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Charles W. Chesnutt to Rexford L. Holmes, 13 September 1921

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  Rexford L. Holmes, Esq., 321-323 Southern Building, Washington, D. C. My dear Mr. Holmes,

We have your letter of September 1, 1921, giving me the agreeable information that Mr. Barnes' note for $500.00, due in June of next year, to the order of Mary A. Holmes, endorsed by her and yourself, and sent to us in payment of balance of our account against you, he is willing to pay on September 21st, with interest to that date. We very cheerfully enclose you the note, and shall be very glad indeed to have you collect and forward it to us.1

Hoping that you have got your financial difficulties all ironed out, and that you may enjoy continued business prosperity, we are

Yours very truly, CWC/FL



Correspondent: Rexford L. Holmes (1883–1943) was a White lawyer from Taylorville, Illinois, who had moved to Washington, D. C.in 1905 and by the 1920s ran a large stenography office, which seems to have had business transactions with Chesnutt's office. Mary A. Barnes (1852–1942), his mother, signed the promissory note given to Chesnutt alongside her son.



1. Mr. Barnes has not been identified. Because only Chesnutt's two letters regarding the matter (September 13, 1921, and a follow-up from November 11, 1921) have been found, it is not known whether Chesnutt was able to collect the $50.00 that Rexford L. Holmes owed for services rendered by Chesnutt's firm. [back]