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James W. Wallace to Walt Whitman, 5 October 1891

About This Item

  • Title: James W. Wallace to Walt Whitman, 5 October 1891
  • Date: October 5, 1891
  • Creator(s): James W. Wallace
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.04398
  • 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.
  • Contributors to digital file: Andrew David King Cristin Noonan Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Wallace, James W.. "James W. Wallace to Walt Whitman, 5 October 1891." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 26 April 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.04398.xml (TEI)
 loc_vm.00987_large.jpg Haliburton, Ontario, Canada.1 5 Oct 1891 Dear Walt,

Just a few lines while I have an opportunity to shew my constant thoughts & good will.

Weather much colder here these 2 days & showery, but beautifully fine just now as I write (5:40 pm)

Have had a pleasant time here2 & quite like the place & people. Mr Stewart3 came out here 28 years ago, cleared off the land here, built off his land here, built  loc_vm.00988_large.jpg his house, & has brought up his 11 children in comfort. He is a very clever man in many ways, can turn his hand to anything required, & is a good genial, kind man into the bargain.

I leave here tomorrow morning for Port Hope. Am uncertain yet what route I shall take after that to New York (can't get proper information here) but shall probably go via Kingston & Albany.

I am staying here a day later than I originally  loc_vm.00989_large.jpg intended to see if any letters come. Have not had any for a week.

I do hope that you are keeping fairly well, & that when I hear news of you it will be good

Will you please to give my affectionate regards to Mrs Davis4 & Warry5 & to H.L.T.?6

With love to yourself as always Yours affectionately J.W. Wallace  loc_vm.00990_large.jpg  loc_vm.00985_large.jpg  loc_vm.00986_large.jpg

Correspondent:
James William Wallace (1853–1926), of Bolton, England, was an architect and great admirer of Whitman. Wallace, along with Dr. John Johnston (1852–1927), a physician in Bolton, founded the "Bolton College" of English admirers of the poet. Johnston and Wallace corresponded with Whitman and with Horace Traubel and other members of the Whitman circle in the United States, and they separately visited the poet and published memoirs of their trips in John Johnston and James William Wallace, Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–1891 by Two Lancashire Friends (London: Allen and Unwin, 1917). For more information on Wallace, see Larry D. Griffin, "Wallace, James William (1853–1926)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998).

Notes

  • 1. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | 328, Mickle St | Camden | New Jersey | U.S. It is postmarked: VICTORIA RAILWAY RFO | SOUTH | OC 5 | 91; CAMDEN, N.J. | OCT 8 | 6 AM | 91 | REC'D. [back]
  • 2. Wallace visited Whitman in Camden, New Jersey, and the Canadian physician Richard Maurice Bucke at Bucke's home in London, Ontario, Canada, in the fall of 1891. He also spent time in New York during the trip. Accounts of Wallace's visit can be found in Dr. John Johnston and Wallace's Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890–91 (London, England: G. Allen & Unwin, ltd., 1917). [back]
  • 3. As yet we have no information about this person. [back]
  • 4. Mary Oakes Davis (1837 or 1838–1908) was Whitman's housekeeper. For more, see Carol J. Singley, "Davis, Mary Oakes (1837 or 1838–1908)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
  • 5. 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]
  • 6. Horace L. Traubel (1858–1919) was an American essayist, poet, and magazine publisher. He is best remembered as the literary executor, biographer, and self-fashioned "spirit child" of Walt Whitman. During the late 1880s and until Whitman's death in 1892, Traubel visited the poet virtually every day and took thorough notes of their conversations, which he later transcribed and published in three large volumes entitled With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906, 1908, & 1914). After his death, Traubel left behind enough manuscripts for six more volumes of the series, the final two of which were published in 1996. For more on Traubel, see Ed Folsom, "Traubel, Horace L. [1858–1919]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
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