Nell, William Cooper. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Title

Nell, William Cooper. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Creator

Nell, William Cooper

Contributor

Post, Amy Kirby, 1802-1889

Date

1853-12-10

Description

Handwritten letter from William Cooper Nell to Amy Post. Nell writes to Post about tensions between himself and Frederick Douglass.

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

1002

Location

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

Transcription

(Page 1)

Saturday Eve. 7. O.clock = and a beautiful
Moonlight to wind up a most enchanting
           Sunlight day-

                     Boston Dec 10. 1853
My Valued Friend    Amy   Post.
                        Here I set [sic] in the
anti slavery [sic] office = alternating between
matters          connected with the public
and a little stolen devotion to personal
correspondence V= I. have Just replied to
a friendly letter from W.J. Watkins who is
expected here Christmas Week-
         F.D. is indefatigable in his abuse and
misrepresentation of me= two direct -
falsehoods =and which I am determined not
to submit to with impunity = I have sought
no quarrel with him =    nor will I now
do more than act on the defensive
He forgets that in this controversy
there are blows to taKe as well as blows
to give =   but wait a wee bit
      Its a long lane that has no turn -
      there is some consolation in the fact.
that =      I am placed by him in most
excellent company =       but enough of this!
    I want to asK You to forward me at
early convenience F.D. paper of this week
   Jacob Can do it up= and direct it -
to ensure delivery it must be prepaid-

(Page 2)

[Two lines of text written written along top margin of Page 2 and continues onto top margin of Page 3]

   Sunday Eve 11. oclocK= Just returned from a visit to the Howards in Poplar St= They expected by my agency- Spiritual manifestations
                                         they are quite interested in the matter =there is much intelligence among the number and they are accessible
                                                                  the truth

It was a great disappointment to me
not being able to maKe a Second Call
at Leah Fishs = = I was also sorry to
have lost the visit to Harriet and
Louisa Jacobs = but as I could not return
in time for the Saturday Boston Boat
I was obliged to abandon it then
hoping to be in New YorK City within
a few weeKs and gratify myself with
Calling at both places =    I am thinKing
more and more of giving my Spiritual
experience and observation to the public
especially after hearing Judge Edmonds
and        having a Conversation Just now
at Bela Marshs    with John M. Spear
   for this and another reason I am
   very anxious for an interview at
    Leah Fishs = and I shall arrange
    matters accordingly = I have not her
  address = will You please give me it -
    I wish to Know = whether it is Mrs Brown
    or Fish = and the number-
              I. felt. that Some good Spirit
    arranged my crossing the Park Just as
    I did ( having left a friend somewhat
      abruptly = and ever changing my usual
    path of entering the ParK )= to meet
     Joseph = and He did appear so
     glad to see me = and You Know I was

(Page 3)

delighted to meet him it brought up
So many 36 Sophia Street reminiscences
   How I    wished that Jacob was
with him =- I. have lately dreamed of
Sarah L. Hallowell. And Sarah Birney-
Wish I could see them both
   I now anticipate going to Cleveland
in May = when should I do so 24 hours
I must Spend in Rochester =-
   I. have enjoyed remarKable good
health (for me) lately = but have now a Cold
to day [sic]raised a little blood = but have
procured Cod Liver Oil & Lime = quite a
Panacea I’ll assure You-
             I was delighted to see You
looKing so well = in New York = How I
did wish for a whole days free talK
     I met Gerritt Smith at the antislavery [sic]
office = He asked me about the trouble
between my friend || Douglass and myself
   I briefly remarKed upon it = that there
was no occasion for his (D.) coming
down upon me in Battle axe stile [sic]-
                         -
Mr Garrison has Just returned from
a visit to Mrs Stowe (invited by her )
among other items I have gleaned = this
   She is to Send Some of her presents from
    abroad to the Bazaar = = these will attract much

[Text written horizontally along right margin of Page 3]

attention She is also soon to have an interview with [Deb?] W. Weston

(Page 4)

She mentioned having been applied to by
F.D. for money for a Press V=
                                   12.o.ClocK at Night
In my Bachelors Sanctum = trying my
Cylinder Stove - = I believe I saw Wm C. Hallowells
name to a Call a notice of F.D. Fair -
I may have been mistaken = the paper is not by
me. = How does he and Mary = Edmund &
Sarah all well I hope -= Have You a Box
in readiness for the Boston Bazaar?
   How does Lewis & Sarah Burtis ? Elias &
Rhoda De Garmo. = Asa & Huldah Anthony?
I have Just been telling WatKins that my
removal to Western New YorK gave me the acquaintance
of those = whose value far transcends the losses
of a change of residence = far more than an
offset to the hard blows that Destiny inflicted
upon me, while a sojourner there
When I reflect upon the transformations
in F.D. since I first united with him
at Rochester. I can scarcely credit my own
identity = where will he stop?
Please favor me with an early
acKnowledgement of this = distribute my
love to all at home and elsewhere
who may ever thinK of me -
Louisa is somewhat indisposed but is living very
happily now = Her Husband is continually adding
some new article of use or fancy to thier [sic] furniture -
Little Ira is well and active.     I shall write to Benjamin
by this Mail=                            wish Mary Ann & Willie
   Love to Isaac = Merry Christmas   I am Ever yours
                                                                                 Wm C. Nell

Annotations

William Cooper Nell, an abolitionist and former slave, is writing from Boston to fellow activist, Amy Post. W.J. Watkins worked with abolitionist and former slave, Frederick Douglass. Nell refers to the recent split in the anti-slavery movement between Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. Douglass no longer believed that the United States Constitution was pro-slavery- unlike Garrison- he believed it was anti-slavery. Jacob was one of Post's sons. Nell refers to the Spiritualist movement. Followers believed that through mediums they could communicate with the dead. Leah Fox Fish was the older sister of Margaret and Catherine Fox. The Fox sisters began the Spiritualist movement in the late 1840s in Rochester.

Harriet Jacobs was an author and former slave. She wrote the book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Louisa was Jacobs's daughter. Judge Edmonds was an influential Spiritualist leader and a benefactor of the Fox sisters. Bela Marsh was also a Spiritualist and an abolitionist book publisher. John M. Spear was a Universalist minister, who believed in Spiritualism. Joseph was another of Post's sons. Nell refers to the Post family home at 36 Sophia Street in Rochester. Sarah L. Hallowell was Post’s sister and helped to plan the 1848 Woman’s Rights Convention in Rochester. Sarah Birney was also a woman's rights activist. Gerrit Smith, a fellow abolitionist, supported Douglass and his new argument that the Constitution was an inherently anti-slavery document.

Harriet Beecher Stowe was an abolitionist and author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Deborah Weston was an abolitionist. Nell mentions Post's step-daughter Mary, and her husband William R. Hallowell. Edmund was Post's brother-in-law. Lewis and Sarah Burtis were cousins of woman's rights activist, Susan B. Anthony. Elias and Rhoda De Garmo were members of the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society. Asa and Huldah Anthony were cousins of Susan B. Anthony and mutual friends of the Posts and Nell.

Nell refers to his sister, Lousia Nell Gray and her husband, Ira and their son Ira. Benjamin may refer to another of Nell's brothers-in-law. Willie was the Post's youngest son, and Mary took care of him as a child.

Tags

Abolitionism; Personal; Spiritualism

Collection

D.93 Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Citation

Nell, William Cooper, “Nell, William Cooper. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.,” RBSCP Exhibits, accessed November 23, 2024, https://rbscpexhibits.lib.rochester.edu/items/show/3292.

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