Letter from Jack Harby to Marx E. Cohen regarding marriage to Lee C. Harby, 1869 January 17

Correspondence, writings, and newspaper clippings regarding Isaac Harby and the Harby family. The papers include a thank-you letter from Isaac Harby to John C. Calhoun, discussing topics including law, government, legislation, South Carolina, and Andrew Jackson. Also included is a manuscript copy of “The Presidency,” a series of political essays supporting the presidential candidacy of Andrew Jackson. There is also a prayer book manuscript by Isaac Harby. This manuscript prayer book, one of several created by members of the Reform Society, reflects a liturgy that was honed over time. The text contains the Society’s “Articles of Faith,” drafted in part by Harby, which introduced several elements that would become typical of Reform Judaism, including an emphasis on individual morality and belief, a disavowal of resurrection, and the questioning of the divine origins of the Torah. Also included is a manuscript copy of Tutoona, or The Indian Girl: A Drama in 5 Acts, a play by George W. Harby, and newspaper clippings of various theater reviews of the play. Performed at the New Orleans American Theater on February 22, 1835, George Washington’s birthday, the play takes place in the aftermath of the defeat of the British at Saratoga in 1777 from the perspective of chief Coppersnake and his daughter, Tutoona. The collection also contains a letter from Jack Harby to Marx E. Cohen regarding the marriage of Harby and Cohen’s daughter, Lee C. Harby. Assorted clippings from the News and Courier and the Sumter Daily Item related to the Harby family include several book reviews of L.C. Moïse’s Biography of Isaac Harby and an obituary for Hal W. Harby. Also included is a partial manuscript regarding the history of a Grecian cross located in Brooklyn, New York. Miscellaneous items are a photocopy of a typescript providing biographical information on Isaac Harby and a manuscript fragment regarding publishing matters.