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

1855-08-12

Description

Handwritten letter from William Cooper Nell to Amy Kirby Post. Nell writes to Post about recent anti-slavery events in Boston.

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

1086

Location

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

Transcription

(Page 1)

[Two lines of text aligned upside down along top margin of Page 1]

I heard that John Dick was Foreman
in the Globe office and doing well.

   Liberty Grove = Greenwood Station
                              South Reading          Mass
Sunday Morning 9 O.clock              August 12. 1855

Esteemed Friend    =   My Second Sunday
vacation from Music Hall has enabled my attendance
here today from whence a party will proceed to
Reading 3 miles distant = to dedicate Liberty Hall
as did as was the Grove here two weeks since to
the Cause of Humanity = Garrison Phillips and
J.N. Buffum will come up from Lynn
Charles Remond and a delegation also from
Salem=   Wm W. Brown and Youngest
Daughter Josephine came out with me-
                                    Monday morning 9 oclock
Here I am at the Anti Slavery [sic] office 21 Cornhill
Wm W Brown and Daughter gone up town
( Rev A. T. Foss Just returned from an
antislavery [sic] tour ) =I will endeavor to
resume my letter= From South Reading
we rode three miles to Reading Centre
where under auspices of Ira Gray (not my
Brother in Law=) the new Hall had been
finished and a beautiful place indeed
we found it = Every association had
combined to render the meeting
interesting and impressive –

(Page 2)

[One line of text written upside down along top margin Page 2]

No recent news from Jeremiah.

The weather most delightful = audiences large
and intelligent and enthusiastic = Garrison
Phillips and Remond in No 1 Condition
Friends hospitable and Fraternal-
Remond had 7. with him including 2 Visitors from Philadelp [sic]
Reading was the first place that furnished Mr Garrison
with Credentials on his first mission to England
Remond =also stated that it was where he delivered his
first antislavery lecture-
I very much desired My Rochester Circle present
I came near not mentioning that two of the
Hutchinson Brothers and thier [sic] wives were also
present = thier [sic] Songs of freedom I need not
tell You were very inspiring-
                           =
           Harriet Jacobs has recently heard direct
from her Brother and Son at Paramatta near
Sydney Australia = = Louisa is now I believed
at New Bedford-    So the Spirits have
testified     truly   about them-
                        -
           The Woman Jane Johnson for
whom Passmore Williamson has
been imprisoned = I had the pleasure
of escorting from the Depot in Boston
recently on her destination = She
is a Woman who can taKe care
of herself=   there are Some others
   here attending upon Southern Women

[Text aligned along bottom of left margin Page 2]

[obliterated] news from testimony

(Page 3)

as Yet I can report nothing definite of thier [sic]
intelligent aspirations for Freedom-

               Mrs Knox tenders her love and
Kind remembrances to her Friends
in Rochester.
                         One week Yesterday I
spent a happy time at Salem
      Mrs Remond wished me to
tell You that She had the pleasure
of having most of the Rochester
   Goods on her table at the Bazaar
last December = and that they sold
very readily especially Night Caps
Childrens    Aprons V= and She
    hopes for    more of the Same
               Sort=    a hint to the wise
is sufficient-
                       I meant to have told
You that Horace Greely took charge
of Josephine Brown = from Liverpool
   to New York= = I met her at the
Depot 5 oclock Thursday morning
She is quite tall = accomplished and
well appearing     Her Father seems
remarkably devoted and She as
cordially reciprocates –
Mrs Webb (BlacK siddons) is now under
patronage of Mrs Stowe and other friends

[Text aligned vertically along left margin of Page 3]

next Sunday I may attend the Haverhill
                                 antislavery [sic] meeting-

(Page 4)

Spending the summer at Andover attended
to the City by Mrs Stowe or Daughters and
is practising [sic] with Teachers in Boston
for Dramatic excellence = Mrs Stowe
has recently been specially bountiful to
Sojourner Truth causing the old
womans heart to feel happy and
free-
                  Very Glad with Your
Chapter of Rochester News = it is
So pleasant to hear from my good
friends there all of them

Isaac is getting well. thats
good, tell him to shaKe off
the SicKness= and be himself
again-
             I hope^Trust^ Sarah Birney:= hopes
will all be realised by renewing the
scenes of her Youth = I would liKe to
See her = once more before She Sails
   Does She intend returning
Divide my best wishes among
the Circle which you can do without
my naming and believe me Truly [obliterated] Yours
                                                      Wm C. Nell

Annotations

William Cooper Nell, an abolitionist and former slave, is writing from South Reading, Massachusetts to fellow activist, Amy Post. John Dick worked as a printer for the North Star- the newspaper that abolitionist and former slave, Frederick Douglass published. The Globe refers to an abolitionist newspaper. William Lloyd Garrison was a radical abolitionist and the editor of the Liberator. Wendell Phillips was an abolitionist, Native American advocate and a lawyer. J.N. Buffum was a member of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. Charles Lenox Remond was an orator and an abolitionist. William W. Brown was an African American abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright and historian. After escaping from slavery in 1834, he published the first novel written by an African American, title Clotel.

Nell refers to Jeremiah Sanderson, a free black man, who had recently moved to California to explore business opportunities. The Hutchinson Family Singers used music to promote the abolitionist cause and other reform movements. Harriet Jacobs was the author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and a former slave. Louisa was her daughter. Abolitionists rescued the slave, Jane Johnson and her children, when their master brought them to Philadelphia. Their master brought his case to court, and the case became known as the “Philadelphia Slave Case”. Passmore Williamson was the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society and served several months in jail for being in contempt of court. Horace Greeley was a newspaper editor, who founded the New York Tribune and became a leader of the Republican Party. Josephine Brown was William Wells Brown’s youngest child, who attended school in France, and returned in 1855 to write a biography of her father. Mrs. Webb was a member of the theatrical group, the Black Siddons, who performed Uncle Tom's Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Sojourner Truth was a former slave, who after escaping from slavery became an abolitionist and woman's rights leader. Sarah Birney was a mutual friend of Nell and Post.

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/3376.

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