Offered is a folded stampless letter dated March 17, 1831 from former US Congressman David E. Evans to US Senator Charles E. Dudley, husband of Blandina Bleecker Dudley. Sent by the Hudson River Steamboat “Swiftsure” from Albany to New York City, Evans informs Dudley of the sudden death of Rutger Bleecker and urges the Dudleys to come.

Dudley was Mayor of Albany 1821-1824 and 1828-29, US Senator from 1829-1833, and a member of Martin Van Buren’s Albany Regency. He was a serious amateur astronomer, and the Dudley Observatory was named in his honor.