Washington
Thursday afternoon Nov. 14
Dearest mother1,
I send you Jeff's2 letter3 to me, just received.
Mat4 is better, it seems, & has put off journeying to Camden.
Jeff says it is doubtful whether she will come at all, unless she can have you go home with
her to St. Louis.
Mother, just let the thing take its course, & not disturb your mind on the question of
going or not going—It will be time enough to decide, when it comes to the
point—
Mammy dear, I got your letter this morning—glad to hear you are as well as you are,
& hope this will find you comfortable—All goes well as usual with me—Love to
you, dear mother—& to all5—
Walt.
Mother, just as I was closing this letter, who should come in to see me but Margaret
Avery6—she has been down to Virginia, and is going
through Baltimore & Philadelphia—When in Philadelphia, she will come over to
Camden & make you a call—probably within a day or two—
Notes
- 1. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873) married
Walter Whitman, Sr., in 1816; together they had nine children, of whom Walt was
the second. The close relationship between Louisa and her son Walt contributed
to his liberal view of gender representation and his sense of comradeship. For
more information on Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, see Sherry Ceniza, "Whitman, Louisa Van Velsor (1795–1873)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 2. Thomas Jefferson Whitman (1833–1890), known as
"Jeff," was Walt Whitman's favorite brother. As a civil engineer, Jeff
eventually became Superintendent of Water Works in St. Louis and a nationally
recognized name. Whitman probably had his brother in mind when he praised the
marvels of civil engineering in poems like "Passage to India." Though their
correspondence slowed in the middle of their lives, the brothers were brought
together again by the deaths of Jeff's wife Martha (known as Mattie) in 1873 and
his daughter Manahatta in 1886. Jeff's death in 1890 caused Walt to reminisce in
his obituary, "how we loved each other—how many jovial good times we had!"
For more on Thomas Jefferson Whitman, see Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Thomas Jefferson (1833–1890)," Walt
Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New
York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 3. In his letter of November 10, 1872, Jeff suggested that Martha go to Camden and
accompany Louisa Van Velsor Whitman to St. Louis. Of Martha Jeff wrote: "Her
chest and lungs both seem better now and if by [care?] I can get her in the way
of taking some little food I have hopes she will get along yet." [back]
- 4. Martha Mitchell Whitman (d. 1873) known as "Mattie,"
was the wife of Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman, Walt Whitman's brother. She and
Jeff had two daughters, Manahatta and Jessie Louisa. In 1868, Mattie and her
daughters moved to St. Louis to join Jeff, who had moved there in 1867 to assume
the position of Superintendent of Water Works. Mattie experienced a throat
ailment that would lead to her death in 1873. For more information on Mattie, see Randall Waldron, "Whitman, Martha ("Mattie") Mitchell (1836–1873)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 5. Louisa Van Velsor Whitman was not entirely
happy in Camden, for about December 3, 1872 she
complained to Walt Whitman: "lou and george are very clever but i think they are
a very saving couple. what they want to save so much for i cant see as they have
no young ones but maybe its all right. george is so changed in regard to being
saving but i cant get used to being so ecomical." [back]
- 6. Margaret and William Avery, who lived in
Brooklyn, were evidently cousins of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. They visited Walt
Whitman in Camden on October 19, 1876; see Whitman's Commonplace Book (Charles
E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library
of Congress, Washington, D.C.). [back]