JAMES PARTON - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 06/04/1887 - HFSID 341365

JAMES PARTON
The American biographer writes letter regarding the will of a friend, signs name in black ink
Autograph letter signed: "James Parton" in black ink. 4 pages integral leaf, 5x8. June 4, 1887. Newburyport, Massachusetts. In part: "My dear Sir, As soon as I received your letter of Thursday, I went down to the office of my friend, Amos Mayes, who did the law business of our late Mr. Buntin, and who is now the loyal advisor of Mrs. Buntin - a brisk old lady of 87 years. He told me that most diligent search had been made for a will, but none had been found. His impression is that none was made. Memoranda for a will was found in his desk, but no will. As his wife was 12 years older than himself, he may have presumably expected to outlive her, and, in that case, he would have hired a lawyer properly to dispose of. He may have concluded to wait until he could dispose of the whole estate. If a valid will were made, it must have had three witnesses. No such persons present themselves, nor give any sign of their existence, although the mother has been much spoken of in the tour. There is no doubt here that Mr. Buntin intended to [text cut out here]...The question is, Did he? I fear, I must say, probably not. Very truly yours". English-born James Parton (1822-1891) moved to the US at age 5. A prolific writer, he penned biographies of many prominent Americans, including (between 1855 and 1874) Horace Greeley, Aaron Burr, Andrew Jackson, John Jacob Astor, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. He wrote many other books and articles on political and economic themes. Parton's wife, Sara Payson Willis (1811-1872) was also a popular writer for the New York Ledger, using the pen name Fanny Fern. When she died, Parton wrote her memoir too. Ticknor & Fields was a prominent Boston publisher of the Atlantic Monthly and other periodicals. Many prominent 19th century authors, including Parton were published by Ticknor & Fields, the ancestor firm of what is today Houghton Mifflin. In 1868, Ticknor & Fields published Parton's book Smoking and Drinking, an essay on the evils of these practices. He was warning of the health risks of tobacco 96 years before the US Surgeon General's famous report! It's not certain that this check was in payment for this particular essay. Parton wrote other books and articles for Ticknor & Fields and their principal journal, The Atlantic, but the date suggests a connection. Normal mailing folds. Toned. Creased throughout. Small tears throughout along the edges. Piece cut out on second page. Pencil notes in unknown hand throughout. Slightly soiled. Otherwise, fine condition.