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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.

Van Valkenburgh, Mary Bethiah, 1793-1871 to Franklin Butler Van Valkenburgh

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06253.04 Author/Creator: Van Valkenburgh, Mary Bethiah, 1793-1871 Place Written: Oakley Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 16 July 1854 Pagination: 4 p. : Height: 25 cm, Width: 20 cm Order a Copy

A letter written by Mary Bethiah Van Valkenburgh to her son Franklin Butler Van Valkenburgh. In this letter his mother writes about family affairs including traveling to visit relatives, selling property, and farm work. She also asks that Franklin continue writing to his siblings, and frets about his injured thumb. Page four is a small postscript.

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