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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Russel, J. (n.d.) to Thomas Perkins

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01450.448.02 Author/Creator: Russel, J. (n.d.) Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: no date Pagination: 2 p. : address ; 20.3 x 25 cm. Order a Copy

States that General Lafayette would like to see Perkins "after divine service this afternoon." Hopes that Perkins can persuade General Elliot to be there as well, since Lafayette would like to see him as well. Says Lafayette must be back in Boston by the evening. The letter is addressed to Perkins in "Brooklyn," which reffers to Brookline, Massachusetts, where Perkins lived. Possibly written in 1825 when Lafayette visited Boston to help dedicate the Bunker Hill Monument, which Perkins contributed extensively towards.

Thomas Perkins was a wealthy bussinessman and Massachusetts state senator. He was also Simon Elliot's brother-in-law. In 1796 in Paris he met Lafayette's wife, and agreed to smuggle her son, George Washington Lafayette, out of France. He brought the boy to America to live with his godfather George Washington.
Simon Elliot was a Major General in the Massachusetts Militia.

Perkins, Thomas Handasyd, 1764-1854
Russel, J., fl. 1825
Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, marquis de, 1757-1834

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