The Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History: Apply now and join us for Fall 2024 courses
25 February 1882
Adams, Anne Brown (1843-1926)
to Alexander M. Ross
Discusses local plant life, her obligations as a mother, and his friendship with her father.
GLC03007.11
16 January 1886
One lettera ddressed to Alexander M. Ross from Anne Brown Adams dated January 16, 1886. Mentions hardships of motherhood and awaiting word from a publisher to printpapers that she spent. Thanks him for suggesting soda as a remedy for her sore throat...
GLC03007.13
2 January 1887
One letter from Anne Brown Adams to Alexander M. Ross dated July 31, 1887. Pertains to one of her children receiving a vaccaniation, their illness and her opinion of Franklin Sanborn's book which mentions her father. Cannot believe "that people would...
GLC03007.14
31 July 1887
One letter addressed to Alexander Ross from Anne Brown Adams dated July 31, 1887. Mentions the health of her children and reading The Life of Frederick Douglass. Does not find truth in Douglass's account of meeting John Brown. Believes that Uncle Tom...
GLC03007.15
19 October 1887
Discusses the Alcott family in Concord and her approval of sick patients eating very little. Inquires after the Alcott family, with whom she used to live. Mentions Louisa May Alcott. States her firm belief that underfeeding sick patients can be...
GLC03007.16
28 December 1887
Discussing newspaper articles related to her father, John Brown, and others' opinions of him. "I find now, since all the men who had any knowledge of his affairs, have written recollections and confessions, that he told me more of his plans than he...
GLC03007.18
15 May 1888
Knows that John Brown first conceived of raiding Harpers Ferry before going to Kansas, no matter what magazines say. Reporters "say 'It is impossible to trace exactly how and when the Harper's Ferry invasion first took shape in John Brown's mind...
GLC03007.19
1 July 1888
Discusses at length her faith in God, and how despair only makes it stronger, as her father taught her. Mentions smallpox incidents nearby and greater women's rights in California. Her oldest son, fifteen, has run off to become a locomotive...
GLC03007.20
26 August 1888
Discusses George L. Stearns, who supported John Brown, and his family. Mentions Edwin A. Brackett's bust of Brown, of which she only saw the mold. Says her runaway son has returned, and she is very busy with ten children. Recipient inferred from...
GLC03007.21
2 December 1888
Wonders why there is so much evil in the world, is thankful for the good people she has known, and rejoices in the election of Benjamin Harrison as President. Has recently moved from Rohnerville to Petrolia. Wonders "why some people were ever...
GLC03007.22
2 April 1889
Intends to send him all of her recollections regarding Kennedy Farm and preparations for Harpers Ferry Raid, and gives a biography of John E. Cook, one of the raiders. Discusses Cook's upbringing, his marriage, and an affair he had. Tells how...
GLC03007.23
15 January 1890
Discusses terrible winter rains and failing health of her sister Ruth Brown Thompson.
GLC03007.24
6 March 1890
Rain has been so heavy all winter that she and her family have been virtually unable to leave the house.
GLC03007.25
29 June 1890
Discusses bad weather, vaccination of her children, and the evil of most human beings. Recipient inferred from content.
GLC03007.26
11 September 1890
Thanks him for his offer of "a scholarship at the College" and hopes her second daughter Bertha can raise the funds to attend, and wonders about requirements for acceptance. Plans to write biographies for more of the Harpers Ferry raiders for him...
GLC03007.27
8 December 1890 - 25 December 1890
Thanks him for offering to help her daughters attend college. Says Bertha is too ill to go, but hopes Vivian, her eldest, may be able to attend, and awaits Vivian's reply. Second half of letter, dated 25 December, states that Vivian cannot attend...
GLC03007.28
22 August 1891
Apologizes for not being able to accept his offer of helping her children attend college. Regrets not being able to allow them a better education. Recipient inferred from content.
GLC03007.29
19 February 1892
Hopes to unmask a man pretending to have been at Harpers Ferry with John Brown. "It is my wish that you publish this Richard W. Howard, who claims to have been with John Brown at Harper's Ferry, as a fraud and a humbug. It is evident that he...
GLC03007.30
2 May 1892
Discusses her sister, Ruth Brown Thompson and Ruth's husband Henry Thompson. Both have failing health. Argues that Kansas should give Henry a pension, since he fought under John Brown at the Battle of Black Jack to help keep Kansas a free state....
GLC03007.31
13 September 1892
Wonders if her children should participate in the "John Brown's Fort" attraction at the Chicago World's Fair. "Mr. Holmes Pres. of the John Brown Fort Co." has asked if her children will come work at the exhibition. At first he promised good wages...
GLC03007.32
21 October 1892
Discusses Ross' plans that somehow involve helping the black community. It is not clear exactly what this plan involves, but she suggests he try using the black newspapers to help his plans. Worries that few African Americans will care about his...
GLC03007.33
15 November 1892
Thanks him for his help. Talks about her hard times financially, and reports briefly on her siblings. Discusses Richard Hinton, who is writing a book on John Brown, and Richard W. Howard, "the pretender" who is offering newspapers a fabricated...
GLC03007.34
7 December 1892
Discusses her financial struggles and John Brown. Her husband "has not earned a dollar for more than a year" since their is no work to be found, and her crops fared poorly. May try to write articles about her father for money, though "so many...
GLC03007.35
7 January 1893
Discusses various men who have inquired about John Brown. Some seek relics, others want stories from her. Is disappointed with Franklin Sanborn and what he has written about her father. Also mentions Sanborn's plans to write a book about John...
GLC03007.36
9 August 1893
Encloses copies of some documents he might find interesting, and reports her sister Ruth is in poor health.
GLC03007.37
10 January 1894
Discusses Mary Stearns and a fund to help her family. Explains that Mrs. Stearns liked her father, but not his family, recounts a story of her unkindness, and wonders if Stearns has become infirm in her old age. Adams claims to hold no grudge...
GLC03007.38
24 June 1894
May write articles about John Brown for money, and discusses her family. Has "written a sketch for an eastern paper" which she hopes to get paid for, and has other offers to write about her father. Discusses her financial hardships, lives of her...
GLC03007.39
9 November 1894
Reading Richard Hinton's book "John Brown and His Men," but doing so slowly, since much of it is painful to her. Says the book should have appeal and that it has a few small mistakes "that no one except I would notice." Received a letter from her...
GLC03007.40
12 May 1895
Has heard that her brother, John Brown Jr., is dead, but is not sure if this is true. Worries the sad news might be bad for her sister Ruth's health. Tried to write an article for Cosmopolitan Magazine, but poor health prevented her. John Brown Jr...
GLC03007.41
2 December 1896
Writes to say she hopes his health is improving.
GLC03007.42
16 January 1897
Encloses a letter from Franklin Sanborn, to see if he knows anything about "the Dr. McLain mentioned therein."
GLC03007.43
28 April 1897
Discusses her family's well being, and wonders about their place in God's larger plan.
GLC03007.44
3 November 1896
Thompson, Ruth Brown (1829-1904)
Discusses declining health of herself and Ross. Wonders if they will meet in the next life, and if they will recognize each other. Tells him to ignore those who slander him, "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and say all manner of evil...
GLC03007.45
31 January 1897
Praises Ross, thanks him for his friendship, and wishes they could see each other. Talks of beautiful California weather and geography. Worries that her husband, Henry Thompson, may not have long to live.
GLC03007.46
6 April 1897
Wishes to know the cause of his grief, which he mentioned in a previous letter. Hopes he will visit California, and that they can finally meet. Wishes to introduce him to her grandson, who also has a strong love of nature. Discusses other family...
GLC03007.47
12 May 1899
She and all of her family hope that Ross will come to visit them. Praises him for his tireless work for others. Says she never met Lucretia Mott, nor Harriet Tubman, but admires them both and says of Tubman "what an old soldier she has been....
GLC03007.48
no date
to Alexander M. Ross [Fragment]
Discusses events at Kennedy Farm while preparing to raid Harpers Ferry. Anne Brown was there to help cook and clean. Author and recipient inferred from content. Only the last four pages remain.
GLC03007.49
circa 1894
to Alexander M. Ross [Incomplete]
Defending her father, John Brown, against what appear to be statements that he took money and used it for personal needs. Concludes that Mary Stearns' "mind must be disordered" with age due to statements that she made. The statements seem to imply...
GLC03007.50
Wonders why so much evil exists in the world and about the nature of good and bad and the inequality of rich and poor. Recipient inferred from content. Only the last two pages remain.
GLC03007.51
"The struggle for a married woman's rights will be a longer and a harder fought battle than any other that the world has ever known." Preaches rights for married women, and catalogs the abuses of husbands. Also supports temperance. Wonders why God...
GLC03007.53
[Names and addresses of John Brown collector and two others]
Lists the names and addresses of Dr. C. W. Olsen, Boyd Stutler, and Mrs. M. Winchester. Boyd Stutler, 1889-1970, was a famous collector of John Brown documents, the other two are unknown.
GLC03007.54
19 June 1879
Brown, John Jr. (1821-1895)
to Alexander Milton Ross
Brown Jr. writes from Put-in-Bay Island located on South Bass Island (Lake Erie), Ohio. He mentions he will personally be traveling to Kansas and possibly Colorado to examine the land for the purpose of "settlement by Colored people of limited means...
GLC03007.56.11
circa 1895
Strohmeyer & Wyman
Cotton is King, Plantation Scene, Georgia, U.S.A.
Two African American men, one girl, and four women picking cotton. A white man on a horse is in the background. The women and the girl wear the same plaid dresses, and there are two large baskets of cotton in the field. The title "Cotton is King...
GLC09593
Unknown
Picking Cotton, Georgia
Eight African American men in a cotton field, looking at the photographer. The man in the center is wearing a suit, and the other men are wearing similair cotton shirts and slacks with hats. The men have cotton sacks around their shoulders, and a...
GLC09594
17 April 1880
Rawle, John Brookes
To "My Dear Sir"
GLC09190.02
15 March 1880
To "Dear Sir"
GLC09190.03
25 February 1880
GLC09190.04
2 March 1880
Douglass, Frederick (1818-1895)
to Charles T. Congdon
To Charles T. Congdon of the New York Tribune. Douglass thanks Congdon for his recently published reminiscences of Charles Sumner. "It was not merely the seed time of a great harvest, but the hard time when old and knarly oaks were to be hewed down...
GLC09238
27 August 1884
Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895
to Amy Post
Douglass writes to Post, a New York abolitionist and suffragist. Had been to Post's home in Rochester, and regretted her absence. Relates that he and Helen, his wife (they married in January 1884) had for their honeymoon traveled through Chicago...
GLC05819
1899
Du Bois, William Edward Burghardt, 1868-1963
The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study
Du Bois's detailed study uses history and sociology to consider the social experience of African Americans in the Seventh Ward of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Offers a comprehensive examination of black life, including migration, religion, crime...
GLC05823
Showing results 101 - 150