This collection consists of two letters from Richard Parker of Harper's Ferry to John W. Luke of Snickersville, Virginia. In the first letter, dated April 17, 1845, Richard Parker writes that he was sorry that Betsy, the woman he enslaved, was a trouble to Luke. Parker wrote that he did not have a place to board Betsy during her confinement. In the second letter, written December 29, 1846, Parker wrote to Luke requesting that he hire out a number of enslaved persons he owned including a man named Webb & his wife, Betsey, and Juliana.
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Purchased with the John M. Presson Estate Fund.
Richard Parker (1810-1893) served as a congressman and judge in Virginia. In 1859, Parker was the judge for the trial of the participants in John Brown's Raid. He sentenced John Brown and other participants to death. John W. Luke (1815-1896) served in the Virginia General Assembly from 1852-1853 and recommended Richard Parker to be the judge for the Thirteenth Circuit Court.
Richard Parker Correspondence, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries.
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This series includes letters from Richard Parker of Harper's Ferry to John W. Luke of Snickersville, Virginia.
Two letters from Richard Parker of Harper's Ferry to John W. Luke of Snickersville, Virginia. In the first letter, dated April 17, 1845, Richard Parker writes that he was sorry that Betsy, the woman he enslaved, was a trouble to Luke. Parker wrote that he did not have a place to board Betsy during her confinement. In the second letter, written December 29, 1846, Parker wrote to Luke requesting that he hire out a number of enslaved persons he owned including a man named Webb & his wife, Betsey, and Juliana.