loc_ad.00207_large.jpg
Jan 27 noon1
92
Much the same—weak & restless—otherwise
fairly—y'r letter
came2—2 enc'd —Geo
3 was here—my new fuller best
ed'n 4
is out—have written to Mary5—very cold
to day—am propp'd
up in bed—read the papers &c—appetite fair—body
sore & feeble—Best love & God bless you
W W
loc_ad.00208_large.jpg
Notes
- 1. In March 1884, Whitman
purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in
this house until his death on March 26, 1892. [back]
- 2. Whitman is referring to
Hannah's letter of January 24, 1892. [back]
- 3. George Washington Whitman
(1829–1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman. George
learned to read and write as a pupil under his older brother Walt (who briefly
served as a schoolteacher) in Long Island, and worked as a carpenter prior to
his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe
inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. For
more on George's life, see Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington," Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 4. Whitman is referring to the
publication of the 1891–1892 "deathbed" edition of Leaves of Grass. See R.W. French, "Leaves of Grass, 1891–1892, Deathbed
Edition," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed.
J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing,
1998). [back]
- 5. Mary Elizabeth Whitman Van
Nostrand (1821–1899) was the third child of Walter Whitman and Louisa Van
Velsor Whitman. Mary married Ansel Van Nostrand, a shipbuilder, in 1840 and
moved to Greenport, Long Island, a whaling town. Hannah and Walt visited her
there before Hannah's marriage to Heyde. Mary and Ansel had five children:
George, Fanny, Louisa, Ansel, and Minnie. For more information, see Paula K.
Garrett, "Whitman (Van Nostrand), Mary Elizabeth (b. 1821)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D.
Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]