Robert E. Lee's Wife Writes Chatty Letter to Pastor, Delivered by Slave Daniel

MARY CUSTIS LEE, Autograph Letter Signed, to Charles B. Dana, June 16, 1854, Arlington, Virginia. 2 pp., 5" x 8". Light staining; expected folds; contemporary smudge to signature.

In this interesting letter written from Arlington House, Mary Custis Lee expresses her regret that they would not be able to attend church the following Sunday or take Rev. Dana because one of their carriage horses is lame. She also invites the minister to come out and spend a few days with them. Arlington House was approximately five-and-a-half miles north of Christ Church in Alexandria.

She also asks about "Mrs Fitzhugh," her widowed aunt, who owned and operated the Ravensworth plantation, located about ten miles southwest of Arlington House.

At the end of the letter, she refers to "Daniel," who was likely the Lees' enslaved African American man, "Old Daniel," whom Mary Custis Lee had inherited from her father and one of the slaves whom Robert E. Lee emancipated in late-December 1862, as the executor of his father-in-law's estate. Daniel seems to have been a trusted courier, whom Mary C. Lee sent to Alexandria to deliver letters and perform other tasks.

Complete Transcript
June 16, 1854
Friday
My dear friend
In consequence of the severe lameness of one of our carriage horses I think it extremely doubtful whether we shall be able to get to church on Sunday & I write to tell you that you may not depend [on] our carriage. I am sure [Nammie?] would call for you with much pleasure or any of your country parishioners. I hope you continue to mend. I am sorry to say your fellow sufferer is much the same. As soon as you are able to leave town you must come out & pass a few days with us. Can you tell me whether Mrs Fitzhugh has gone to the E. Shore for I have not heard a word of her since she went to Ravensworth. Write a line if convenient I will direct Daniel to call as he leaves town.
Yrs most truly
M C Lee

[Address:] Revd Mr Dana / Alexa

Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee (1807-1873) was born in Virginia as the great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington and therefore step-great-granddaughter of George Washington. The only surviving child of her parents, she was pampered and well-educated. Like her mother, she taught enslaved people how to read and write, and she supported gradual emancipation and colonization in Africa but opposed abolitionism and racial equality. In 1831, she married her third cousin, Lt. Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) of the U.S. Army, and they had seven children. After the death of her father George Washington Parke Custis in 1857, she edited and published his writings in 1859. She also inherited Arlington House from him, which she only evacuated on May 15, 1861. When trapped behind Union lines at her son's plantation east of Richmond in May 1862, Union Major General George B. McClellan allowed her to pass through the lines into Richmond. After the war, she lived with her husband in Lexington, where he was president of Washington College from October 1865 until his death.

Charles B. Dana (1806-1873) was born in New Hampshire and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1828. He graduated from Andover Theological Seminary in 1833, became a clergyman in the Protestant Episcopal Church, and briefly taught rhetoric at Mount Hope College, from which he received the degree of D.D. He served as rector of Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, from 1834 to 1860. While there, he presented Robert E. Lee to his bishop for confirmation. In 1860, he married his parishioner Elvira Rosebell Close (1833-1886), and they had two sons. Later in 1860, Dana moved to Port Gibson, Mississippi, where he was rector of St. James's Church. In 1866, he moved to Natchez as rector of Trinity Church, where he remained until his death.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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