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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC06114 |
| From Archive Folder | Documents Relating to the 1870s |
| Title | Incomplete essay on religious tolerance on verso of letter fragments from Edmonia Lewis and Samuel J. May |
| Date | ca. 1870 |
| Author | Child, Lydia Maria Francis (1802-1880) |
| Additional authors | Allie (fl. 1867) Lewis, Edmonia (c. 1844-c. 1909) May, Samuel J. (Samuel Joseph) (1797-1871) |
| Document Type | Miscellany |
| Content Description | Contains an incomplete essay (pages five, six, and seven) discussing religious tolerance written by Child, an author, scholar, and abolitionist. Child discusses religious tolerance, stating "People who are educated under one system of religion can never perhaps quite realize how another faith appears to those who have grown up under its influence; but sincere efforts to do this are among the most hopeful signs of the times." Discusses books of different religions and differentiation between religious symbolism and language. In pencil below her signature, Child invites the recipient to return her writing if it is not published. On verso, page five contains the conclusion of an autograph letter signed by Edmonia Lewis, an African American/Native American sculptor who specialized in abolitionist and Civil War subjects. Referring to Maria Weston Chapman, an abolitionist, Lewis' conclusion states "You will please talk with Mrs. M. W. [Maria Weston] Chapman and she will tell you about the 'Freedmen.'" Page six contains a letter to a "Mitty Child" from Allie on verso. This letter was written 3 February 1867, and discusses Allie's upcoming birthday, sleigh rides, horses, and the recent snow. Allie refers to Lisy and Bose. Verso of page seven contains the conclusion of an autograph letter signed written by abolitionist Samuel J. May. May refers to Lydia's husband, the abolitionist David Lee Child: " ... Mr. Child's contributions to the anti-slavery cause from the beginning - and especially of the work he did in opposition to Texas-" |
| Subjects | Woman Author Women's History African American Author African American History Religion Art, Music, Theater, and Film Children and Family Sports and Games Texas Westward Expansion Slavery Abolition Freemen |
| People | Allie (fl. 1867) Child, Lydia Maria Francis (1802-1880) Lewis, Edmonia (b. ca. 1844-1907) May, Samuel J. (Samuel Joseph) (1797-1871) Bose (fl. 1867) Chapman, Maria Weston (1806-1885) Child, David Lee (1794-1874) Lisy (fl. 1867) |
| Place written | s.l. |
| Theme | Women in American History; Religion; Children & Family; African Americans |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1860-1945 |
| Additional Information | It is unclear whether this essay was, in fact, ever published. It does not seem to have been included verbatim in her major religious work that was published after this, "Aspirations of the World: A Chain of Opals" (1878). However, the present essay is in keeping with the sentiment of "Aspirations" and of Child's other major religious work, "The Progress of Ideas" (1855). In all of these works, Child stresses religious tolerance, often by providing texts from world religions and discussing them in comparison with Christianity. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |