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Brown, Jesse, 1844-1933 Collection of Jesse Brown [decimalized GLC03523.15.01-.20]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.15 Author/Creator: Brown, Jesse, 1844-1933 Place Written: Various Places Type: Header Record Date: June 8, 1862 - October 23, 1864 Pagination: 20 letters : 1 envelope Order a Copy

Consists primarily of letters written by Brown to his parents, Caleb and Emily Brown (4-8, 10, 13-18), to his sister Maria and his brother [unnamed] (1, 3, 19), to Nen (9), and to his sister Marenda (2). Also includes a letter from Brown's brother, Harvey J. Brown, to their parents (11) and a letter to Caleb Brown from family friend Sergeant James Canty (12). Many of Brown's letters candidly express financial troubles (4, 10, 11, 13-17). He often requests supplies, such as stamps, money, and red pepper. Letters reveal the economic hardship his parents experienced in their hometown of Perry, Maine, during the war. Brown offers his savings to his father to enter the tug boat business when he returns home (15-17). Brown's health declines through the letters. He fails to support the Union cause, remaining apolitical. He becomes disillusioned with the war.

Brown, Jesse, 1844-1933

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