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.

Washington, Martha, 1731-1801 to Mrs. Mary S. Lear re: Tobias Lear's health and illnesses in family and slaves

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02794.044 Author/Creator: Washington, Martha, 1731-1801 Place Written: Mount Vernon, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 1800/11/11 Pagination: 2 p. : address : free frank Height: 25 cm, Width: 20 cm Order a Copy

Mary Lear was Tobias Lear's mother. Contains much news of the Mount Vernon estate. "[A]ll my family whites, and Blacks, have been very sick, many of them very ill. -- Thank god they have all recovered again and I was so fortunate as not loose [sic] any of them --[.]" Martha Washington free frank on address leaf.

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources