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unknown, fl. 1859; to Mother

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00226 Author/Creator: unknown, fl. 1859; Place Written: Alexandria, Virginia Type: Autograph letter Date: 8 October 1859 Pagination: 2 p. ; 24.5 x 19.5 cm. Order a Copy

One letter from an enslaved man to his mother dated Alexandria, Va., October 8, 1859. Pertains to visiting with his friends at the Widow Bailys' in Faquier [Fauquier County], Virginia. Mentions meeting a young woman that he would like to marry and that he hopes the man who enslaved him will purchase her in order to have a "Virginia wife." Instructs his mother to direct further correspondence to Portland, Alabama, and writes, "We have bought all our servants."

Smith, R.W., fl. 1859
Baily, fl. 1859

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