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Samuel G. Stanley to Walt Whitman, 12 October 1891

 loc_gt.00069_large.jpg Dear Friend Water​ ,

I was reading an article in a Magazine the other day; & came across an interesting account of a birthday meeting of your friends,1 & at this late day would like to add my greeting to you, as an old friend.

May the good "Lord" give you continued life and loving friends to cheer you on the journey.

Please remember me to Jeff.2 Can you give me his address.

From your friend, Sam'l G. Stanley 323 Macon St Sam'l G Stanley Brooklyn  loc_gt.00070_large.jpg S.G. Stanley

Correspondent:
Samuel Goodman Stanley (1830–1909) was raised in Brooklyn before heading to California during the 1849 Gold Rush. Upon returning from California in the early 1850s, Stanley established a sash and blind building company, with two branches in Brooklyn and Washington D.C. According to Stanley's letter to Whitman of July 13, 1886, he was an old friend of the poet's from Brooklyn. During the Civil War years, Stanley seems to have been in Washington, and he recalled standing near Secretary Chase's residence when Abraham Lincoln passed by.


Notes

  • 1. Whitman's seventy-second (and last) birthday was celebrated with friends at his home on Mickle Street. He described the celebration in a letter to Dr. John Johnston, of Bolton, England, dated June 1, 1891: "We had our birth anniversary spree last evn'g​ —ab't​ 40 people, choice friends mostly—12 or so women—[Alfred, Lord] Tennyson sent a short and sweet letter over his own sign manual . . . lots of bits of speeches, with gems in them—we had a capital good supper." [back]
  • 2. 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). [back]
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