Our Collection

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.

Jackson, Henry, 1747-1809 to Henry Knox

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.06069 Author/Creator: Jackson, Henry, 1747-1809 Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 27 March 1794 Pagination: 3 p. : docket ; Height: 32.2 cm, Width: 20 cm Order a Copy

Informs Knox he will deliver Captain [Thomas] Vose and Mr. Ebenezer Dunton their letters once he copies them. Cautions Knox on how large and costly his house will be. Writes the house "will be much larger than a Country meeting house and with all the economy & attention probably it will cost more money than you have an Idea of or ought to be expended on a house in that country - besides which, the frequent alterations you have made and are daily making are attend'd [sic] with very great expense & will increase the bills..." Explains the inside of the house is almost complete and they are waiting for the frame of the house to be set. Asks him to "put aside" his last minute changes. Mentions he does not believe Knox realizes the actual cost of his house and asks what he believes it is. Notes if Knox is correct, the house will have "twenty four fire places, and all your rooms pretty large - I doubt whether either of the College's at Cambridge has more - if so many - it's a very large house that has ten or twelve, and but few such to be found in this Town, or even on the Continent - Requests he writes him back with further instructions.

Jackson, Henry, 1747-1809
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Vose, Thomas, 1753-1810
Dunton, Ebenezer, fl. 1794-1796

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources