William T. Otto to Walt Whitman, 12 January 1865

About This Item

Title: William T. Otto to Walt Whitman, 12 January 1865
Date: January 12, 1865
Creator(s): William T. Otto | Horace Traubel
Whitman Archive ID: nyp.00219
Source: Oscar Lion Papers, 1914–1955, New York Public Library, New York, N.Y. The transcription presented here is derived from Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden (New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1914), 470-71. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
Contributors to digital file: Elizabeth Lorang Kathryn Kruger Vanessa Steinroetter
Cite this page: Otto, William T. and Horace Traubel. "William T. Otto to Walt Whitman, 12 January 1865." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 04 January 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
Source File: nyp.00219.xml (TEI)

Department of the Interior,
Washington, January 12, 1865. Sir:

Upon reporting at this Department and passing a satisfactory examination you will be appointed to a First Class Clerkship at a compensation of twelve hundred dollars per annum.1 I am, Sir, very respectfully, your obt servant

W. T. Otto, Assistant Secretary.2

Walt Whitman, Esq.
Brooklyn, N. Y.

Notes

1. Less than two weeks after this letter, on January 24, 1865, Otto informed Whitman of his appointment as clerk at the salary of "$1200 per annum." [back]
2. William T. Otto (1816–1905) was Assistant Secretary of the Interior. William D. O'Connor had arranged an interview for Whitman with Otto for a clerk position in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. [back]