Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of one letter from Thomas H. Nelson, on June 1, 1865, addressed to an unidentified Jones.
Thomas H. Nelson (1824-1865) was a politician from Indiana and a United States diplomat to Chile during the Lincoln Administration. He served as an envoy to Mexico from 1869-1873.
This collection contains one letter written by Thomas H. Nelson addressed to “my dear Jones.” The letter was written on June 1, 1865, while Nelson was serving as an envoy to the United States in Santiago, Chile. In the letter, Nelson described receiving the news of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by a steamer that had recently arrived in Valparaiso, Chile. Nelson added that “the death of no man on earth could have produced so profound a sensation in Chile, as that of our honored chief magistrate.” He continued his letter by describing the public aftermath of those in Santiago, Chile, and Valparaiso, Chile, noting the shared grief between the American and Chilean people. The letterhead reads “Legation of the United States, Santiago de Chile.”
The Illinois History and Lincoln Collections purchased this letter in 2023 with support from the Dr. Harlan Horner estate.
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