2-833-042 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

A letter written by abolitionists John Brown and Frederick Douglass from Rochester, New York, on January 30, 1858, to Brown's wife and children. Brown writes of missing his wife and children very much, but of not being able to visit them. He also asks his daughter Ruth about her husband, Henry Thompson, becoming involved in Brown's "school," coded language for Brown's militant abolitionist dealings. He further speaks of recruiting his sons for his work and requests that the family write to him under the name "N. Hawkins: Care of Fred'k Douglas [sic] Esq'r Rochester N[.] Y." Douglass speaks of his friendship with the Brown family and invites any of them to his home, where John Brown is staying, signing as "Fred. Douglass."