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April 4th 1878
[damage] glad to hear that [damage] thing bother & hope that you will soon be able to come down again & stay with us a week or two.1 Debbie2 wants to se you for something very particular & wishes evry day that Mr. Whitman would come down. we all want to se you so much dont wait to get well f befor you come we will take good care of you here.
George3 is buisy planting potatoes & geting ready for corn planting he is trying to get his work a long while he has such good help [damage]
[damage] love to [damage]
SM Stafford
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Notes
- 1. Susan M. Lamb Stafford
(1833–1910) was the mother of Harry Stafford (1858–1918), who, in
1876, became a close friend of Whitman while working at the printing office of
the Camden New Republic. Whitman regularly visited the
Staffords at their family farm near Kirkwood, New Jersey. Whitman enjoyed the
atmosphere and tranquility that the farm provided and would often stay for weeks
at a time (see David G. Miller, "Stafford, George and Susan M.," Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings [New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998], 685). [back]
- 2. Deborah Stafford (1860–1945)
was the sister of Harry Stafford. She married Joseph Browning. See Daybooks and Notebooks, ed. William White (New York: New
York University Press, 1978), 1:35. [back]
- 3. George Stafford (1827–1892)
was Harry Stafford's father. [back]