Douglass, Frederick. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Title

Douglass, Frederick. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Creator

Douglass, Frederick

Contributor

Post, Amy Kirby, 1802-1889

Date

1850-10-20

Description

Handwritten letter from Frederick Douglass to Amy Kirby Post. Douglass writes to Post about his recent anti-slavery lectures.

Subject

Post, Amy Kirby, b. 1802

Is Part Of

Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Rights

The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Identifier

863

Location

Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Transcription

(Page 1)

                             Ro Worcester. Oct. 20, 1850

My Dear Friend,
                          you are now, doubtless enjoying the
society of our little circle at our Sunday meeting
I am at the House of a member of the society of
Friends- Effingham Capron. They have gone to meeting
J.C. Hathaway has also gone- I am here alone
and in this moment of repose- I wish to breathe
a word to you- a word of friendship- a word which
I know you well enough to know, that you will be
pleased to receive. I am happy to state that my
health is good and my spirit is Right- I spoke in this
city last night at Brinley Hall before the audience
assembled at antislavery fair, held for the benefit of
the American Antislavery Society.. The audience
was large- and listened with earnest attention. The
F. Slave Bill has made a deep sensation here- and it is
universally determined that no slave shall be taken
from Worcester-. I have been to New Bedford
and Nantucket since I spoke in Faneuil
Hall. We have collected in these places- about
one hundred and thirty dollars- we are
to lecture here this Evening and hope to
do more for our imprisoned Brother. I sa
Saw Mr. Garrison yesterday,- had a long and
friendly talk with him-we said nothing about the
"Star-" but about matters and things in general
and about George Thompson in particular.

(Page 2)

George Thompson is really coming and
is now on his way he was to start from
Liverpool yesterday- on the steam ship Canada
Now Dear Amy. George Thompson must
come to Rochester- He must come this winter.
Rochester must not escape him- But
George Thompson though a member of
the British parliament is a poor man
and will need money to sustain him. He might
have been a wealthy man- his talents might have
made him so- He could have sold him self
for gold- but he has chosen to take up the cause
of the poor- to plead the cause of the humble- and
of consequence to share the poverty of the humble.
Mr. Thompson will need funds to sustain his family
in aid while he is traveling in this country and
giving the cause of the slave the benefit of his
matchless eloquence, now I want Rochester
to have a share in him- to Rochester must feel that
she is doing her part towards upholding the hands
of our beloved transatlantic Brother. I This I think
quite a suitable matter to bring before our little band
in Rochester. I know their generosity and will trust the
result. Our old-sometimes friend Charles Lenox
Remond is now really married and no mistake
he has got the prize for which he has been
running- and a noble one it is- Mr^s.. Casey
is as you have often heard me say a very
noble woman. I now know not how far she will

(Page 3)

adopt Remond's feelings towards me- but I fear
she will not feel any warmer towards the "North
Star" on account of her marriage such is life.
I have met since I came here many old and
dear Friends- some fugitives too from this
neighborhood where I formerly resided. You
would have been glad to have witnessed the cordiality of
of these meetings. Upon the whole my visit to the
East thus far has been of a very pleasant
description. The Women's [Wr] Rights Convention
is looked forward to with much interest- I wish
you could attend it. I shall be on hand if nothing
happens. I am to lecture here this Evening
and shall go to Leominster to attend
the meeting. Please write to me at
Lowell I am to be there one week from
this day- Make my warm remembrance
to Mr. Post- Mary and William Hallowell
and believe me your ever faithful
Friend.
                Frederick Douglass

Annotations

Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist and former slave, is writing from Worcester, Massachusetts to fellow activist, Amy Post. Effingham Capron and J.C. Hathaway were abolitionist leaders in Massachusetts. Douglass mentions the opposition to the Fugitive Slave Bill, which made it illegal for Northerners to house or help escaping slaves. Faneuil Hall was a meeting venue in Boston. William Lloyd Garrison was a radical abolitionist and the editor of the newspaper, the Liberator. Douglass published a newspaper, titled the North Star. George Thompson was a British abolitionist. Charles Lenox Remond was an abolitionist leader and orator. He had recently married Caroline Putnam. Nell refers to the upcoming National Woman's Rights convention, held in Worcester, Massachusetts on October 23 and 24, 1850. Mary Hallowell was Post's step-daughter. William was her husband.

Tags

Abolitionism; Women's Rights

Collection

D.93 Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Citation

Douglass, Frederick, “Douglass, Frederick. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.,” RBSCP Exhibits, accessed November 24, 2024, https://rbscpexhibits.lib.rochester.edu/items/show/3153.

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