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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

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January 10, 1894

Adams, Anne Brown, 1843-1926

Autograph letter signed

Title: 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 against her. Also discusses a fund set up by John Brown's wealthy supporters to help his family. Says the money was misspent, and she received very little from it, and that much due only to the work of Franklin Sanborn. Says she has been very ill lately, and apologizes for inconveniencing him with news of her troubles.

GLC03007.38

24 June 1894

Adams, Anne Brown, 1843-1926

Autograph letter signed

Title: 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 grown children and her sister Ruth, and a malicious neighbor. The last two pages are attached to GLC03007.35. Recipient inferred from content.

GLC03007.39

9 November 1894

Adams, Anne Brown, 1843-1926

Autograph letter signed

Title: 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 Aunt Martha, John Brown's only living sibling. Got fifty five dollars for one magazine article, but another was rejected. Her husband is ill, and she just took a mortgage on her ranch to pay debts.

GLC03007.40

12 May 1895

Adams, Anne Brown, 1843-1926

Autograph letter signed

Title: 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. died ten days before this letter was written.

GLC03007.41

2 December 1896

Adams, Anne Brown, 1843-1926

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Alexander M. Ross

Writes to say she hopes his health is improving.

GLC03007.42

January 16, 1897

Adams, Anne Brown, 1843-1926

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Alexander M. Ross

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

GLC03007.43

28 April 1897

Adams, Anne Brown, 1843-1926

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Alexander M. Ross

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

GLC03007.44

3 November 1896

Thompson, Ruth Brown, 1829-1904

Autograph letter signed

Title: 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 against you falsely." Says her sister Anne Brown Adams "lost her home, and nearly everything by fire." Last page found on page 30 of GLC3007.56.

GLC03007.45

January 31, 1897

Thompson, Ruth Brown, 1829-1904

Autograph letter signed

Title: 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

6 April 1897

Thompson, Ruth Brown, 1829-1904

Autograph letter signed

Title: 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 matters.

GLC03007.47

12 May 1899

Thompson, Ruth Brown, 1829-1904

Autograph letter signed

Title: 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. Recounts a visit with old friends. Last two pages found on page 24 of GLC3007.56.

GLC03007.48

1877-1900

Adams, Anne Brown, 1843-1926

Autograph letter

Title: 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

1894 circa

Adams, Anne Brown, 1843-1926

Autograph letter

Title: 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 that she gave John Brown money which he then put to personal use. Refutes these statements, citing Franklin Sanborn's "Life and Letters of John Brown" for support. Recounts the event under debate. Also mentions others who gave her father money, and says it was always used for the greater good. Also upset that Frederick Douglass "never wrote a…

GLC03007.50

1877-1900

Adams, Anne Brown, 1843-1926

Autograph letter signed

Title: 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

1877-1900

Adams, Anne Brown, 1843-1926

Autograph letter

Title: 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 did not make mankind better. Author and recipient inferred from content. Only last two pages remain.

GLC03007.53

1950-1970

Manuscript document

Title: [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

1966