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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.

Parker, Elias, 1760-1798 to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.04335 Author/Creator: Parker, Elias, 1760-1798 Place Written: Petersburg, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 25 August 1789 Pagination: 2 p. ; 22.6 x 18.8 cm. Order a Copy

Writes, apologetically, to ask for Knox's patronage. Declares that while his current career as a merchant is more lucrative, it "is not so respectable & by no means so desirable as the one I was bred to under yr. command - indeed Sir, I feel myself totally unqualified for it." Has heard a report that troops will be raised under a Congressional recommendation, and hopes Knox will support his appointment.

Parker, Elias, 1760-1798
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

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