Letter signed George H. Hall, St. Joseph, to Mary [Hall]. Family news. William [A. Hall] and I went through Holt and Doniphan Counties to look at our lands. We did not see an indifferent crop of corn in any place, and the wheat looked better than I ever saw at this season. I am pleased to learn that the Harpers Ferry people did not act quite so disgracefully [during the John Brown invasion] as was at first represented. Though it does look badly that a town should have been held two days in subjection by 22 men headed by a man we have the best evidence to believe is a coward. His only acts in Kansas Territory were the assassination of unarmed families and his great skill in running of negroes. Brown was never seen except in running away. I was surprised at a letter from Charlestown stating there is a strong feeling among the people of Jefferson County in favor of commuting the punishment of [John E.] Cook to imprisonment. Individuals mentioned: [Henry A.] Wise [Governor of Virginia]. Places mentioned: Randolph County (Mo.)., 1859 Nov 17

Item — Box: 1, Folder: 2

Staff Only

Letter signed George H. Hall, St. Joseph, to his sister Mary [Hall], November 17, 1859

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The collection contains primarily letters of Hall family members to family in Virginia and Missouri discussing family news, farming, their enslaved labor, their legal and political careers, the Mexican-American War, the California Gold Rush, and the John Brown raid on Harpers Ferry. Correspondents include Willard P. Hall and wife Anne E. Richardson Hall, mother Statira Hall, and siblings William A. Hall, George H. Hall, Mary Hall, and Anna Hall.