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.

McSherry, Anna (b. 1833) to Henry F. McSherry

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03523.21.58 Author/Creator: McSherry, Anna (b. 1833) Place Written: Martinsburg, West Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 4 June 1866 Pagination: 3 p. ; 18.7 x 12.4 cm. Order a Copy

Written by Anna to her brother Henry. Is upset that he does not write more often. Says "I have no one else but you to look to. Pa often tells me he is old and is not able to work as he once did, and cannot live much longer." Goes on to say "you know we we are not well off and tho' I have tried to keep things comfortable as I could on small means we have had to live very, very plainly." Says their father is practicing medicine less because he is pushed aside by the younger members of the profession. Claims their father has 7,000 dollars in government bonds, but that he won't cash them or buy land with them out of fear of being taxed. Says she did not want him to leave the navy and live with them in Martinsburg. Goes on to praise his talents.

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