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Theodosia Deveaux Hastings

Other Name:
Theodosia C. Deveaux; Theodosia C. Petit
Gender:
Female
Born:
1800
Died:
March 4, 1863
Home Town:
Camden, SC
Later Residences:
Detroit, MI
Marriage(s):
Eurotas P. Hastings (unknown)
William Woodbridge Petit (1818)
Biographical Notes:
Theodosia Deveaux Hastings was born in 1800 to Dr. Deveaux of Camden, South Caroline, and his wife Mary. Theodosia attended the Litchfield Female Academy from 1814 through 1816, and boarded with the Lyman Beecher family while completing her studies. During her lifetime she was married twice. Her first marriage was in 1818 to William Woodbridge Petit of Marietta, Ohio. After Williams's death she was married to Eurotas P. Hastings of Washignton, Connecticut. One of the weddings was performed by Rev. Beecher in his home. Theodosia later lived in Detriot, Michigan. She passed away on March 4, 1863.
Additional Notes:
On April 13, 1819, Catherine Beecher wrote to Samuel Foote about Theodosia and William's wedding:

“The Mr. Petit that married Theodosia was originally from Marietta, Ohio. They were married at our house & I like Petit much -- tho’ he is an odd sort of genius -- in some things. He will be a very kind & attentive husband & in my last letter from Detroit, Theo’ says she is ‘as healthy & happy as she can well be’ which is some consolation for her being so far & so long from us. I fear it will be some years before I see her again & I feel the separation very much for she was a lovely girl & very dear to me.”

Stowe-Day Acquisitions
Education
Years at LFA:
1814-1816
Room and Board:
Boarded with the Lyman Beecher family
Related Objects and Documents
In the Ledger:
help The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation.

Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
"Rules for the School and Family" and Names of the Young Ladies belonging to Miss Pierce's School in the Summer of 1814 (Litchfield Historical Society - Litchfield Female Academy collection).

Theodosia wrote an inscription and signed her name "T. Deveaux" in Elizabeth Catlin's 1813-1815 memory book (Litchfield Historical Society - Litchfield Female Academy collection).

Mentioned in Caroline Chester's 1815-1816 diary (Litchfield Historical Society - Litchfield Female Academy collection).

1816 Litchfield Female Academy Catalog (Vanderpoel, Emily Noyes. Chronicles of A Pioneer School From 1792 to 1833. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1903).
Secondary Sources:
Beecher, Lyman. Autobiography, Correspondence, &c. of Lyman Beecher vol. 1. London: Sampson Low, Son, and Marston, 1863.
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