Collections >> True and Candid Compositions >>
Primary document
Title: Letter from Richard H. Lewis to Exum Lewis II,
March 5, 1825: Electronic Edition.
Author: Lewis, Richard Henry, 1806-1857
Editor: Erika Lindemann
Funding from the State Library of North Carolina supported the
electronic publication of this title.
Text transcribed by
Erika Lindemann
Images scanned by
Mara E. Dabrishus
Text encoded by
Brian Dietz
First Edition,
2005
Size of electronic edition: ca. 18K
Publisher: The University Library, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
2005
© This work is the property of the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and
personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the
text
The electronic edition is a part of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill digital library, Documenting the American
South.
Languages used in the text:
English
Revision history:
2005-05-12, Brian Dietz finished TEI/XML encoding.
Part of a series:
This transcribed document is part of a digital collection, titled True and Candid Compositions: The Lives and Writings of Antebellum Students in North Carolina
written by Lindemann, Erika
This transcribed document is part of a digital collection, titled True and Candid Compositions: The Lives and Writings of Antebellum Students in North Carolina
written by Lindemann, Erika
Source(s):
Title of collection: John Francis Speight Papers (#3914), Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Title of document: Letter from Richard H. Lewis to Exum Lewis II,
March 5, 1825
Author: Richard H. Lewis
Description: 2 pages, 3 page images
Note:
Call number 3914 (Southern Historical
Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill)
Topics covered:
Agriculture
Examples of Student Writing/Letters
Travel and Entertainment/Celebrations and Holidays
War/Other Wars
Agriculture
Examples of Student Writing/Letters
Travel and Entertainment/Celebrations and Holidays
War/Other Wars
Editorial practices
The text has been encoded using the recommendations for Level 5 of the TEI in Libraries Guidelines.
Transcript of the personal correspondence. Originals are in the Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Original grammar, punctuation, and spelling have been preserved.
DocSouth staff created a 600 dpi uncompressed TIFF file for each image. The TIFF images were then saved as JPEG images at 100 dpi for web access.
Page images can be viewed and compared in parallel with the text.
Any hyphens occurring in line breaks have been removed, and the trailing part of a word has been joined to the preceding line.
Letters, words and passages marked as deleted or added in originals have been encoded accordingly.
All quotation marks, em dashes and ampersand have been transcribed as entity references.
All double right and left quotation marks are encoded as ".
All single right and left quotation marks are encoded as '.
All em dashes are encoded as —.
Indentation in lines has not been preserved.
For more information about transcription and other editorial decisions, see Dr. Erika Lindemann's explanation under the section Editorial Practices.
The text has been encoded using the recommendations for Level 5 of the TEI in Libraries Guidelines.
Transcript of the personal correspondence. Originals are in the Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Original grammar, punctuation, and spelling have been preserved.
DocSouth staff created a 600 dpi uncompressed TIFF file for each image. The TIFF images were then saved as JPEG images at 100 dpi for web access.
Page images can be viewed and compared in parallel with the text.
Any hyphens occurring in line breaks have been removed, and the trailing part of a word has been joined to the preceding line.
Letters, words and passages marked as deleted or added in originals have been encoded accordingly.
All quotation marks, em dashes and ampersand have been transcribed as entity references.
All double right and left quotation marks are encoded as ".
All single right and left quotation marks are encoded as '.
All em dashes are encoded as —.
Indentation in lines has not been preserved.
For more information about transcription and other editorial decisions, see Dr. Erika Lindemann's explanation under the section Editorial Practices.
Document Summary
Lewis tells his father about visiting Raleigh, NC, where he shook
hands with Gen. Lafayette, and he hopes that his father's school and crops are
flourishing.
Page 1
Chapel
Hill
NoCa
Saturday March 5th 1825
Dear Father
Your kind and affectionate letter of the 27th of Jany has been thankfully received, and I am almost ashamed that I
have not answered it sooner; but it is my sincere wish not to be found so
dilatory again in performing a duty which [I] owe to my parents, and which, of
all others, ought not to be neglected.
The Faculty dismissed college from last tuesday morning until to
morrow morning, (which is sunday) that the students might go down to
Raleigh to
see the "Nation's Guest
Genl La Fayette
". The students
were so anxious to go that some of them walked in the rain, and others rode in
waggons. I went down in a waggon and have this morning returned, well pleased
with my visit. The students were introduced to the "old Genl
," and
highly gratified was I to have the pleasure of shaking hands with
that man whose virtues and military talents in
defence of "our rights" in the
revolutionary struggle (if I may be allowed the expression)
will, next to those of "Washington", ever shine conspicuous in the
"Historical pages" of the
revolutionary war. The
Genl
left
Raleigh at
about 1 oclock, thursday, for
Fayetteville attendended by a band of cavalry of about sixty.
I saw him when he ascended into his carriage, and after gazing at him
steadfastly and with admiration, I turned aside and left the spot, and in a few
moments he was out of sight. I expect that you will see a long account of his
visit to
Raleigh in
the newspapers.2 I
therefore deem it unnecessary
Page 2
to say any thing more
about him.
". The students
were so anxious to go that some of them walked in the rain, and others rode in
waggons. I went down in a waggon and have this morning returned, well pleased
with my visit. The students were introduced to the "old Genl
," and
highly gratified was I to have the pleasure of shaking hands with
that man whose virtues and military talents in
defence of "our rights" in the
revolutionary struggle (if I may be allowed the expression)
will, next to those of "Washington", ever shine conspicuous in the
"Historical pages" of the
revolutionary war. The
Genl
left
Raleigh at
about 1 oclock, thursday, for
Fayetteville attendended by a band of cavalry of about sixty.
I saw him when he ascended into his carriage, and after gazing at him
steadfastly and with admiration, I turned aside and left the spot, and in a few
moments he was out of sight. I expect that you will see a long account of his
visit to
Raleigh in
the newspapers.2 I
therefore deem it unnecessaryPage 2
I was sorry to hear, in your letter, that your school consisted of
only 12 scholars, including those that went from home; but I hope that by this
time it has increased to at least 20 or 25, otherwise you will have to lose
considerable by it. It appears to me somewhat strange that the people in that
neighborhood (with one exception only, which is yourself) have not the least
care or anxiety to encourage Literature. It is my firm belief that there are
some of them who are more willing, in order to save a few cents, to send their
children to a man, who can but just
read and write, than to one who has the best education, our country can
afford.
I expect by this time, that you have made a full trial of your
packing machine, and I hope that it has not only exceeded your expectations,
but also amply rewarded you for your trouble and expence. I saw a day or two
since, in a
Fayetteville paper, that cotten was from 15 to 16 cents at
that market, and if this be the case in
New-York
also, I hope that you will make considerable by your cotten, this year.
It would give me much pleasure, to hear in your next letter that you
had obtained good prices for your cotten and Bacon, and that trade was
flourishing with you.
My health is, I believe, as good as usual, only my eyes are much
weaker than they were 12 months ago and occasionally are3
troublesome to me: but I hope that this will soon wear away.
I must now come to a close, with humbly wishing
that that this letter may find my dear
father and mother enjoying good health, and that they will accept of the best
love that their son can impart, and believe me as ever their
affectionate and dutiful son
Envelope page
Endnotes:
1.
John
Francis Speight Papers, SHC. The letter is addressed "Mr Exum Lewis/Post Master/
Mount
Prospect/
No Ca
"; the postage endorsement
reads "Chapel
Hill/March 7th} Free." Below the fold forming
the bottom of the envelope face, along the left margin, another hand has
written "From/
Richd H. Lewis
/March 7. 1825."
/March 7. 1825."2. According to the
Raleigh Register,
General Lafayette
, accompanied by his son
George Washington and a secretary
Monsieur
Le Vasseur, arrived in
North
Carolina on Sunday, February 27, 1825. He spent a day in
Halifax
and attended a meeting of the
American Colonization Society before traveling on to
Raleigh.
Arriving in
Raleigh at
noon on Wednesday, March 2, he was formally greeted at the "Government
House (capitol)" by
Governor
Hutchins G. Burton and
Col. William
Polk, who spoke on behalf of the assembled veterans of the
Revolutionary War. A subscription dinner and ball took
place that evening.
Lafayette
left
Raleigh
for
Fayetteville, named in his honor, at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday,
March 3.
, accompanied by his son
George Washington and a secretary
Monsieur
Le Vasseur, arrived in
North
Carolina on Sunday, February 27, 1825. He spent a day in
Halifax
and attended a meeting of the
American Colonization Society before traveling on to
Raleigh.
Arriving in
Raleigh at
noon on Wednesday, March 2, he was formally greeted at the "Government
House (capitol)" by
Governor
Hutchins G. Burton and
Col. William
Polk, who spoke on behalf of the assembled veterans of the
Revolutionary War. A subscription dinner and ball took
place that evening.
Lafayette
left
Raleigh
for
Fayetteville, named in his honor, at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday,
March 3.Concluding his account of the visit, the editor of the
Raleigh Register
remarks,
In looking over what we have written, we perceive some omission, which we feel it a duty to repair. We ought to have noticed, that some of the Faculty and a greater part of the Collegians from the University, came here 28 miles, most of them walking, to see Lafayette
4.
Richard
had seven brothers and sisters:
John
Wesley
,
Exum
,
Kenelm Harrison
,
William Figures
,
Elizabeth Figures,
Mary
Ann, and
Emma
.
had seven brothers and sisters:
John
Wesley
,
Exum
,
Kenelm Harrison
,
William Figures
,
Elizabeth Figures,
Mary
Ann, and
Emma
.
© Copyright 2004 by the University Library, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, all rights reserved
Copyright / Usage Statement
URL: http://docsouth.unc.edu/true/mss02-09/mss02-09.html
Last updated February 13, 2007