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Edward Wilkins to Walt Whitman, 26 September 1891

About This Item

  • Title: Edward Wilkins to Walt Whitman, 26 September 1891
  • Date: September 26, 1891
  • Creator(s): Edward Wilkins
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.04868
  • 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: Cristin Noonan Amanda J. Axley Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Wilkins, Edward. "Edward Wilkins to Walt Whitman, 26 September 1891." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 11 May 2025. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.04868.xml (TEI)
 loc_vm.01326_large.jpg J.H. Tennent. Veterinary Surgeon, LONDON, ONT. OFFICE—KING STREET, OPPOSITE MARKET RESIDENCE—COR. KING & WELLINGTON STREETS TELEPHONE—OFFICE, 688; RESIDENCE, 278. London, Ont. Sept 26th 1891 Dear Walt,

It is so long since I last wrote you that you will scarcely recognize the old hand, but I have not for got you yet.

I called on Dr Bucke1 at the Asylum no later than yesterday, found him in his office busy as a nailer, he first threw his work to one side & we had a [torn-away] chat he [torn-away]ed rush us h[torn-away] as[torn-away] to see me as I was to see him, so you can imagine how interesting my visit was; although we do live so near.

I am getting along with my study's very well, intend going to Toronto in about three weeks to attend the Veterinary College, I will be there all winter & then expect to be in London next summer again, it will be about eighteen months yet before I get through & won't I be pleased when that day comes, for it is like husteling for dear life.

Tell Warren2 I will write him after I get settled in Toronto. Hoping you are all well. Love to all, & write a long letter soon

Yours ever E Wilkins  loc_vm.01327_large.jpg E. Wilkins

Correspondent:
Edward "Ned" Wilkins (1865–1936) was one of Whitman's nurses during his Camden years; he was sent to Camden from London, Ontario, by Dr. Richard M. Bucke, and he began caring for Whitman on November 5, 1888. He stayed for a year before returning to Canada to attend the Ontario Veterinary School. Wilkins graduated on March 24, 1893, and then he returned to the United States to commence his practice in Alexandria, Indiana. For more information, see Bert A. Thompson, "Edward Wilkins: Male Nurse to Walt Whitman," Walt Whitman Review 15 (September 1969), 194–195.

Notes

  • 1. Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1902) was a Canadian physician and psychiatrist who grew close to Whitman after reading Leaves of Grass in 1867 (and later memorizing it) and meeting the poet in Camden a decade later. Even before meeting Whitman, Bucke claimed in 1872 that a reading of Leaves of Grass led him to experience "cosmic consciousness" and an overwhelming sense of epiphany. Bucke became the poet's first biographer with Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883), and he later served as one of his medical advisors and literary executors. For more on the relationship of Bucke and Whitman, see Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
  • 2. 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]
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