.