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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.

Knox, Lucy Flucker, 1756-1824 to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.03148 Author/Creator: Knox, Lucy Flucker, 1756-1824 Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 19 May 1785 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; Height: 23.2 cm, Width: 19 cm Order a Copy

Knox's wife, Lucy, reports that Captain Callahan was unable to hire artisans from England: "the sentiments of the english are so oppos'd to that class of persons coming out that he feared to make the attempt." Has received no recent news of William Knox, Henry's brother who suffered from mental illness. Mentions an unspecified match, possibly referring to William Knox's courtship of Henry Laurens's daughter (William had lapsed into insanity, and the courtship ended on dramatic, negative terms; refer to GLC02437.03082). Fears that William's "malady is too deep for cure." Expresses joy at the safe arrival of Samuel Shaw, who recently returned from Canton (present-day Guangzhou, China). Hopes Knox, Secretary at War, will hire Shaw as an assistant.

Knox, Lucy Flucker, 1756-1824
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Shaw, Samuel, 1754-1794
Knox, William, 1756-1795

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