"Writer" George William Curtis Hand Written Letter Dated 1882

Description: Up for auction "Writer" George William Curtis Hand Written Letter Dated 1882. ES-9650 George William Curtis (February 24, 1824 – August 31, 1892) was an American writer and public speaker, born in Providence, Rhode Island, of New Englander ancestry. A Republican, he spoke in favor of African-American equality and civil rights. Curtis, the son of George and Mary Elizabeth (Burrill) Curtis, was born in Providence on February 24, 1824, and his mother died when he was two. His maternal grandfather, James Burrill Jr., served in the United States Senate representing Rhode Island from 1817 to 1820. At six he was sent with his elder brother to school in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, where he remained for five years. Then, his father having again married happily, the boys were brought home to Providence, where they stayed till, in around 1839, their father moved to New York. Three years later, Curtis, fell in sympathy with the spirit of the so-called Transcendental movement. He joined the communal experiment known as Brook Farm from 1842 to 1843. He was accompanied by his brother, James Burrill Curtis, whose influence on him was strong and helpful. He remained there for two years, and met many interesting men and women. Then came two years, passed partly in New York, partly in Concord, Massachusetts, in order mainly to be in the friendly neighborhood of Emerson, and then followed four years spent in Europe, Egypt and Syria. He married Anna Shaw Curtis at the Unitarian Church of the Redeemer in 1856. Curtis, another New England transplant to Staten Island, was an author, editor of Putnam’s Magazine, and columnist for Harper’s. He was an abolitionist and supporter of civil rights for African Americans and Native Americans. He also advocated women’s suffrage, civil service reform, and public education. Curtis was a Founding Member of the Unitarian Church of Staten Island, originally, the Unitarian Church of the Redeemer. The Underground Railroad was in use during this time to help runaway slaves, and it is believed that the Curtises and the Shaws were very involved in this effort. The Shaw sisters, Anna and Josephine, and their mother, Sarah Sturgis, also spearheaded local efforts to help the war effort. George Curtis was targeted by Southern sympathizers and, during the draft riots in NYC during 1863, Anna and her three children left Staten Island temporarily for the safety of her grandparents’ home in Roxbury Massachusetts. The Curtis and Shaw families, rooted as they were in the liberal soil of New England, counted among their close associates Emerson, Hawthorne and Thoreau.

Price: 299.99 USD

Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

End Time: 2025-01-22T15:35:31.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD