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From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Description
Edward Fitch of Lawrence, Kansas writes a letter to his father in Massachusetts on January 20, 1856. He criticizes the Know Nothing Party, arguing that the people of Massachusetts would be more adamant abolitionists if they witnessed the effects of slavery. He contends that, “the great question of Slavery is to be the question before the country.” He includes a copy of a statement that James Henry Lane wrote on January 4, 1856, declaring his intention to present to the United States the new Constitution adopted by the state of Kansas at the Topeka Convention.
Date
January 20, 1856
From Edward Fitch to Dear Friends at Home
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Friends at Home
Description
Edward Fitch writes a July 26, 1855 letter from aboard a steamboat on Lake Erie. He tells friends in his hometown of Hopkinton, Massachusetts that he is en route from Boston to Osawatomie, Kansas. He describes the other members of his travelling party, a group of nineteen emigrants he is taking to Kansas for the New England Emigrant Aid Company.
Object Type
Letter
Date
July 26, 1855
From Edward Fitch to Dear Mother
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Mother
Description
Edward Fitch writes a letter to his mother in August or September of 1854, just before leaving his home in Hopkinton, Massachusetts to move to Kansas. He says that he met a man who, upon finding out that Fitch was emigrating to Kansas, told him that he “ought to have a straight Jacket On.” He also discusses his finances and purchasing supplies for his trip.
From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Title
From Edward Fitch to Dear Father
Description
In a May 26, 1856 letter to his father in Massachusetts, Edward Fitch describes the Sack of Lawrence that had occurred six days earlier on May 21, 1856. He mentions that Governor Shannon has called for protection “for fear we should rise up and exterminate him and the Pro-Slavery party.” He expresses his own fear that the Free State Party will be defeated and that Kansas will become a slave state. He also fears for his personal safety, saying he "shall not dare to stay at my cabin without a rifle or gun at my bedside." He adds that he hopes John C. Fremont will win the upcoming presidential election.
Date
May 26, 1856