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Walt Whitman to Eliza Seaman Leggett, 26 October 1891

About This Item

  • Title: Walt Whitman to Eliza Seaman Leggett, 26 October 1891
  • Date: October 26, 1891
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.03233
  • Source: The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. The transcription presented here is derived from Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), 258. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Contributors to digital file: Ryan Furlong Stephanie Blalock Cristin Noonan
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Walt Whitman to Eliza Seaman Leggett, 26 October 1891." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 03 May 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.03233.xml (TEI)
Camden NJ—US America1 Oct: 26 '91

Thanks for y'r good letter2—always welcome—I am still here, but not strong enough to write—send a paper herewith—the fine photo of M A L3 rec'd—God bless you & all—

Walt Whitman

Correspondent:
Eliza Seaman Leggett (1815–1900) was a suffragist and abolitionist who later founded the Detroit Women's Club. She married Augustus Wright Leggett (1836–1855), and the couple's home was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Leggett, who was also the grandmother of the artist Percy Ives, corresponded sporadically with Whitman from 1880 until his death. A number of her letters to him are reprinted in Thomas Donaldson's Walt Whitman: The Man (New York: Francis P. Harper, 1896), 239–48. For more information on Leggett, see Joann P. Krieg, "Walt Whitman's Long Island Friend: Eliza Seaman Leggett," Long Island Historical Journal 9 (Spring 1997), 223–33.

Notes

  • 1. This letter is addressed: Mrs: E S Leggett | Drayton Plains | Oakland Co: | Mich:. It is postmarked: Camden, N.J. | Oct 26 | 6pm | 91; Drayton Plain(?) | Oct 28 | 1891 | (?). [back]
  • 2. This letter has not been located. [back]
  • 3. Whitman is likely referring to Mortimer A. Leggett (1837–1930), one of Eliza Seaman Leggett's sons. [back]
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