# 1865 Letter from former Slave to former owner **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 1, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1865-letter-from-former-slave-to-former-owner/611375 "2012-02-01T01:45:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1865-letter-from-former-slave-to-former-owner/611375/1 "2012-02-01T01:45:02Z")
This got reprinted today in the Daily Mail. Its been around for awhile. Snopes has a thread from 2009 discussing it. I tend to agree with Snopes that the letter was heavily edited by someone. Maybe even a collaborative effort to support the Freedmen’s Movement for former slaves. The last posting on Snopes is a genealogy of Jourdon Anderson and Colonel P.H. Anderson. They are real people. [http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=45660](http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=45660) > [@](#): > > I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Colonel Martin’s to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable. Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living. It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again, and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville Hospital, but one of the neighbors told me that Henry intended to shoot me if he ever got a chance. > **['Although you shot at me twice before I left, I did not want to hear of you...](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2094555/Moving-letter-freed-slave-Jourdon-Anderson-old-master-asked-work-farm.html)** > > Jourdon Anderson, wrote to Colonel P.H. Anderson in 1865 (pictured right) explaining that since he had been emancipated, he had moved from Big Spring, Tennessee to Ohio, was being paid for his labour and could support his family. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1865-letter-from-former-slave-to-former-owner/611375/2 "2012-02-01T01:52:00Z")
[Yep, we have heard about it.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=640445) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1865-letter-from-former-slave-to-former-owner/611375/3 "2012-02-01T02:30:04Z")
My apologies. I didn’t see the earlier thread. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1865-letter-from-former-slave-to-former-owner/611375/4 "2012-02-01T03:40:11Z")
No biggie. I’ll close this one, though.