Letter signed Elizabeth Lewis, Missouri, to John F. Darby, Frankfort Kentucky. Inquires about her brother Darby’s health. Her heart is troubled because the slaves were sold at the courthouse door day before yesterday. Describes who bought each person and at what price. She cried as hard as any of them remembering they belonged to her mother. Asks Darby to get her one girl about 15 or 16 who can wash, cook, and is smart for any business. Will pay cash for her, and will send Hiram with the money. “Try how cheap you can get one for me.” Land is rising in value. Mr. Lewis asks $800 for the ferry and expects to get it in the fall. Billy wrote that he is coming to kill Lewis for selling Palmer for $150. Says they are much respected, and wishes Darby would come to St. Louis to live., No year Sept 5

Item — Box: 5, Folder: 8

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

This collection consists largely of the papers of John F. Darby and his wife Mary F. Darby, and relates mostly to the political, social, and business history of St. Louis. The papers also include family correspondence with relatives in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Missouri, and correspondence regarding legal and business matters. Of special note are the minute books of the Jefferson Society and the St. Louis Debating Club (1827-1828), both regional debating societies of which Darby was a member; letters of Mary F. Darby; correspondence with Montgomery Blair, William T. Sherman, and George Caleb Bingham; and fragments of a history of the Mormons by John Corrill, dated 1839.