Cochranville, Pa., 3. 24. '77.

Friend Douglass,

You know, of course, that I am heartily glad to hear of your appointment & confirmation as Marshal of the District of Columbia; glad that you have the office; glad the District has so good an officer; glad the President has honored himself in thus disregarding the old prejudice which would once have barred your way to any respectable official position; glad the Senate has had good sense & self-respect enough to second him in showing practical contempt of that prejudice; and glad that even those Senators who opposed your confirmation were manly enough not to regard your color as an objection to your confirmation, or were ashamed or afraid to confess that they so regarded it, if they did. In all this, & in all which it seems to me that this promises, I rejoice exceedingly, as you know without my telling.

But I dare say you have already begun to feel one of the unpleasant consequences of holding such an office, in the importunity of applicants abundant for every comfortable position at your disposal, or obtainable, or supposed to be, through your influence. And yet, would you believe it?—aware as I am of this probability, I, even I, am about to add my contribution to the sum-total of these annoyances.

I am requested to present to you the case of a woman, an entire stranger to me, but whose application, as its grounds are represented to me from what I regard as a fully trustworthy source, seems well worthy of favorable regard. Mrs. Julia WeedWeed, Mrs. Julia

is the widow of a Col. Weed, of the regular army, who lost his life in the war against the Rebellion. She receives a very small pension, my informant does not say how much, but says it is not nearly enough to support her. She is the daughter of a Mr. Whitney, of Philada., & was very well educated, & accustomed, in her early years, to a life of comfort & refinement. She is now nearly 70 years old, & has not only herself to support, but an only daughter with a child, & a son-in-law, once in good circumstances, but now destitute & blind, & consequently unable to provide for himself & family. Mrs. Weed was formerly employed in the Treasury Department, as a clerk; but was dismissed when it was judged necessary to reduce the clerical force in that Department. She is competent, my informant says, to do any writing, & only asks for some writing to do, by which to earn a support for herself & those dependent on her; is thoroughly worthy of trust, & would be glad to obtain a clerkship or something of the kind, if a vacancy is at your disposal, or if you can help her to it by your influence. If you would be disposed to see her, a letter of introduction might be sent to her, & she would call upon you, & make known her case more fully, & give references as to her fitness for such a place as she seeks. She has a very hard time at present, & in fact would not be able to get on without help from some of her friends, but is very reluctant to have to receive such help, & is very desirous to get some work by which she can live independent of it. A. C. Harmer, M.C. from Philada., was applied to on her behalf, for such influence as he might be able & willing to use for her, & pro-

mised to do what he could, but has not yet, it is supposed, been able to see any way of helping her, as he has not been heard from since. But it is hoped that, if you have no place at your disposal which would suit her, his influence would be used with yours, should you be willing to use yours to help her elsewhere. Though I know nothing of the case, except what I am told by those who request me to address you, yet such is my confidence in their abatements, that I should regard it as a personal favor if you would give Mrs. Weed an opportunity to set her application before you herself, & refer you to such attestations of her qualifications as she may be able to offer. I do not know her address, my informant having omitted to give it; but if you are willing to give attention to her case, you can communicate with her by writing to Robert Massey, 428 North Third Street, Philad^a, as it is from him that the information comes to me, which I have given you. I earnestly hope it may be in your power to give a favorable answer to the application.

Yours Truly,

C. C. BurleighBurleigh, Charles Calistus

Charles Calistus Burleigh (1810-78) was born in Plainfield, Connecticut, and received his early schooling at Plainfield Academy. He had begun to study the law when an attack he published on the Connecticut "Black Law" attracted the attention of abolitionist Samuel J. May. Through May, Burleigh was offered the editorship of the Unionist, a new antislavery paper financed by Arthur Tappan. Burleigh was instrumental in protecting William Lloyd Garrison from a mob in Boston in October 1835, and shortly thereatler became a regular contributor to the Liberator. In the late 1830s Burleigh became one of the editors of the Pennsylvania Freeman, later the organ of the Eastern Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Active in a number of reform movements, Burleigh plunged into the antisabbatarian campaign after he was arrested in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1847 for selling antislavery literature on Sunday. In 1845 he published a pamphlet, Thoughts on the Death Penalty, condemning capital punishment. He participated in the woman suffrage conventions in Cleveland and New York City in 1854, and the American Equal Rights Association meeting in 1867. In the 1870s he joined his brother, William Henry, in the campaign for temperance reform. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Matilda Joslyn Gage, eds., History of Woman Suffrage, 6 vols. (Rochester, 1881-1922), 1:148-51; C. B. Galbreath, "Anti-Slavery Movement in Columbiana County," Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, 30: 389-91 (October 1921); ACAB, 1:455; DAB, 3:284-85.

P.S. I am "itinerant" as of old; but should it be in your heart to drop me a line, it would reach me without much delay, if sent to 428 N. Third Street, Philad^a