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to F.B. Sanborn

Acknowledging that his father, John Brown, sometimes offered remarks from the audience at religious assemblies, but refuting accounts that his father ever preached. Also discusses his brothers Jason's attempt to sell Sanborn's biography of their...

GLC08250

to F.B. Sanborn

John Brown's daughter assisting his biographer in locating various siblings of Brown because "yours is a perfect truthful history of him and his deeds."

GLC08262

to F.B. Stanton

John Brown's son and "Bleeding Kansas" companion apologizes for lack of funds because of hard times and asks for additional advance for Brown family land purchase.

GLC08263

to F.B. Sanborn

W.P. Garrison has defamed Brown family in "The Prelude of Harper's Ferry 11: John Brown, Guerrilla" by contradicting their claims: "Father early cherished a purpose to make war upon slavery by Force and arms...war as understood by us meant war."

GLC08295

To "My Dear Sir"

GLC09190.02

To "Dear Sir"

GLC09190.03

To "Dear Sir"

GLC09190.04

to Charles T. Congdon

To Charles T. Congdon of the New York Tribune. Douglass thanks Congdon for his recently published reminiscences of Charles Sumner. "It was not merely the seed time of a great harvest, but the hard time when old and knarly oaks were to be hewed down...

GLC09238

William Jay and the Constitutional movement for the abolition of slavery.

Written by Bayard Tuckerman. With preface written by John Jay, grandson of John and son of William Jay. Printed by Dodd, Mead & Company. Jay inscribes to the Honorable William Allen Butler, an author, lawyer, and poet.

GLC07440

to Mr. Northend

Discusses advertisements in The Nation, a liberal periodical devoted to politics and culture of which he was editor from 1865-1906. Recalls an excursion he took with his father, William Lloyd Garrison toward the end of his life. Talks of his fear...

GLC07483.07

Memories of Wendell Phillips.

Essay of Smalley's personal memories of Wendell Phillips. Printed in the June 1894 edition of Harpers.

GLC07483.13

to George Brinton McClellan

Mentions an article re the Battle of Antietam advertised in the 'North American Review.' Hunt discusses his conspiracy theory involving Stanton, McClellan and the Emancipation Proclamation. "…if you had lost Antietam you would have been shot [a hury...

GLC02382.068

to Wendell P. Garrison

Writing to the son of William Lloyd Garrison, Purvis, an abolitionist and civil rights leader, answers several queries about the birth dates and places, deaths, and locations of important events among old guard abolitionists. He mentions James...

GLC08943

[Reconstruction broadside]

Reconstruction broadside re: compensation for lost property. Urges reply " ... the time is fast approaching when it will be impossible to obtain an authentic record of slaves owned and recognized as property by law at that time ... "

GLC09019

to May Delany

To "the daughter of the daughter of my friend who sheltered me forty and five years ago, when I was a man without a country, a stranger and or sojourner, with little money and few friends, shall now have my autograph. No effort of memory is required...

GLC05906

William Lloyd Garrison: the story of his life, told by his children

Published by The Century Co., New York. Illustrated with wood engravings. Volume 1 covers 1805-1835, Vol. 2 1835-1840, Vol. 3 1841-1860, and Vol. 4 1861-1879.

GLC00267.368

Worship of the North

Depicts Lincoln in front of an altar with a black idol sitting on a platform with the words "Chicago Platform" on it. A sheet hanging from the platform says "The end justifies the means." Shows a white person being sacrificed in front of it. Henry...

GLC00493.01

Offering of bells to be cast into cannon

Depicts a pastor and members of his congregation presenting church bells to be used to create weapons of war. The officer who accepts the bells removes his hat in recognition of the reverence of the occasion. Enslaved people are depicted lifting...

GLC00493.19

Prayer in Stonewall Jackson's tent

Depicts a scene of quiet piety and great reverence in an army camp. Shows most of the men with their heads bowed in prayer, some weeping. Stonewall Jackson, a man known for his great religiosity, appears to be delivering a sermon to the men. Also...

GLC00493.24

[Portrait of Harriet Beecher Stowe]

One portrait of Harriet Beecher Stowe taken by Sarony dated June 30, 1895. Inscribed to Frank Leonard. Signed twice, recto and verso after an excerpt from Uncle Tom's Cabin.

GLC01091

to Benjamin Franklin Auld

Thanks Auld for "an elegantly bound and finely illustrated volume containing a biographical history" of the Baltimore police. Recalls his boyhood days and many pleasant memories with the Auld family. Written on Cedar Hill, Anacostia, D.C...

GLC07484.02

to Miss Lena

Thanks Lena, a young girl, for a potholder (GLC07731.02). Apparently Lena had read Douglass's narrative, and he thanks her for reading and thinking kindly of his life and history. Writes "Please accept my best thanks for 'Any holder but a...

GLC07731.01

to Wendell P. Garrison

Answers questions about William Lloyd Garrison. Comments on his 1833 trip to England, at which time "he was indicted for a libel, by several of the persecutors, of Miss." Explains how he, Lewis Tappan, and others helped Garrison escape apprehension...

GLC08944

to Franklin B. Sanborn

Brown critiques Sanborn's book for having too many of John Brown's personal letters. He read part of Sanborn's manuscript for "The Life and Letters of John Brown" out loud to his brother Owen. They both worry readers may get bored of so many letters...

GLC00929.02

to Mrs. E. F. Strickland

Written on Senate stationery. Logan, a United States Senator from Illinois, writes "Prior to the success of the Union armies, in the contest against secession, Freedom in this country was a sham and a mockery. Now it is a verity. There is however...

GLC04732

My life in the south.

Biography of Stroyer, an freedman raised on a plantation in South Carolina and freed in 1864 by the Emancipation Proclamation. Stroyer was minister of the African Methodist Episcopal church in Salem. The introduction contains letters of support for...

GLC00267.083

Reminiscences of fugitive-slave days in Boston.

Bearse, a Massachusetts native, served as a mate on many ships transporting enslaved people up and down the coast between 1818 and 1830. He shares his experiences from these days, showing great empathy for the enslaved people with whom he came into...

GLC00267.154

A history of Lawrence, Kansas, from the first settlement to the close of the rebellion

Published by E. F. Caldwell, Lawrence Journal Press.

GLC00267.160

Reminiscences of Old John Brown

An account of John Brown's time in Kansas, based largely on George W. Brown's recollections. Title page states "The Truth at Last. History Corrected...Thrilling Incidents of Border Life in Kansas." Attempts to be fair, "neither am i laboring to...

GLC00267.213

The life and times of William Lowndes Yancey

GLC00267.217

The Life and adventures of Capt. Robert W. Andrews...

Dornbusch II, 863, Nicholson p. 21. Andrews was a veterinary surgeon.

GLC00267.224

Life and Times of Frederick Douglass

Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, is a biography of Frederick Douglass. This book is broken down into 41 chapters in two parts. There is also an appendix at the end of the book. There are 18 engravings throughout the book.

GLC09659

to Sam Chapman re: letters on slavery, the war, Lincoln, Grant, Lee, Stuart [decimalized]

A collection of letters from John Singleton Mosby, of Warrenton, Virginia, to Samuel Chapman of Covington, Virginia, most written on stationery of the Department of Justice. (Other recipients are noted in the inventory.) The letters discuss the...

GLC03921

[Unpublished manuscript relating events of the Battle of Fort Pillow, Tennessee]

Colonel Leaming, former Adjutant of the 13th Tennessee Cavalry, reports the graphic details of the 12 April 1864 Battle of Fort Pillow. Describes Fort Pillow as "the stormy days, when, added to the ordinary intensity of civil strife, the masters for...

GLC05080.01

[Final page of manuscript praising book on Civil War by Mr. Trent ]

Writes that Trent has "studied too deeply to waste his time" and discusses his proposition "that a battle for human slavery can really be called a battle for civil liberty." Roosevelt's signature is struck. Date is inferred from a stamp on verso...

GLC04725

[Not one throb of anguish...]

A quote from chapter 12 of Uncle Tom's Cabin: "Not one throb of anguish/ Not one tear of the opposed/ is forgiven by the Man of Sorrows/ the Lord of Glory/ In his patient generous bosom/ He bears the anguish of a world."

GLC05508.238

A sketch of Henry Franklin and family

Date written as "4 mo., 26th, 1887." Contains an extract from the Philadelphia Inquirer regarding the death of Henry Franklin's son. The extract is included as a reflection of the lack of racial prejudice in France, where Franklin's son died....

GLC06120

Catalogue of the library of the late David Porter Harmon

Includes over seven hundred titles and hand-written notes on individual prices for each book. A tally of the overall sale can be found on the rear fly leaf.

GLC06143.20

David P. Harmon

Bust portrait of Harmon with printed signature underneath the image.

GLC06143.21

[Clipping of the article "boyhood days"]

Turner shares his memories of David P. Harmon's garden and other members of the community.

GLC06143.26

[Obituary of David P. Harmon]

Describes Harmon as a horticulturalist, farmer, and abolitionist. Mentions that Harmon withdrew from his religious associations due to the "complicity of the church... with the crime of slavery." Harmon was also a member of the Masonic fraternity....

GLC06143.27

From Dixie to Canada: romance and realities of the underground railroad

Second edition. Printed by H.U. Johnson. Includes a printed frontispiece photograph of Johnson. Johnson gathered the stories within this book from "personal observation, extensive reading, visitations along many of the old lines, and numerous...

GLC06145

to Wealthy C. Brown

Relates examination of a corpse believed to be one of his brothers, either Watson or Oliver, both of whom died at Harpers Ferry.

GLC06348.03

[The Rights of Lousiana]

Article discusses the admission of Lousiana as a state and how at that time they held enslaved people and the government promised to protect the property (enslaved people) of her people, yet they violated that right when Missouri was admitted. The...

GLC02691.12.01

Passage through Baltimore

Comments on Abraham Lincoln's stealthy trip through pro-South Baltimore on his way to Washington to be inaugurated. Lincoln's plans were changed in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on 22 February 1861 to avoid trouble in Baltimore. He boarded a special train...

GLC00493.02

to F.N. Barrett

Thanks him for an extract of Gerrit Smith's comment on Abraham Lincoln. Mentions a problem with his eyesight.

GLC02490.12

to John Sherman

Intends to give Sherman a copy of a speech he (Douglass) gave on the 26th anniversary of the abolition of slavery, if the speech is published. Supports Sherman's attempt for the presidency on the Republican ticket. Written on Cedar Hill, Anacostia, D...

GLC02841

to Alexander M. Ross [Fragment]

Does not want her father made into a wax sculpture by men in Chicago who are staging an exhibition about John Brown's raid. Only the last two pages remain. Place and recipient inferred from content.

GLC03007.52

[Draft of inscription intended for the Robert Gould Shaw monument]

Includes hand written corrections. Describes the Shaw monument as a tribute to the famous 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry, organized in Boston and reviewed by Massachusetts Governor John Albion Andrew 18 May 1863. Includes extracts from Andrew...

GLC02928.05

to Alexander M. Ross

Thanks Ross for two photographs of his fathers last written words. Requests more copies of this photograph for other family members, and says many people request his father's autograph.

GLC03007.04

to Alexander M. Ross

Encloses "one of the Commissions issued to my Father's men. I know of the existence of only two of them. These were brought back by my brother Owen," who wishes they be returned once Ross has made copies of them. One commission was signed by John...

GLC03007.05

to Alexander M. Ross

States that he is enclosing a letter from John Brown, intended for the recipient's son. Recipient inferred from content.

GLC03007.06

to Alexander M. Ross [Fragment]

Second page of a two page letter, first page missing. Thanks the recipient for sending him a copy of "The Lincoln Memorial Album." Says the recipient's contribution to the book "interested me greatly" and that "I had not before quite understood...

GLC03007.07

to Alexander M. Ross

Thanks him for "placing my father before the world in his true light" with "a truthful and just estimate of his character and motives" in his writings for the public. Mentions that she was with John Brown just two weeks before his raid, and that she...

GLC03007.08

to Alexander M. Ross

Inquires after an extra copy of a pamphlet detailing the events which took place in Harper's Ferry. She details information of the publisher, Osborn P. Anderson, a free Black man who was with Brown at Harper's Ferry. Expresses hope that Anderson was...

GLC03007.10

to Alexander M. Ross

Discusses local plant life, her obligations as a mother, and his friendship with her father.

GLC03007.11

to Alexander M. Ross

One lettera ddressed to Alexander M. Ross from Anne Brown Adams dated January 16, 1886. Mentions hardships of motherhood and awaiting word from a publisher to printpapers that she spent. Thanks him for suggesting soda as a remedy for her sore throat...

GLC03007.13

to Alexander M. Ross

One letter from Anne Brown Adams to Alexander M. Ross dated July 31, 1887. Pertains to one of her children receiving a vaccaniation, their illness and her opinion of Franklin Sanborn's book which mentions her father. Cannot believe "that people would...

GLC03007.14

to Alexander M. Ross

One letter addressed to Alexander Ross from Anne Brown Adams dated July 31, 1887. Mentions the health of her children and reading The Life of Frederick Douglass. Does not find truth in Douglass's account of meeting John Brown. Believes that Uncle Tom...

GLC03007.15

to Alexander M. Ross

Discusses the Alcott family in Concord and her approval of sick patients eating very little. Inquires after the Alcott family, with whom she used to live. Mentions Louisa May Alcott. States her firm belief that underfeeding sick patients can be...

GLC03007.16

to Alexander M. Ross

Discussing newspaper articles related to her father, John Brown, and others' opinions of him. "I find now, since all the men who had any knowledge of his affairs, have written recollections and confessions, that he told me more of his plans than he...

GLC03007.18

to Alexander M. Ross

Knows that John Brown first conceived of raiding Harpers Ferry before going to Kansas, no matter what magazines say. Reporters "say 'It is impossible to trace exactly how and when the Harper's Ferry invasion first took shape in John Brown's mind...

GLC03007.19

to Alexander M. Ross

Discusses at length her faith in God, and how despair only makes it stronger, as her father taught her. Mentions smallpox incidents nearby and greater women's rights in California. Her oldest son, fifteen, has run off to become a locomotive...

GLC03007.20

to Alexander M. Ross

Discusses George L. Stearns, who supported John Brown, and his family. Mentions Edwin A. Brackett's bust of Brown, of which she only saw the mold. Says her runaway son has returned, and she is very busy with ten children. Recipient inferred from...

GLC03007.21

to Alexander M. Ross

Wonders why there is so much evil in the world, is thankful for the good people she has known, and rejoices in the election of Benjamin Harrison as President. Has recently moved from Rohnerville to Petrolia. Wonders "why some people were ever...

GLC03007.22

to Alexander M. Ross

Intends to send him all of her recollections regarding Kennedy Farm and preparations for Harpers Ferry Raid, and gives a biography of John E. Cook, one of the raiders. Discusses Cook's upbringing, his marriage, and an affair he had. Tells how...

GLC03007.23

to Alexander M. Ross

Discusses terrible winter rains and failing health of her sister Ruth Brown Thompson.

GLC03007.24

to Alexander M. Ross

Rain has been so heavy all winter that she and her family have been virtually unable to leave the house.

GLC03007.25

to Alexander M. Ross

Discusses bad weather, vaccination of her children, and the evil of most human beings. Recipient inferred from content.

GLC03007.26

to Alexander M. Ross

Thanks him for his offer of "a scholarship at the College" and hopes her second daughter Bertha can raise the funds to attend, and wonders about requirements for acceptance. Plans to write biographies for more of the Harpers Ferry raiders for him...

GLC03007.27

to Alexander M. Ross

Thanks him for offering to help her daughters attend college. Says Bertha is too ill to go, but hopes Vivian, her eldest, may be able to attend, and awaits Vivian's reply. Second half of letter, dated 25 December, states that Vivian cannot attend...

GLC03007.28

to Alexander M. Ross

Apologizes for not being able to accept his offer of helping her children attend college. Regrets not being able to allow them a better education. Recipient inferred from content.

GLC03007.29

to Alexander M. Ross

Hopes to unmask a man pretending to have been at Harpers Ferry with John Brown. "It is my wish that you publish this Richard W. Howard, who claims to have been with John Brown at Harper's Ferry, as a fraud and a humbug. It is evident that he...

GLC03007.30

to Alexander M. Ross

Discusses her sister, Ruth Brown Thompson and Ruth's husband Henry Thompson. Both have failing health. Argues that Kansas should give Henry a pension, since he fought under John Brown at the Battle of Black Jack to help keep Kansas a free state....

GLC03007.31

to Alexander M. Ross

Wonders if her children should participate in the "John Brown's Fort" attraction at the Chicago World's Fair. "Mr. Holmes Pres. of the John Brown Fort Co." has asked if her children will come work at the exhibition. At first he promised good wages...

GLC03007.32

to Alexander M. Ross

Discusses Ross' plans that somehow involve helping the black community. It is not clear exactly what this plan involves, but she suggests he try using the black newspapers to help his plans. Worries that few African Americans will care about his...

GLC03007.33

to Alexander M. Ross

Thanks him for his help. Talks about her hard times financially, and reports briefly on her siblings. Discusses Richard Hinton, who is writing a book on John Brown, and Richard W. Howard, "the pretender" who is offering newspapers a fabricated...

GLC03007.34

to Alexander M. Ross

Discusses her financial struggles and John Brown. Her husband "has not earned a dollar for more than a year" since their is no work to be found, and her crops fared poorly. May try to write articles about her father for money, though "so many...

GLC03007.35

to Alexander M. Ross

Discusses various men who have inquired about John Brown. Some seek relics, others want stories from her. Is disappointed with Franklin Sanborn and what he has written about her father. Also mentions Sanborn's plans to write a book about John...

GLC03007.36

to Alexander M. Ross

Encloses copies of some documents he might find interesting, and reports her sister Ruth is in poor health.

GLC03007.37

to Alexander M. Ross

Discusses Mary Stearns and a fund to help her family. Explains that Mrs. Stearns liked her father, but not his family, recounts a story of her unkindness, and wonders if Stearns has become infirm in her old age. Adams claims to hold no grudge...

GLC03007.38

to Alexander M. Ross

May write articles about John Brown for money, and discusses her family. Has "written a sketch for an eastern paper" which she hopes to get paid for, and has other offers to write about her father. Discusses her financial hardships, lives of her...

GLC03007.39

to Alexander M. Ross

Reading Richard Hinton's book "John Brown and His Men," but doing so slowly, since much of it is painful to her. Says the book should have appeal and that it has a few small mistakes "that no one except I would notice." Received a letter from her...

GLC03007.40

to Alexander M. Ross

Has heard that her brother, John Brown Jr., is dead, but is not sure if this is true. Worries the sad news might be bad for her sister Ruth's health. Tried to write an article for Cosmopolitan Magazine, but poor health prevented her. John Brown Jr...

GLC03007.41

to Alexander M. Ross

Writes to say she hopes his health is improving.

GLC03007.42

to Alexander M. Ross

Encloses a letter from Franklin Sanborn, to see if he knows anything about "the Dr. McLain mentioned therein."

GLC03007.43

to Alexander M. Ross

Discusses her family's well being, and wonders about their place in God's larger plan.

GLC03007.44

to Alexander M. Ross

Discusses declining health of herself and Ross. Wonders if they will meet in the next life, and if they will recognize each other. Tells him to ignore those who slander him, "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and say all manner of evil...

GLC03007.45

to Alexander M. Ross

Praises Ross, thanks him for his friendship, and wishes they could see each other. Talks of beautiful California weather and geography. Worries that her husband, Henry Thompson, may not have long to live.

GLC03007.46

to Alexander M. Ross

Wishes to know the cause of his grief, which he mentioned in a previous letter. Hopes he will visit California, and that they can finally meet. Wishes to introduce him to her grandson, who also has a strong love of nature. Discusses other family...

GLC03007.47

to Alexander M. Ross

She and all of her family hope that Ross will come to visit them. Praises him for his tireless work for others. Says she never met Lucretia Mott, nor Harriet Tubman, but admires them both and says of Tubman "what an old soldier she has been....

GLC03007.48

to Alexander M. Ross [Fragment]

Discusses events at Kennedy Farm while preparing to raid Harpers Ferry. Anne Brown was there to help cook and clean. Author and recipient inferred from content. Only the last four pages remain.

GLC03007.49

to Alexander M. Ross [Incomplete]

Defending her father, John Brown, against what appear to be statements that he took money and used it for personal needs. Concludes that Mary Stearns' "mind must be disordered" with age due to statements that she made. The statements seem to imply...

GLC03007.50

to Alexander M. Ross [Fragment]

Wonders why so much evil exists in the world and about the nature of good and bad and the inequality of rich and poor. Recipient inferred from content. Only the last two pages remain.

GLC03007.51

to Alexander M. Ross

"The struggle for a married woman's rights will be a longer and a harder fought battle than any other that the world has ever known." Preaches rights for married women, and catalogs the abuses of husbands. Also supports temperance. Wonders why God...

GLC03007.53

[Names and addresses of John Brown collector and two others]

Lists the names and addresses of Dr. C. W. Olsen, Boyd Stutler, and Mrs. M. Winchester. Boyd Stutler, 1889-1970, was a famous collector of John Brown documents, the other two are unknown.

GLC03007.54

[Alexander Ross' scrapbook related to John Brown's family]

Ross' collection of letters relating to John Brown's family, mostly letters sent to him by John Brown's children. Scrapbook contains twenty one letters and one cartoon relating to John Brown, as well as envelopes for most of the letters. Letters...

GLC03007.56

to C. E. Potts

Hamlin replies to a letter from Potts in Troy, New York. He thanks Potts for a copy of the "Wide Awake Vocalist," an 1860 Presidential campaign song book for the Republican Party candidates (Abraham Lincoln and Hamlin). Reminisces about the campaign...

GLC01595.02

to Anne Brown Adams

One letter from Albert Hazlett to Anne Brown Adams dated March 1, 1860. Thanking her for her letter to him in "his prison home." Discussing his fate and death and visits from the "ladies" and "gentlemen." Written at Charleston Jail

GLC03007.56.01

to Norman Ross

One letter from Ruth Brown Thompson to Norman Ross dated March 6, 1898. Discusses the death of his father and their relationship. Acknowledges that they are strangers but, due to her closeness to his father, feels that they in fact know each other...

GLC03007.56.02