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.

McSherry, Willie, fl. 1866 to mother

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.21.61 Author/Creator: McSherry, Willie, fl. 1866 Place Written: Littlestown, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph note signed Date: 28 December 1866 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 20.3 cm, Width: 12.5 cm Order a Copy

Letter written by Willie McSherry to his mother on one side. Verso has a second letter by one of Willie's sisters (the letter is signed, but the signature is too faded to read). Their mother, probably Eliza, appears to be in Martinsburg visiting her sister Anna McSherry and her father Richard McSherry. Willie says they are going to keep the Christmas tree up for her until she arrives. Asks for a cape or a new pair of gloves from her. Says "saint nicklous" gave him a nice Christmas gift. Wants to know if the boys of "jime" belong to a baseball club. Second letter says they have been keeping holiday all week, but will have to get ready for church on Sunday and New Year's eve. Says the cakes they made are disappearing quickly.

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources