Our Collection

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.

Jackson, Henry (1747-1809) to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.03250 Author/Creator: Jackson, Henry (1747-1809) Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 12 March 1786 Pagination: 4 p. : docket ; 22.8 x 18 cm. Order a Copy

Writes a friendly letter in which he presents news on a variety of subjects. First, mentions that he applied to Judge Wendell for certificates that they had been discussing. He has so far been unsuccessful but will try again. John Hancock is feeling better and will soon depart [likely for New York]. General [Benjamin] Lincoln and another friend [possibly Thomas Russell] have purchased two townships and Lincoln is very pleased with them. Mentions that the Ohio Company were mentioned in the newspaper and that he apparently intends to invest with them. Comments that the General Court has laid a tax on the Waldo Estate. Mentions a "caning match" that recently happened when Mr. Winslow Warren attacked an apparently defenseless Mr. John Codman with his cane. Codman is very bruised and everyone has condemned Warren's behavior. Asks that if Mr. Hutchins, the present Surveyor General, quits his post, "their old friend General [Rufus] Putnam" would like to be appointed. Putnam has already prepared to survey the Waldo Patent when the weather permits. Several of their friends will soon be getting married, and all Knox's friends in Boston send their love to him and his wife and family.

Jackson, Henry, 1747-1809
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Hancock, John, 1737-1797
Lincoln, Benjamin, 1733-1810
Putnam, Rufus, 1738-1824

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