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.

Hale, Aurelia (ca. b. 1798) to Horatio Hale

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC08934.019 Author/Creator: Hale, Aurelia (ca. b. 1798) Place Written: Augusta, GA Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 05 May 1826 Pagination: 4 p. : address : 21 x 25.5 cm. Order a Copy

This letter to her brother may have gotten wet at some point, because much of the text is blurred and difficult to read. She mentions concerns about "negroes" several times during the letter, saying that an area which she traveled to (the name is obscured by water damage) had a very different culture than Savannah and Augusta. She describes many of the people wearing little or no clothing, and compares the fervor with which residents hunt runaway slaves to fox hunting, also saying that it is a "common amusement." She also mentions is being unsafe to travel late in the evening "on account of the negroes."

Aurelia Hale was born in Glastonbury, in Hartford, Connecticut sometime before 20 December 1798.

Hale, Aurelia, 1798-?
Hale, Sarah, 1801-?

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