Camden1
April 13 12:40 P M
Am middling well—go this afternoon to New York, to deliver my lecture
commemorative of "the Death of Abraham Lincoln"2 to-morrow afternoon there—Return
here Friday—Love to you &
Jess3—Lou4 was here
lately—all well—
Walt Whitman
Correspondent:
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 figure. For more on Jeff, 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).
Notes
- 1. This letter is addressed:
Thos: J. Whitman | 2437 2d Carondelet Avenue | St Louis Missouri. It is
postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Apr 13 | 8 PM | 87; Saint Louis(?)| Apr | 15 | 7 AM |
1887 | Rec'd. [back]
- 2. Whitman is referring to his
lecture entitled "The Death of Abraham Lincoln," which he delivered in New York
City on Thursday, April 14, 1887. He first delivered this lecture in New York in
1879 and would deliver it at least eight other times over the succeeding years,
delivering it for the last time on April 15, 1890. He had published a version of
the lecture as "Death of Abraham Lincoln" in Specimen
Days (1882–83). For more on the lecture, see Larry D. Griffin,
"'Death of Abraham Lincoln,'" Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings, ed. (New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998), 169–170. [back]
- 3. Jessie Louisa Whitman
(1863–1957) was the second and youngest daughter of Whitman's brother
Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Whitman (1833–1890) and Jeff's wife Martha
Mitchell Whitman (1836–1873). [back]
- 4. Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called
"Loo" or "Lou," married Whitman's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. Their
son, Walter Orr Whitman, was born in 1875 but died the following year. A second
son was stillborn. Whitman lived in Camden, New Jersey, with George and Louisa from
1873 until 1884, when George and Louisa moved to a farm outside of Camden and
Whitman decided to stay in the city. Louisa and Whitman had a warm relationship
during the poet's final decades. For more, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and
Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]