I write a word to you in haste. Three weeks since I returned from near Ithaca, whither I went after leaving Jamaica, I was completely disappointed in my expeditions there.—I am now in the city, but as Mr. Meeks1 by whom I send this is in hast I can write no more than to say that in the course of a few day I intend paying a visit to you all at Jamaica.
Walter Whitman Thursday afternoon2 Oct 21 loc_gk.01456_large.jpgCorrespondent:
Abraham Paul Leech
(1815–1886) was the son of Obadiah Paul Leech (1792–1881), an
auctioneer, and his wife, Susan Holland Leech. One of three children, Leech
would go on to become a bookkeeper and friend of Walt Whitman. Leech also served
as secretary pro tem of The Jamaica Lyceum in the 1840s in Jamaica, New York. He
and his wife, Phebe Kissam Duryea Leech (1823–1885) had two children:
Abraham Duryea Leech (1851–1876) and John Leech (1860–?).