Letter: C.A. Thatcher to Paul Laurence Dunbar, Page 1 of 3

Creator

Charles A. Thatcher
Ohio History Connection

Preview

Identifier

MSS114_B01F03_024

Creation Date

12-1-1894

Keywords

Paul Laurence Dunbar, Ohio history, Poetry, dialect poetry, biography, black history, black poets, primary sources, prominent Ohioans

Description

Letter refers to a contract between Dunbar and a party named Shearer; Thatcher, an attorney, confirms the legality of the contract and offers to assist Dunbar in exercising it. Full text of letter:

C.A. Thatcher to PLD, 1894-12-01

(Page 1)

Dec. 1– 1894.

My Dear Mr. Dunbar:

Your letter of recent date with letters and telegrams from Mr. Shearer at hand. On Sept. 13- 1894. Mr. Shearer wrote you a letter in which he engaged you at $25.00. If you accepted this engagement in any way by letter or otherwise a contract was formed between you. It is not necessary that the contract should be drawn in a formal manner. It can be made by letter as this one seems to have been done. If you desire I will write Mr. Shearer that you stand ready to fulfil your part of the contract and expect your pay whether he sees fit to send

(Page 2)

out or not. You will understand that it devolves upon you to make an effort to earn what you can and deduct some from amount owing by Shearer. The difficulty now is that his letter does not mention any fixed time you were to work but says probably for season. Think he will be glad to pay you something to be released. What have you written since receiving his last letter?

Enclosed find letter from Dr. Bashford. Please return it to me as have not answered. When I called upon Mr. Tolerton who had agreed to be one of the number to advance $50.00 per year he said that he had part pledged $100.00 to keep colored girl and asked to be excused from his promise.

(Page 3)

Stopped at Oberlin a few days since and talked with the President of the college. He did not offer as much encouragement as did Dr. Bashford.

Will do what I can to find others so that you may do something by first of the year.

It seems as though you might make some engagement to give readings during the month.

Let me hear from you about the Shearer matter.

Truly yours

C.A. Thatcher

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Primary Item Type

Business Correspondence

Rights

This item is part of the Paul Laurence Dunbar House collection at Ohio History Connection, Columbus, Ohio. The collection contains items from 219 N. Summit St., Dayton, Ohio (later 219 N. Paul Laurence Dunbar St.), the home Dunbar purchased for his mother, Matilda J. Dunbar, in 1904. Paul Laurence Dunbar lived there until his death in 1906; Matilda lived there until her death in 1934. It is now the Paul Laurence Dunbar House Historic Site, part of the National Park Service.