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.

Williams, Jonathan (1750-1815) to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.05939 Author/Creator: Williams, Jonathan (1750-1815) Place Written: Mount Pleasant, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 5 October 1793 Pagination: 2 p. : address ; 25 x 19.2 cm. Order a Copy

Reports that he just came from Knox's house in Philadelphia and that everything is well. Says the servants are prudent for locking the gate to prevent anyone "from coming unawares." Says "I think you may be perfectly easy as to danger, the malady is a contagious one, not communicable at a distance." Claims the city is still in distress though. Believes it will only get better with a snowstorm or frost. Says medical aid is only effective "where the disease is not confirmed, and where the natural powers of the body are able to support it." "Free" stamped on address leaf with no signature. "Yellow Fever of 1793 at Philad" noted on address leaf in pencil.

Williams, Jonathan, 1750-1815
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

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