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Walt Whitman to Samuel G. Stanley, 27 March 1889

 loc_gt.00072.jpg 200— | A

yr's of 22d rec'd & welcomed. Am still laid up in the sick room—havn't been out in most a year. (Get along though better than you would suppose)—Come and see me if you make y'r trip—Give my love to Jo Hyer2 & any other inquiring friends. Jeff3 was here a little while ago, he is in St Louis

Walt Whitman  loc_gt.00071.jpg

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. This letter is addressed: Saml G Stanley | Sash &c Manufacturer | Butler street n'r 3d avenue | Brooklyn New York. It is postmarked: Camden [illegible] | Mar 27 | 8 PM | 89. [back]
  • 2. Stanley employed Joe Hyer, another old friend of the poet and his brother Jeff, at his company. [back]
  • 3. 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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