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John M. Rogers to Walt Whitman, 6 April 1871

About This Item

  • Title: John M. Rogers to Walt Whitman, 6 April 1871
  • Date: April 6, 1871
  • Creator(s): John M. Rogers
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.01867
  • 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: Alex Kinnaman Elizabeth Lorang Charley Shively Kathryn Kruger Ashley Lawson John Schwaninger Caterina Bernardini Nicole Gray Amanda J. Axley Cristin Noonan Paige Wilkinson Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Rogers, John M.. "John M. Rogers to Walt Whitman, 6 April 1871." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 03 December 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.01867.xml (TEI)
 loc.01867.007_large.jpg Brooklyn April 6 18711 Dear Father & Friend

what is the mater​ & how do you do and how are you geting​ along well I hope I am well now as can be expected after geting​ off of a sick bed of four weeks with a fever I wrote you letter2 some time ago and have not receved​ no answer as yet so thought I would write again I did not know but you might be Sick

 loc.01867.008_large.jpg

I have lost a great deal of fleash​ cince​ you last saw me I am looking quite thin now.

I am not doing any thing yet but I am gaing​ strength verry​ fast I should like very much to see you again hoping to hear from you soon

I remain your truly good by Address John M Rogers3 No 3 Fulton St Brooklyn L.I.

P.S. Write soon for I ancious​ to hear from you I remain your Affecinate​ Son

John

 loc.01867.009_large.jpg Jack Rogers | April 6 1871 | ans. Ap. 7.  loc.01866.010_large.jpg  loc_tb.00385.jpg

Correspondent:
John (Jack) M. Rogers was a Brooklyn driver with whom Whitman had a loving relationship. Whitman first met him in Brooklyn on September 21, 1870. For more on Rogers and his relationship with the poet, see Charley Shively, ed., Calamus Lovers: Walt Whitman's Working-Class Camerados (San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1987), 122–135.

Notes

  • 1. This letter is addressed in Whitman's hand: Walt Whitman | Attorney General's Office | Washington | D.C. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | APR | 6 | 10 PM; [illegible]ER | APR | 7 [illegible]. [back]
  • 2. Rogers may be referring to his letter to Whitman of February 27, 1871. [back]
  • 3. Whitman often enclosed a self-addressed envelope in his outgoing letters to friends. The envelope in which Rogers mailed this letter appears to be one such envelope pre-addressed by Whitman. [back]
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