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Peterboro
Madison Co
N.Y.
July 7th 1892

Dear friend,
Your kind letter reached me here and was very welcome.
Having been subject to much adverse criticism, a few words of praise occasionally
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are very grateful to the most self sustained reformer. I have always said, that the heyday of woman’s life is on the shady side of fifty, and I know my best speeches have been written since that time, so I accept your compliments as quite sincere. I particularly enjoy your appreciation of my daughter’s paper on “voluntary motherhood”, she prepared it for the Westminster Review but John Chapman the editor, would not accept it unless she dropped out the paragraph on man’s lack of the paternal element
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that she would not do, so we published it ourselves. I wish you would call attention to it in the Woman’s Journal I think it a very valuable paper. Sometime when you are in New York come and see me and talk over the situation 26. West 61st
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I shall return the middle of September I am hear [sic] only for the summer. We are in cousin Gerrit Smith’s old mansion, just as he left it. Here I spent many of my youthful days, here I first met Mr. Stanton and we rode on horseback
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together over all these hills The place is very dear to me from all these old memories of the past. But the familiar faces are all gone and the old walls echo to the voices of a younger generation. With kind regards for Mr. Livermore and yourself cordially ever
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
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[typed transcript]

Original in
Alma Lutz Collection

Peterboro
Madison Co
N.Y.
July 7th (1892)

Dear friend,
Your kind letter reached me here & was very welcome.

Having been subject to much adverse criticism, a few words of praise occasionally are very grateful to the most self sustained reformer. I have always said, that the heyday of woman’s life is on the shady side of fifty, & I know my best speeches have been written since that time, so I accept your compliments as quite sincere. I particularly enjoy your appreciation of my daughter’s paper on “voluntary motherhood”, she prepared it for the Westminster Review but John Chapman the editor, would not accept it unless she dropped out the paragraph on man’s lack of the paternal element. That she would not do, so we published it ourselves. I wish you would call attention to it in the Woman’s Journal. I think it a very valuable paper. Some time when you are in New York come & see me and talk over the situation 26. West 61st. Shall return the middle of September. I am here only for the summer. We are in cousin Gerrit Smith’s old mansion, just as he left it. Here I spent many of my youthful days, here I first met Mr. Stanton & we rode on horseback together over all these hills. The place is very dear to me from all these old memories of the past. But the familiar faces are all gone & the old walls echo to the voices of a younger generation. With kind regards for Mr. Livermore and yourself
Cordially ever
Elizabeth Cady Stanton

(To Mary Livermore)