Douglass, Frederick (1818-1895) to May Delany
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05906 Author/Creator: Douglass, Frederick (1818-1895) Place Written: Port au Prince, Haiti Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 8 June 1890 Pagination: 4 p. ; 20.2 x 25.3 cm. Order a Copy
To "the daughter of the daughter of my friend who sheltered me forty and five years ago, when I was a man without a country, a stranger and or sojourner, with little money and few friends, shall now have my autograph. No effort of memory is required to recall the welcome visit of yourself and your precious mother at that dingy hotel overlooking the Thames...." Hopes to meet up with Delany later in the summer, if she passes through Washington D.C. (Douglass had a home in D.C. called "Cedar Hill"). Writes, "I have grown somewhat old in this fierce tropical climate but I am still quite wide awake and cheerful." Recalls other people and events. Written on Cedar Hill, Anacostia, D.C. stationery. "Cedar Hill, Anacostia, D.C." has been struck, with Port au Prince written in.
The "friend who sheltered me forty and five years ago" may have been Robert Neill of Belfast, a prominent merchant and ardent abolitionist. Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison had stayed at Neill's home during their 1845 speaking tour in ireland.
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