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.

Wirt, John, fl. 1864 to Bill Kessler

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.52.66 Author/Creator: Wirt, John, fl. 1864 Place Written: Delphi, Indiana Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 22 September 1864 Pagination: 4 p. : envelope Height: 24.6 cm, Width: 39 cm Order a Copy

Writes to his cousin. Provides direction to California. Explains he cannot join him because of his job. Complains about his new stepmother. Writes, "thare never was a bigger fool than my father when he married that girl whenever thare is any work to be done she plays off sick she dont care about anything but dress…please never call her my mother again I wont own her…" Discusses the "Hundred day boys" who just arrived home.

Wirt, John D., fl. 1864
Kessler, Bill, fl. 1864

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources