Letter written by John Brown and Frederick Douglass to Brown's wife and children

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A letter written by John Brown and Frederick Douglass from Rochester, New York, on January 30, 1858, to Brown's wife and children. The letter is handwritten in black ink on the front and back sides of a single sheet of paper. The letter is first written by Brown, who does not sign his portion beyond "Your Affectionate Husband and Father." Brown writes of missing his wife and children very much, but of not being able to visit them. He also asks his daughter Ruth about her husband, Henry Thompson, becoming involved in Brown's "school," coded language for Brown's militant abolitionist dealings. He further speaks of recruiting his sons for his work and requests that the family write to him under the name "N. Hawkins: Care of Fred'k Douglas [sic] Esq'r Rochester N[.] Y." Douglass writes on the lower half of the verso page with his words oriented three different directions to fit the page.

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