[Edward Wilkins] to Walt Whitman, 28 September 1891

About This Item

Title: [Edward Wilkins] to Walt Whitman, 28 September 1891
Date: September 28, 1891
Creator(s): Edward Wilkins
Whitman Archive ID: hyb.00020
Source: Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library; The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Transcribed from digital images or a microfilm reproduction of the original item. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
Contributors to digital file: Cristin Noonan Marie Ernster Erel Michaelis Stephanie Blalock Paige Wilkinson Amanda J. Axley
Cite this page: Wilkins, Edward. "[Edward Wilkins] to Walt Whitman, 28 September 1891." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 11 May 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
Source File: hyb.00020.xml (TEI)

yal.00318.017_large.jpg J. H. TENNENT.
Veterinary Surgeon,
LONDON, ONT. OFFICE—KING STREET, OPPOSITE MARKET.
RESIDENCE—COR. KING & WELLINGTON STREETS
TELEPHONE—OFFICE, 688 : RESIDENCE 278. London, Ont. 18891

What money I2 have I expected it to put me through the last term, & run me up untill now; what I have not used is out on interest & will be unable to get it untill next fall, so under the circumstances I think I had better take a position for a while, & make money enough to run me through.

I would like you to answer this right away & tell me what you think is best for me to do, I will take your advise no matter what it is. I had made arrangements to go to college this fall, & would be through in a year & a half from next Oct, but I guess I will have to remain in the soup a while longer. I am quite certain that Warren3 will remain with you [cut away] time for he promised to [cut away]

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Correspondent:
Edward "Ned" Wilkins (1865–1936) was one of Whitman's nurses during his Camden years; he was sent to Camden from London, Ontario, by Dr. Richard M. Bucke, and he began caring for Whitman on November 5, 1888. He stayed for a year before returning to Canada to attend the Ontario Veterinary School. Wilkins graduated on March 24, 1893, and then he returned to the United States to commence his practice in Alexandria, Indiana. For more information, see Bert A. Thompson, "Edward Wilkins: Male Nurse to Walt Whitman," Walt Whitman Review 15 (September 1969), 194–195.

Notes

1. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328 Mickle Street | Camden | New Jersey | U.S.A.. It is postmarked: LONDON | AM | SP 28 | 91 | CANADA; CAMDEN, N.J. | SEP29 | 4PM | 91 | REC'D. [back]
2. Edward Wilkins wrote this partial letter to Whitman. Wilkins's September 26, 1891, letter to Whitman, which Wilkins signed, is written on the same stationery as this letter. [back]
3. Frank Warren Fritzinger (1867–1899), known as "Warry," took Edward Wilkins's place as Whitman's nurse, beginning in October 1889. Fritzinger and his brother Harry were the sons of Henry Whireman Fritzinger (about 1828–1881), a former sea captain who went blind, and Almira E. Fritzinger. Following Henry Sr.'s death, Warren and his brother—having lost both parents—became wards of Mary O. Davis, Whitman's housekeeper, who had also taken care of the sea captain and who inherited part of his estate. A picture of Warry is displayed in the May 1891 New England Magazine (278). See Joann P. Krieg, "Fritzinger, Frederick Warren (1866–1899)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 240. [back]