CHARLES TOWN, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Officials with the Jefferson County Museum in Charles Town have announced that they have recently discovered documents regarding the arrest of John Brown.
“We’ve recently uncovered a major find in a collection of documents generously donated to the Museum,” the Jefferson County Museum said in a post on its Facebook page.
Officials say among the 19th-century receipts and promissory notes was a letter detailing the process of hiring jailers to guard the prisoners involved in John Brown’s raid. The extra guards were necessary, according to the letter “not because of the insecurity of said jail, but to prevent a rescue of the said prisoners.”
The letter also includes a comprehensive list of the jailers, each of whom received $1/day for their services. On the list of names is John F. Blessing. John Brown is known to have given Blessing his Bible before his execution to reward him for his kindness as a jailer.
“We are proud to have what will likely be a useful resource to future historians as part of our permanent collection and we look forward to publishing a full transcription of the letter on our website soon!”