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.

Rumford, Sarah Thompson, Countess (1774-1852) to Lucy Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.07773 Author/Creator: Rumford, Sarah Thompson, Countess (1774-1852) Place Written: Cambridge, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 3 December 1802 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 22.2 x 17.9 cm. Order a Copy

Writes to Lucy Knox, the daughter of Henry and Lucy Knox. Discusses her life at her new home and mentions trying to stay for a while before heading to Boston, Massachusetts. Expresses how much she misses Knox and how she hopes to see her in Boston. Discusses her family and old acquaintances of theirs. GLC02437.07774 discusses a Countess Rumford who was formerly known as Sally Rumford. This could be the same person as S. Rumford. A small portion of the letter is missing at the bottom of page one causing minor text loss but has since been patched with a piece of paper on which the docket is written.

Countess Sarah Thomas Rumford, also referred to as Sally Rumford, was the daughter Benjamin Thompson Rumford, the American Scientist who is credited with improving heating and cooking methods.

Rumford, Sarah Thompson, Countess, 1774-1852
Knox, Lucy Flucker, 1776-1854

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