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

186 ?

Description

Handwritten letter from Harriet Brent Jacobs to Amy Kirby Post. Jacobs writes of her travel plans to Washington, D.C.

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

1263

Location

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

Transcription

(Page 1)

         Idlewild
                        Dec 8th
My Dear Friend-
            I found your most
welcome letter on my re
turn to Boston- it was
like looking into the face
of a dear old friend when
the seal was broken- how
much I should like to drop
in upon you- but I must not
write you all that I am
trying to plan- if ever
I craved more than one
pair of hands & money
it is now not for myself
my friend but to assist
those that are so much
worse of [sic] than myself-
I expect to go to Washing
ton this winter next month
to remain through the win

[text written along left margin of Page 1]

do all they can for ^the^ poor Slave Gratfully [sic]
&
Lovingly
Your
Harriet

(Page 2)

ter- my health is better
than it has been for years
the good God has spared
me for this work the last
six months has been the
happiest of all my life.
sometimes my sky is darken
ed but my faith in the
omnipotent is strong- our
prayers & tears have gone
up as a memorial of our
wrongs before him who
created us- and who will
judge us- Man may
desire to stand still but
an arm they cannot repel
is leading them on they
may stop to worship the
Idol that that is making
desolate their hearthstones
a just God is settleing [sic] the ac
count it is fearful to think
what Man will Suffer

(Page 3)

before he is willing to
do justice to his fellow
man- I have often read
the sentence- they are Gods
poor I have learned its
comprehensions-
I must tell you some
news my Brother is mar
ried I will tell you all
about it when we meet
the Blockade ran him in
to New York he was here
three days he refused to go
into Charleston & reported the
Ship was obliged to return
directly back to England I
hope to see him when we
have a free Country I would
rather he had married here
but he must be the judge
of his own happiness-
give a great deal of love
to Willie tell him I expect
to find [him?] quit [sic] a gal
lant- in the little wee Boy
that called me his Dah-
remember me kindly to Mr
Post tell him I pray
to live life has just begun
and I pray God to spare
all the dear good people
like himself that have labor
ed so faithfully- to see
the fruit of their labor ga
thered in-
let me my dear friend
ask of you a kindness a
friend of mine Mrs Louisa
De Martie expects to be in
Rochester in a few days Miss
De Martie will give readings
in behalf of the Contrabands-
she has talent is a worthy
superior woman- anything
you can do to help sereve [sic] her
will be most gratfully [sic] remem
bered- I know you will be
glad to help the cause- re
member me to all my kind
friends tell them I am coming

Annotations

Harriet Brent Jacobs, an author and former slave, is writing from Cornwall, New York to Amy Post, a close friend and benefactor. At the time she wrote this letter, Jacobs was living in the home- Idlewild- of her employer, Cornelia Grinnell Willis and Nathaniel Parker Willis. The Willises had paid for Jacobs's freedom from slavery.

Willie was Post's youngest son.

Jacobs asks that the Posts allow her friend Louisa De Mortie to stay with them while lecturing in Rochester. De Mortie was born into a free black family in Virginia and became an orator and author acclaimed for her powerful voice.

Tags

Enslaved people; Personal

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/3552.

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