Walt Whitman to Susan Stafford, 3 February 1886

About This Item

Title: Walt Whitman to Susan Stafford, 3 February 1886
Date: February 3, 1886
Creator(s): Walt Whitman
Whitman Archive ID: loc.03922
Source: 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.

Notes for this letter were created by Whitman Archive staff and/or were derived from Walt Whitman, The Correspondence, ed. Edwin Haviland Miller, 6 vols. (New York: New York University Press, 1961–1977), and supplemented or updated by Whitman Archive staff.
Contributors to digital file: Grace Thomas Eder Jaramillo Nima Najafi Kianfar Elizabeth Lorang Nicole Gray
Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Walt Whitman to Susan Stafford, 3 February 1886." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 09 May 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
Source File: loc.03922.xml (TEI)

loc_jc.00552_large.jpg Elkton Maryland1 Feb 3 '86

I came down here yesterday to deliver a lecture, which came off all right last evening—I am going back to day—Shall come down the first Sunday the weather & travelling are good2—

W W

loc_jc.00551_large.jpg

Correspondent:
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).

Notes

1. This postal card is addressed: Mrs: Susan Stafford | Kirkwood | (Glendale) | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Philadelphia, Pa. | Feb | 3 | 1886 | 4 PM | Transit. [back]
2. Apparently Whitman was unable to visit the Staffords before March 7 (Whitman's Commonplace Book, Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.). [back]