August 14 Thursday – In Washington, D.C. [MTHL 3: 572] Sam wrote to Whitmore, probably still in Branford Conn. Word had arrived of 87-year-old Jane Clemens’ stroke. Sam abruptly prepared to leave for Keokuk:
Dear Brer:
Better fix up the Bk ac/ with this $1000. I leave for Keokuk in the morning. Mother very ill [MTP]. Note: Jane would die on Oct. 27, 1890.
Meanwhile, Livy left Onteora to spend a week with her ailing mother [MTNJ 3: 575n2].
Frederick J. Hall wrote to Sam hoping he’d had “time to look over the statement regarding the L.A.L. scheme, that is, selling stock in the effort; that possibly Whitmore might want to invest; they could guarantee six per cent interest for two or three years [MTP]. Note: the strain on capital to front the publication of LAL, which was pricey enough to require installment sales. Hall suggested they might sell stock in the project as a way to raise the needed funds.