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Eyewitness account of the Snow Riot, C0291, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries.
According to a 2005 Washington Post article by Jefferson Morley, the Snow Riot of August 1835 began with a young African American enslaved man named Arthur Bowen drunkenly carrying an axe into his mistress's bedroom. The incident inflamed white sentiments, particularly among Irish laborers who already resented competition from African Americans for manual jobs. The laborers formed a mob, attempted to lynch Bowen, and attacked African American businesses and institutions, including a restaurant owned by Beverly Snow, by whose name the riot became known (Morely, 'The Snow Riot').
Purchased by Special Collections Research Center circa 2005.
Processing completed by Elizabeth Beckman in June 2016. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in June 2016. Finding Aid updated by Amanda Brent in January 2019.
Letter, probably from Mary Elizabeth Fendall (according to dealer information accompanying the letter), to a woman named Else. The letter describes the 1835 Snow Riot, a racially motivated riot in Washington, D.C. in which young white men attacked and destroyed property belonging to Beverly Snow and other African Americans in the city.
Letter is boxed by itself.
Digitized version of this item can be found here: