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Correspondence
Letter from Thomas Jefferson Whitman to William Douglas O'Connor, 16 March 1865
Brooklyn, N. Y.,
March 16th 1865
1
Mr. W. D. O'Connor
2
Dr. Sir,
I received this morning yours of March 14th 3 —I am deeply sensible of the interest you have taken for me and return my sincere and heartfelt thanks for it. The position—although very desirable in all respects is one that I am not in the least qualified to fill—it is an entirely different branch of the profession from that in which I have been engaged—My Engineering education and entire experience has been in the construction of work[s], such as laying out masonry, location and the general superintendance of building a piece of work—As a draughtsman I am totally deficient—my efforts in that direction being limited entirely to a rough pencil sketch to convey the idea of what is wanted to the workman—Therefore I am certain that I am not qualified and could not justify your generous recommendation of me for the appointment
Hoping sir, that I may some time personally thank you for the trouble you have taken and kindness shown me I am very respectfully
Yours Cdially Thos J. Whitman
About the Text
The text presented here is derived from Dennis Berthold and Kenneth Price, eds., Dear Brother Walt: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1984). For a detailed description of discrepancies between this electronic edition and the print source, see our statement of editorial policy .
The manuscript of this letter, dated March 16, 1865, is held in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature at the New York Public Library.
For more information on the letters of Thomas Jefferson Whitman, see Dennis Berthold and Kenneth Price's introduction to the print edition.
Notes
1. This note may have arrived with a letter that has not been found. It is enclosed in an envelope inscribed by WW, "Note from Jeff enclosed to me for Mr. O'Connor, March 17, 1865." (Back)
2. Journalist, author, and civil servant, Wiliam Douglas O'Connor (1832-89) gained lasting fame as the champion of WW. O'Connors panegyric The Good Gray Poet (1866) helped define a new role for WW, a role which seems to have shaped in subtle but far-reaching ways the closing decades of the poet's career. See Jerome Loving, Walt Whitman's Champion: William Douglas O'Connor (College Station: Texas A&M Univ. Press, 1978). (Back)
3. O'Connors letter of March 14 is not extant. (Back)
Whitman Archive ID
nyp.00134