☛ JEFFERSON DAVIS ☚ ☀ HIGHLY PERSONAL AUTOGRAPHED LETTER SIGNED ☀ 8 JULY 1873

Description

JEFFERSON DAVIS.  ALS:
"Jefferson Davis"
, 2pp, 5 1/4" x 7 1/4".  Monogrammed personal stationery, no place, 8th July 1873.  To Mesdames Fitzgerald & Ives.
Executed entirely in his own hand.
Content is highly personal and notably melancholy, the words of a man who sounds dejected and defeated, almost despondent.
In full:
I am yet in a state of doubt and perplexity, not able to leave for the country nor yet to go away for the rest.  It is probably so to be until the time for departure arrives and that I shall not be permitted again to be charmed by your loved voices before I leave your vicinity.  The happiness of our meeting cannot be destroyed by even the pain of separation for the sweet memory will go with me over all the weary days and long miles which are before me.  May the Lord keep watch and word over your lovely retreat, and give you the peace which passeth understanding.
With love to the boys, I am ever faithfully your friend
Jefferson Davis
Mesdames
Fitzgerald & Ives
Fully authenticated and encapsulated by PSA/DNA, as noted on the label.
Jefferson Davis (June 3, 1807 or 1808 – December 6, 1889)
was the only President of the Confederate States of America (1861-1865).
In 1869, Davis became President of the Carolina Life Insurance Company in Memphis.  He resigned on August 25, 1873,
only six weeks after writing this letter,
when the company was sold.
He left for England five months later, seeking employment with the Royal Insurance Company.  There he was told that no British insurance company wanted to enter the American market with Jefferson Davis as their representative because Northern animosity toward him would hurt their business in the United States.  This only intensified his long-held suspicion of Northerners.
The ladies he is writing to likely are Cora Semmes Ives, the widow of
Joseph C. Ives,
his aide-de-camp, and
Clara Semmes Fitzgerald,
Cora's sister.
The photos tell the tale.
This letter is in poor condition with staining, tears, and old cellophane tape repairs, perhaps a candidate for
paper conservation.  Regardless, it
is still very interesting.  Typewritten transcript included.
From the Henry E. Luhrs Collection.