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

1859

Brown, John, 1800-1859

Document

Title: [Facsimile of John Brown's last written words]

Reproduction on paper of the original copy of John Brown's last written words.

GLC04463.08.02

27 March 1860

Brown, Wealthy C., 1829-1911

Autograph letter signed

Title: to her sister

Addressed to "My Dearly Loved Sister," probably referring to one of John Brown's daughters at North Elba. Expresses sadness at the death of Martha Evelyn Brewster Brown, Oliver Brown's wife, and remembers Oliver's love for her. Sends her condolences to the whole Brown family in regards to all who died at Harpers Ferry. Also praises James Redpath. Martha had done much of the housekeeping on the Maryland farm where the Harpers Ferry raid was prepared, but had returned to North Elba shortly before the raid. Mentions receiving a letter from Annie (Wealthy's sister-in-law and daughter of John…

GLC06348.02

10 September 1882

Brown, John Jr., 1821-1895

Autograph letter signed

Title: 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

April 24, 1856

Brown, John, 1800-1859

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Mary Ann Brown

The letter discusses the defeat of a pro-slavery judge. Recounts story of "one of the most deeply exciting times...since our arival in the territory. A United States Judge came here & attempted to hold a Court, & to enforce the enactment of the Bogus Legislature but was most effectually routed." The laws the court was attempting to enforce made it a crime to oppose slavery in any way, even verbally. Brown and other anti-slavery men drove the judge away and prevented them from enforcing these laws. Also discusses family health and says her brother, Orson Day, and his family have just…

GLC00929.01

March 18, 1885

Brown, John Jr., 1821-1895

Autograph letter signed

Title: 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 and personal details about John Brown, and also note these letters were intended only for his family.

GLC00929.02

1893

United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands

Broadside

Title: [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

10 June 1860

Battle, Narcissa Caroline, 1824-1906

Autograph letter signed

Title: [Slave sale letter]

A woman writes to her child about a slave sale she attended. "I went to town & bought all the negroes except Charity mamma & Charity's four youngest Children... Mamma is down at Watson's very much pestered she never would say before the sale who she wanted to buy her but now she is brought to her senses. Daughter I am not much grieved about either Chany or Charity they both have acted the lady ever since they came in my possession & I have been the slave now let them see the difference between me & other people... if they live the plantation will be filled with babies...The…

GLC09039

10 October 1851

Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Samuel Medary

Writes about the Fugitive Slave Act: "...the law of 1850...is the most unwarrantable violation of the rights and sovereignty of the states we have ever witnessed. The South, in my opinion, are committing a fatal error in urging and insisting on this law. The clause in the Constitution is a mere compact among the States...the great interest involved has made our Southern friends oblivious to the fundamental doctrines of the party and the teachings of Jefferson, and in their desires to get their runaways, they forget or are unmindful of constitutional rights & restrictions...The fugitive…

GLC09070

1821-1855

Hale, Aurelia, 1798-?

Header Record

Title: Aurelia Hale letters to her sister Sarah, and brother Horatio [Decimalized .01- .52]

52 letters covering New England transplant Aurelia Hale's travels in the South, including her views on slavery. Born in Connecticut, Aurelia moved to Savannah, Georgia in 1821, and later migrated to Washington County, Georgia, and then to Alabama. She wrote sporadic letters to her sister Sarah and her brother, Horatio. She was not disturbed by slavery, remarking on 11 June 1821, that the people of Georgia "differ in every respect from the Northerners; are much more agreeable, polite, attentive, and friendly...When we entered Savannah we were astonished at the number of blacks...We find it no…

GLC08934

22 May 1885

Purvis, Robert, 1810-1898

Autograph endorsement signed

Title: 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 McCrummell, James Cassey, Joseph Sharpless, Mary Sharpless, and Frederick Hinton. Among the information he provides is his recollection that the "Declaration of Sentiments &c" was written at McCrummell's house. Also notes that he is glad to hear that Wendell has published the first volume of his father's biography.

GLC08943

2 September 1843

Clay, Henry, 1777-1852

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Calvin Colton

Suggestions for a pamphlet opposing Abolitionists. "Shew that the agitation of the question in free states will first destroy all harmony and finally lead to disunion. That the consequences of disunion - perpetual War - the extinction of the African race - ultimate military despotism...The slaves being free would be dispersed throughout the union; they wd. enter into competition with the American, the Irish, the German, and the free Colored; reduce his wages; be confounded with him; & affect his moral & social standing...Show...That the object is to unite in marriage the laboring…

GLC08952

25 November 1860

Muggins, Pete, fl. 1860

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Abraham Lincoln

Intensely vitriolic letter sent to President Lincoln shortly after his election: "God damn your god damned old Hellfired soul to hell god damn you...Now you God damned old Abolition son of a bitch God damn you..." Attached to a board with a transcription and description dubbing this the "Hot stove" letter.

GLC08904

16-19 August 1856

Brown, John Jr., 1821-1895

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Jason Brown and others

Discusses the fighting between pro-slavey and anti-slavery activists in Kansas. Explains that "Events of the most stirring character are now passing within hearing distance...more than 200 shots have been fired within the past half hour, and within a mile of our Camp. Have just learned that some 80 of our free state men have 'pitched in' to a pro-slavery Camp this side of Lecompton." Provides a rich description of both current events and happenings over the past month, both their own actions and those of the pro-slavey men. Recounts the capture of "The notorious Col Titus who only a day…

GLC08906

28 April 1800

Cosby, Overton, fl. 1800-1806

Autograph document signed

Title: [Ordering the appraisal of slaves]

Ordering list of men to appraise the enslaved people and personal estate of John Humphries. Court copy. The men ordered to perform the appraisal are Staige Davis, Peter Robinson, David Palmer and Gabriel Jones. Court copy.

GLC03434.08

1815-1860

Manuscript document

Title: Apraisment of negros

Listing the values of nine enslaved people, all worth between ten and sixty dollars. Title from docket.

GLC03434.23