Owen Brown Sr. to John Brown, March 27, 1856

HUDSON (OHIO), March 27, '56.

DEAR SON JOHN, — I received yours of 13th on the 25th, and was very glad to larn that all your Famelys were so well, and that you had not been distourbed by the enemy. Your letters come very regular, and we look carfuly after them. I have been faithfull to answer them, not out of ambishon, but to keep one or more on the road all the time. My health at present is not so good; for three weeks past I am somewhat put to it to breathe, mostly nights, and sometimes feel as though death was at the dore. 1 feel as though God was very mersofull to keep such a great sinner on probation so long. I ask all of you to pray more earnestly for the salvation of my soul than for the life of my body, and that I may give myself and all I have up to Christ, and honor him by a sacrafise of all we have.

I think that the moovments of Congress will prevent an invasion of your rights; they have voted to send to Kansas to investigate the situation [and] elections. I think of cliping from some papers some short Acts of Congress and inclose them in a private letters and send them to you. I think I shall have them very regular. I wrote Mr. Giddeons¹ ["Giddings" in John Brown's hand written over this name] about 3 weeks ago to send me the debats and Acts of Congress on the subjects of Kansas from time to time. He was at home then sick, but has now returned to Con [in John Brown's hand "Washington " is written in before "Con"] and the papers begin to come.

Friends are midling well as far as I know. I am now at Edward's; it is rather a cold, stormy day. We have had a remarkable cold, snowe winter, and the snow is mostly on the ground now. We have 3 only plesent dayes this week, but have had no rain through the winter. I consider all of my Children at Kansas as one Famely, and hope you will take turns in writeing. They are midling well at Edward's, and wish to be remembered.

Your unfaithful Parent,

OWEN BROWN.

N. B. 28th. After writing the above, Edward had a paper from which we dipt the within.²

O. B.

__________

¹ Owen Brown and most of his sons and grandsons when in Ohio were constituents of Joshua R. Giddings, the famous antislavery Congressman from the Western Reserve.

² This letter is addressed in the feeble handwriting of an old man to "John Brown, Osawatoniie, K. T.," and is indorsed in his son's handwriting, "Owen Brown's Letter, March 27, 1856." The original is among the Brown Papers in the library of the Kansas Historical Society at Topeka, from whose invaluable collections I have drawn much material for this work.

SOURCE: Franklin B. Sanborn, The Life and Letters of John Brown, p. 19-21