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Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, 18 March 1870

About This Item

  • Title: Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, 18 March 1870
  • Date: March 18, 1870
  • Creator(s): Thomas Jefferson Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: duk.00312
  • Source: Trent Collection of Whitmaniana, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. The transcription presented here is derived from Thomas Jefferson Whitman, Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman, ed. Dennis Berthold and Kenneth M. Price (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984), 143. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Contributors to digital file: Alex Kinnaman Elizabeth Lorang Kathryn Kruger April Lambert Nicole Gray
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Thomas Jefferson. "Thomas Jefferson Whitman to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, 18 March 1870." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 11 January 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: duk.00312.xml (TEI)
St. Louis, Mar 18th 1870 My Dear Mother

Mattie arrived all right on Wednesday abt​ 3ocl1—in the afternoon—We were all glad enough to see her I assur​ you—The weather had been very bad ever since she left Brooklyn—but she got along very comfortably—and looked very well when she got in—I should have written you yesterday—but I understoo[d] Mat to say that she either would or had done so

Mat had a fine visit home and I think it has done her lots of good—also I am very glad to hear that there is a prospect of getting you and Walt out here2—hope you will come sure—

Please excuse this letter as I have just time to say that Mat arrived safely—the children are well and happy as can be—

affectionately Jeff

Notes

  • 1. Leaving her daughters with a housekeeper and Jeff's colleague Davis, Mattie travelled to Brooklyn in mid-February 1870. Jeff accompanied her as far as Pittsburgh where he stopped for business before joining her in Brooklyn. After a few days Jeff returned to St. Louis but Mattie remained in Brooklyn until mid-March (Mattie: The Letters of Martha Mitchell Whitman, ed. Randall H. Waldron [New York: New York University Press, 1977], 68). [back]
  • 2. These plans were not acted upon (Waldron, 70). [back]
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