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

1855-07-16

Description

Handwritten letter from William Cooper Nell to Amy Kirby Post. Nell writes to Post about their mutual friends.

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

1082

Location

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

Transcription

                                Boston July 16 1855
My Kind Friend
                         Amy Post
                                            Harriet Jacobs
last letter= mentioning You moved my taKing
the pen to enquire about the friends I
used to Know at 36 Sophia St
                     I hope Isaac [Aque?] has
deserted the Post and by this time he
feels enabled     to boast of its being no
great shaKes after all-
                       I need not tell You how many
times during our Boston Anniversary I
missed You= You would have found good
cheer and without cost = and it was
I think the climax of the Series –
      There was a nice collation table
spear near the Melodeon – where the
good friends would have been so glad to
meet You = when not at Francis Jacksons
Mr Garrisons or elsewhere = But it is all
over now=   and Yesterday too in
Crossing our beautiful (now more than
ever) Boston Common on my way to
Music Hall and these discovering
Theodore Parker promenading the mall

(Page 2)

gleaning inspiration which he
abundantly dispersed to his large
and intelligent audience- It was a
picture of Country life= So full and
SparKling with the gems of his characteristic
intellect= I wished You there as I
often do= when Shall that pleasure
be mine of seeing the Rochester Circle
within those walls-

   Please reciprocate the Kind expressions
forwarded me from William R. Hallowell
in letter to Mr Wallcut= I presume half
of it belongs to Mary
         How is my choice friend
Sarah = does She live now close by –
as before= remember me to Mr Willis
               Has Sarah Birney recovered
I hope so= Mary and Willie must
be sure to keep well-
     I . have heard of Josephs
additional cares = but not a word
   Yet of Jacobs marriage-
            He is not so unfortunate
as I am= why then dont the
Young Gentleman walK up.
    Time is flying= waKe up
   Jacob= and be a happy Husband

(Page 3)

Miss Tilton – a chorister at Theodore Parkers
Church a few Sundays since made Known to
me that she had been under Spiritual
influence for twelve Years= had cured diseases
v= and was about under thier [sic] guidance on a
January to Chicago = Mr Parker entered the
anteroom meanwhile and for the first time
heard the statement = You Know he is rather
sKeptical on the subject = but as I understand
now regards it more attentively -
   I. gave Miss Tilton letters to Leah as she
was to pass through New York = Do tell me
if You ever heard of her -

     Harriet Jacobs = spiritual revelations
of John and Joseph have proved correct

     How goes matters in Rochester
among the       anti Slavery [sic] Women
    Will           Miss Griffiths return soon^?^
                        -
   I learn that John Dick having
been unhandsomely dealt with by
the     Provincial Freeman   is now
Foreman in the Globe office
and prospering = I was much
disappointed not Visiting Toronto
last Fall –

(Page 4)

I have been some expecting a western
trip this autumn but may be disappointed
We are now arranging for Equal
School Rights Victory in Boston
Vacation of 5 or 6 weeks = and in September
Forward March = = I shall have
more to say on this by and bye-
                     I hear as usual from Dorcas
and Phebe= - I wonder if Phebe is doomed
to a life of Single Blessedness ? who can
answer?       She ought to follow in
Abbys footsteps = all things being equal
I Know the above has made You
Smile   perhaps   out loud = well
theres no harm in that = that I
know of- - -
                  I presume You and
Sarah have not forgot our slieghride [sic]
to Alexander St-
                     Please remember me to
the anti Slavery [sic] Circle = How often I
feel myself one among them = Sincerely
                  I remain as ever
                      Your Friend         Wm C. Nell.

[Text aligned upside down along top margin Page 4]

With the exception of Neuralogic Head
ache I am quite well

Annotations

William Cooper Nell, an abolitionist and former slave, is writing from Boston to fellow activist, Amy Post. Harriet Jacobs was the author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and was a former slave. Nell refers to the Post family home at 36 Sophia Street. Francis Jackson was an abolitionist from Boston, and affiliated with several different abolitionist groups, including the Boston Vigilance Committee. William Lloyd Garrison was a radical abolitionist and the editor of the Liberator. Theodore Parker was a Transcendentalist and a reform minister of the Unitarian Church. William R. Hallowell was Post's son-in-law married to Mary Hallowell. R.F. Wallcut published an anti-slavery pamphlet containing a speech by Reverend Bleby. Sarah was Post's sister, and Edmund P. Willis was her husband. Sarah Birney was a mutual friend of Nell and Post's. Willie was Post's youngest son and Mary took care of him as a child. Jacob and Joseph are older Post's sons. Elizabeth Tilton was Theodore Tilton's wife. He was co-editor of The Independent, a New York abolitionist newspaper. Nell refers to the Spiritualist movement, begun by Leah, Margaret and Catherine Fox. Its followers believed that through mediums they could communicate with the dead. Julia Griffiths financially supported the North Star, the newspaper published by abolitionist and former slave, Frederick Douglass. John Dick worked as Douglass’s printer. The school rights movement compelled the Boston public school system to provide support to schools that educated black children. Phebe and Abby Thayer were relatives of the Post family.

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/3372.

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