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

1854-11-21

Description

Handwritten letter from William Cooper Nell to Amy Kirby Post. Nell writes to Post about their mutual friends in the anti-slavery movement.

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

1047

Location

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

Transcription

(Page 1)

Kind friend              Boston Nov 21. 1854
            Amy Post
                            Thy excellent letter is now
before me = also one from P.R.T. of Waterloo
another from J.H.P.   Australia = a note
from Dr Smith of New YorK =- This evening I
remained at the anti slavery [sic] office until near
9. writing = then intending to call upon Louisa
and some other friends =   but they had gone
out and though I would have been a welcome
Visiter [sic] elsewhere I turned my Bachelor steps
homeward and here I am = in the setting room
while the family are enjoying a Sociable Chat
I am talKing to You with my pen.
    I was      unprepared for the news of Sarah
Birneys indisposition = hope by this time she is more
hopeful ^cer tain^ [sic] of recovery == She cannot be in better
quarters than 36 Sophia St with Amy Post for
a Nurse = Jacob too Is an excellent auxiliary in
all such emergencies. = Dont I Know = and shall
I ever forget? Tell Sarah to be hopeful and patient
anti slavery office }     I am exceedingly sorry that Wm R.
6 P M Wednesday }
Hallowell did not secure Mr Phillips for an anti-
slavery lecture at Rochester = had he been a little
sooner Syracuse would have deferred until another
time = I done what I could and Mr Phillips was
in the   mood for it. but in maKing out his Programme                                                                                 (Page 2)

Could not fill out = for Rochester or other places
without assurance the Committees ^Individuals^ in each locality-
refer ^This^ disappointment leads ^reminds^ me of further lament
the Success which seems to attend the managers
of the Rochester Anti Slavery Course =V= not that
I would wish to prevent it from doing what
good it may    but that Such victories should
perch upon   such banners is hard to be
endured. - I presume the Old Standard
bearers are entirely cut off from Social
intercourse with ParKer. Emerson Giddings
V=    when they visit      Rochester =and the
Usurping party appropriate to themselves
more certainly than belongs to them
I. had been led to expect that
Henry Ward Beecher felt mis used [sic] and Yet
behold = his promise not only to lecture V-
but volunteers the proceeds to the New
Organization and to F.D.s paper well
well. how art =- what magic and
potency Seems embodied in J.. G. = I sit not
a Shame that She should thus remain
so successful = when the resources of genuine
anti slavery [sic] in Rochester would be formidable
if roused up by a gallant spirit and
marshalled [sic] (not against the good but)
put forth by others but) in righteous and
consistent defence of themselves and thier [sic] position

(Page 3)

Phebe Thayer confirms the good news in Your letter
of the Sewing Circle progress V= I was delighted
and wish I was one among You in person
as I am happy to be in spirit = how
refreshing is the retrospect of Minerva Hall
Fair V= before Rochester affairs were
   Griffithised- = Before I forget it let me
tell You that Mr Garrison says “Yes let the
Book come with the Bazaar Box”= he had a
grand time at Rochester = He awards a fine
tribute to the executiveness of Susan Anthony
    Calling last Sunday Evening to see Mr
Phillips on some legislative anti slavery [sic] matters
I was met by Mr Garrison and his wife whose
invitation to tea I accepted and I enjoyed
a cosey [sic] hour in his happy family circle
He played and sung old psalm tunes
the Children put in thier [sic] sweet voices =
a little heaven on earth = his house
is but a stones throw from Francis Jackson -
situated liKe Fitzhugh & Sophia St. but nearer
I believe they can speaK from house to house
Joe Putman = writes me = “what would
the anti slavery [sic] cause be without the
Liberator and what would the Liberator
be without Mr Garrison” thats the way to
Say it   thems my Sentiments -
By the Bye are you coming to Boston with the Box
Yes?         Well I am very glad to hear You say so.

[Text aligned vertically along left margin of Page 3]

J.H.P. has not heard of or seen J.S. Jacobs in Australia -

(Page 4)

Mrs Knox at last accounts was a guest of Dr Willis
in Toronto = I see her Husband nearly every day
he by the bye = is a sceptic [sic] in Spiritual manifestation
and sometimes counteracts the operations -
I was very much interested with Judge Edmonds
lecture here = he had a large and intelligent
audience        among them Josiah Quincy Jr and
Lady = The Judge severely criticised the
Free Love notions disclaiming it ^^as^ a legitimate
feature of Spiritualism = the Spiritual Fair
was held the evening previous = I attended
hoping to meet Catherine Fish = but She
was Non Et inventus = I had a chat
with Eliza & Mary Kenny = = The former has
been inactive this Season in her usual
anti slavery [sic] efforts in Salem = much to the
grief of the Society = She told me that
She considered antislavery [sic] included in her
Spiritualism V=
                    I hope Frank will show
herself at the Sewing Circles = perhaps
Phebe (Sentimental) Treadwell will Join her. in
the        When Mr Kedzie has stopped his Liberator
perhaps John E. Robinson will resume.
By the Bye    Watkins was in Providence
recently and was expected here but
has gone elsewhere = Is he assisting at
the office now -= But then I need not
             have asked You- for these days are not liKe
                                             the past-

Annotations

William Cooper Nell, an abolitionist and former slave, is writing from Boston to fellow activist, Amy Post. Nell refers to Joseph H. Putnam, an abolitionist, who was married to Caroline- sister of Charles Lenox Remond, an abolitionist leader. James McCune Smith was the first African American physician. Louisa was one of Nell's sisters. Sarah Birney was a mutual friend and an abolitionist. Nell refers to the Post family home at 36 Sophia Street. Jacob was one of Post's sons. William R. Hallowell was Post's son-in-law. Wendell Phillips was an abolitionist, Native American advocate and lawyer. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a Transcendentalist and an abolitionist. Joshua Reed Giddings was an abolitionist. Henry Ward Beecher was a Congregationalist minister and a social reformer. F.D. refers to abolitionist and former slave, Frederick Douglass and his newspaper, the North Star. Phebe Thayer was a relative of the Post family. Nell refers to Julia Griffith, who helped to finance Douglass's newspaper. William Lloyd Garrison was a radical abolitionist and the editor of the newspaper, the Liberator. Susan B. Anthony was a woman's rights leader. Parker Pillsbury was a Minister and an activist leader. Francis Jackson was an abolitionist from Boston, who was affiliated with several different anti-slavery associations, including the Boston Vigilance Committee. John S. Jacobs was author and former slave, Harriet Brent Jacobs's brother.

Nell refers to the Spiritualist movement, whose followers believed that through mediums they could communicate with the dead. A. S. Knox was a trance speaker in the Spiritualist movement. Judge John Worth Edmonds was one of the most influential early American Spiritualists, and a New York State politician. Josiah Quincy Jr. was the Mayor of Boston. Free Love challenged the conventions of matrimony and monogamy. Catherine Fox Fish was one of the founders of Spiritualism, along with her sister Margaret Fox. "Non Et inventus" derived from the Latin for "not present". John Hume Kedzie was a lawyer and a politician, who served in the Illinois House of Representatives. Francis was one of Nell's sisters. William J. Watkins worked with Douglass.

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/3337.

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