Jacobs, Harriet Brent. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Title

Jacobs, Harriet Brent. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Creator

Jacobs, Harriet Brent

Contributor

Post, Amy Kirby, 1802-1889

Date

[1857]-05-18

[1857]-06-08

Description

Handwritten letter from Harriet Brent Jacobs to Amy Kirby Post. Jacobs writes about the progress she's made with her slave narrative and about her recent illness.

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

1261

Location

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

Transcription

(Page 1)

              May 18th

My Dear Friend
                               I must
send you a line to let
you know how disappoint
ed I was- and how much
you lost- we had a glo
rious time I only needed
you to fill up the measure
I saw Mrs Coleman and-
expected to see here again-
the day after the meeting
was over but when I saw
Mr Nell- on Thursday mor
ning- and made enquiry
where I could find Mrs
Coleman- he said that he
heard that she left Thurs
day morning- I was very
sorry I wanted to hear
from you- and I had

[Text written along left margin of Page 1]

I shall not do anything with the Book until

(Page 2)

some Books that I
wanted to send to Willie-
but I hope I may have
another opportunity before
long- I regret very much
not seeing you- what
I want to ask you I could
talk it over with you so
much better than I could
write it. I have thought
that I wanted some female
Friend of mine- to write
a Preface or some intro
ductory remarks for my
Book- and there is no one
whose name I would
prfer [sic] to yours- you know
me better than most of
my friends I know my
   dear friend it is a great
   deal to ask of one whose
time is so [obliterated] invaluable-
and can be so much bet

(Page 3)

       ter spent- you must
not hesitate to answer
exactly- as you feel about
it as much pleasure as
it would afford me
and as great an honor
as I would deem it
to have your name
associated with my
Book- Yet believe me
dear friend there are
many painful things
in it- that make me
shrink from asking the
sacrifice from one so
good and pure as your
self-
   June 8th My Dear friend
since writing the above
I have been quit [sic] ill-
threatened with another
attack of congestion of
the lungs- but much

(Page 4)

[Text written upside down along top margin of Page 4]

the latter part of August

slighter than the
attack that I had
a year ago- in the
midst of it all Mrs
Willis gave Birth. to a
little Boy Baby- all doing
well and I feel better
to day [sic] than since my
attack- have been up
nearly all day I expect
Lulu up to see me next
week that will cheer me
up- she is living in Brook
lyn govenss [sic] to a little
girl twelve years old-
how I wished you could
have heard Mr Douglass
and Mr Remond we saw
the latter who spoke very
kindly of you dear people
give my love to all the
dear good people whom
I wish I could see and be
lieve me sincerely HA Jacobs

Annotations

Harriet Brent Jacobs, an author and former slave, is writing to Amy Post, a close friend and benefactor. Lucy Coleman was an abolitionist and woman's rights activist. William Cooper Nell was an abolitionist and former slave. Willie was Post's youngest son. Cornelia Grinnell Willis and Nathaniel Parker Willis had paid for Jacobs's freedom from slavery and employed her for a period.

Louisa was Jacobs's daughter. Frederick Douglass was an abolitionist and former slave. Charles Lenox Remond was an American orator, abolitionist and military organizer.

Tags

Abolitionism; Personal; Spiritualism

Collection

D.93 Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Citation

Jacobs, Harriet Brent, “Jacobs, Harriet Brent. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.,” RBSCP Exhibits, accessed November 23, 2024, https://rbscpexhibits.lib.rochester.edu/items/show/3550.

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