Letter signed Meriwether Lewis, McFarlin’s farm, Pennsylvania, to his mother, Lucy Marks, Albemarle, Virginia. Lewis can vouch for his being a more confined overseer than when at Ivy Creek, having been constantly confined to the department. The situation of the soldiers is truly deplorable, exposed to the inclemency of the winter. He will preside on Christmas day at a small board furnished with a little stewed beef but has procured a quart of rum for a Christmas dram. Asks his mother to send him by Mr. Johnson four shirts and a piece of nankeen, as he has had the misfortune to have a good part of his linen borrowed, with some other of his best clothes, and is not able to replace them due to high prices. (2 pages, transcript included), 1794 Dec 24

Item — Box: 1, Folder: 2

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The Meriwether Lewis Papers is an artificial, or subject-based, collection gathered to record the Lewis and Clark Expedition. During the re-processing of the Meriwether Lewis Collection in 1999, several items were removed from the collection and returned to the archival collection in which they originally belonged. (Please consult the separation record at the end of this finding aid.)

Dates

1794 Dec 24

Conditions Governing Access

The Missouri Historical Society asks researchers to assist in the preservation of the collection by using either the microfilm or the published versions of documents at all times. Permission to access the original documents in the Meriwether Lewis Papers must be obtained from a member of the archives staff.