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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.

Gibson, Tobias (fl. 1861-1865) to Sarah [Gibson] Humphreys

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04501.100 Author/Creator: Gibson, Tobias (fl. 1861-1865) Place Written: Oak Forest, [LA] Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 20 February 1871 Pagination: 3 p. ; 25 x 20.5 cm. Order a Copy

A melancholy letter discussing the difficulty of running a profitable plantation. Tobias worries over his children and his failings. He mentions the death of his wife, 20 years ago to the day. He writes of another woman he fell in love with after Louisiana died: "we were everything to each other but the nuptial ceremony . . . ." but "we do not correspond, but I hear occasionally of her."

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