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.

Pearce, Eben to Sister

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00066.032 Author/Creator: Pearce, Eben Place Written: Memphis, Tennessee Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 5 August 1863 Pagination: 4 p. : envelope ; 20.4 x 12.6 cm. Order a Copy

Writes to his sister, likely Selina, about registering Black people in town as free, enslaved or as employed by White people.

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