Letter to Lawrence Dawson from his brother, 1847 | Louisiana Research Collection

Title: Letter to Lawrence Dawson from his brother, 1847

ID: LaRC/Manuscripts Collection M-1158

Extent: 1.0 Items

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Repository: Louisiana Research Collection

Acquired: 2007.

Restrictions: Collection is open to the public. No known restrictions.

Rights: Physical rights are retained by the Louisiana Research Collection. Copyright is retained in accordance with U.S. copyright laws.

Related Materials:

Preserving the papers and records of pre-Civil War conditions in New Orleans is a special focus of the Louisiana Research Collection. The documents below are records of slavery in Louisiana.

Bertin Family Papers, M6, 1841-1851

Letters of the Bertin family, some of whom resided in New Orleans and others in St. Pierre, Martinique. The letters between members of the separated groups are concerned with the health and financial difficulties of the various members. There is also a mortgage type document relating to a slave purchase. (3 of 5 pieces in French have been translated into English).

M.T. Harris and son letter, M134, 1860

A business letter discussing the sale of a family of slaves, and the shipment of cotton to Liverpool.

David Washington Pipes Diary, M453, 1845-1868

47 page transcript of diary of David Washington Pipes, a native of East Felicia Parish who served in the Washington Artillery during the Civil War. Pipes’ journal begins with an account of the conditions of slaves on the family farm. The major part of the diary concerns the hardships of army life and the battles he fought in Virginia. Pipes also recounts briefly how he and his family reestablished themselves after the war.

William Newton Mercer papers, collection 64, 1829-1854

Box 1, folder 10. 1837 March 29. Merrill to Mercer. Letters discussing the price of slaves.

Box 1, folder 11. 1836 Aug. 8, Nov. 14; 1837 March 2, May17. Davis to Mercer. Letters discussing plantation affairs and prices of slaves and cotton.

Box 1, folders 8 and 9. 1837 April 25, May 26, Aug. 21. Huntington to Mercer, Merrill to Mercer. Letters concerning instructions given overseers for treatment of slaves, dismissal of A. Davis for mistreatment, and attitude of slave-holders towards their slaves.

Box 1, folder 11. 1837 April 18, June 14. Davis to Mercer. Davis defends himself against accusations made about his treatment of Mercer’s slaves as overseer at Ellis Cliffs.

Hodges Family Papers, collection 254, 1788-1889

Items relating to slavery in east Tennessee. Includes slave sales, May 28, 1836; July 22, 1837; March 30, August 8, 1839; June 22, 1944; May 6, 1849; August 3, 1862; Oct. 4 1863; February 19 1836; and the renting out of a slave, September 8, 1852.

George Stannard to Frederick W. Tilton letter, M-1159, 1850

Letter from Stannard (of Louisville, Kentucky) to Tilton (of New Orleans, Louisiana), concerning a possible slave sale.

Preferred Citation: John Dawson to Lawrence Dawson letter, Manuscripts Collection M-1158, Louisiana Research Collection, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118.

Collection Material Type: Personal Papers

Other Note:

The letter informs the recipient that the author will return home soon. There are repeated references to the family's purchase and ownership of slaves, specifically in South Carolina and Alabama, and the hope of acquiring more in the future.

OCLC Number: 506578838

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Scope and Contents:

John Dawson begins the letter by briefly consoling his brother for his recent financial difficulties but afterwards discusses his own affairs. Dawson informs his brother that he must soon move from New Orleans to Arkansas to find work, as his current position will expire in the near future. Despite this hardship, Dawson shares his hope that he can earn enough to pay off a few debts, “buy four or five more negroes,” and retire.

In the postscript (which is longer than the letter proper), Dawson asks his brother several questions about some events ten years ago and some of his wife’s holdings. Both lines of questioning seem to concern a legal case over the ownership of several slaves on the Spring Grove Plantation in South Carolina.