My dear sir by this mail I send a draft for ninety two dollars, which ^with^ other drafts deopsited in the 2d National Bank at Xenia O; and P.O.O sent from Philadelphia either to day or tomorro for the sum of thirty eight dollars, will put in the hand of Secreatry Clarke the sum of four hundred dollars the first cash pyment, leaving a balance due you of about one thousand dollars; to be secured to you, by two notes of five hundred dollars each, with interest at six per cent Note No 1 to mature at six
months and No 2 at twelve months from date. All of which I hope will be satisfactory to you. After spending two full weeks at Newport, in fruitless effforts to reach the rich men who make their summer resort there. I left yesterday noon, and came to Providence, where I will remain till Friday, the 15th. I will return D.V. to Newport on the 18th. I will remain ^there^ up to the 23rd. I hope to hear from you at that place. I had hoped to send you at least five hundred on 1st payment, but parties whose subscriptions are good, have failed to send me the cash up to the present hour. Respectfully, D. A. Payne
Prof Ward, My Dear Sir, Yours of the 4th came to sight yesterday afternoon. I now hasten to say that if you will not ship the boxes of minerals, etc. time enough to reach Xenia the day after Commencement, it will ^be^ better than to have them arrive in the midst of Commencement exercises. These exercises begin on the 15th & end o the 19th during which time every space is crowded with Visitors, and there would not be any shelter for them within nor without the Campus. The day after Commencement there will be plenty of room in the
corridors. I received also by telegram yesterday the estimate for the shelving, glass and painting all of which amount to two hundred and fifty three dollars which will render me in that sum unable to pay one half of fourteen hundred dollars should you furnish the Museum any time in July unless I be more successful within the next thirty days, than I have been hitherto.
My faith in God's providential care of Wilberforce tells me that my success is only a question of time.
I shall therefore give orders today for the Carpenter to proceed with the shelving.
If you will then take whatever I may have in hand when your work shall have been finished ^and^ allow me to pay the balance in two installments of six months each. I think there will be no trouble in accomplishing the end of our presents efforts. Respectfully, D. A. Payne
My dear sir, Before leaving New York yesterday, I mailed you a letter sharing the need of pausing till the Hall appropriated to the Museum can be finished. On arriving at New Bedford this morning I find yours of the 31st. You will see from mine of yesterday that up to the 30th your plan for the shelving had not reached Mrs. Bierce. I had forgotten to mention in yesterdya's that the Secretary and Superintendent ^of^ the College's grounds and buildings had
informed me that ^the^ facings of the door and windows of the Hall for the Museum have yet to be put on, before the shelving can be commenced. Here, you see, is another hindrance that rises up in our pathway. In my judgement therefore it seems to be a dictate of wisdom, that we delay the construction of the Museum till the Hall is ready to receive it. How soon thie readiness can be effected it is impossible to predict before the meeting of the Trustees which as I informed you in yesterdays' will be in the 17th. Meanwhile, we shall cut the door in the centre of the partition wall, and finish the door of
admission and the windows withe the needed casings The contract for the shelving will also be affected and we shall be ready soon after Commencement to construct the Museum. A letter can find me at the above address till the 11th. Respectfully, D. A. Payne
My dear sir, I wrote to you last week informing you that insurmountable obstacles lay in the way of accomplishing our desires [about?] the erection of the Museum at W.U. before our next Commencement. I now write again, to say that a letter from Mrs. Bierce, received yesterday, states that up to the 30th Ultimo, your plans for the shelving of the Room to receive the Museum had not reach Wilberforce. And inasmuch as there is no fund at the command of the Executive Committee to pay for the shelving, and it is impossible for me to raise the means to pay for ^the^ shelves, at the same time, I
am raising funds to pay for the Museum, we are forced to the conclusion to request you to stop all operations respecting the Museum, till after the meeting of the Board of Trustees, which will be held on the 17th, because, doubtless, they will make some provisions for meeting the cost of the shelving. Please let me hear your response by the 5th [illegible], at New Bedford, Mass, to which place I am to go this afternoon. Direct yours to me at that place care of Rev. William Laws. This delay will also give me time to devote all my energies undivided to raising the cost of both the shelving for containing the Cabinets and of the entire Museum.
itself; which hitherto, I could not do, because the holding of four Conferences, and the attending General Committees have divided both time and energies. in view of these statements my dear Professor Ward, I hope you will indulge us. I say again, Please respond to me at New bedford, Mass, care of Rev. William Laws. I shall D.V. [Deo volente] leave this after noon for that place, where I am to preside over my last Conference for the year '79. Respectfully, D. A. Payne
My dear sir, Yours of the 6th, post mark the 7th did not come to hand till the 13th where it found me at Reading busily engaged in arranging the appointments for the Philadelphia Conference, that closed its deliberations last evening. Now, this is to say that you will please go forward with the work of the Museum. If I understand you, the shelves will be manufactured at Rochester and shipped to Xenia, where they can be set up at W.U. There, at Xenia one or more excellent carpenters can be employed. Mrs. BIerce can give the required dimensions of the room or halls. I agree upon the terms mentioned in yours o the 6th [now?] before me. I will write to Mrs Bierce by this mail to send you the exact dimensions
dimensions of the hall, which will save time. If you will tell her about ^the^ time the shelves will be there, the carpenters can be engaged beforehand, and time may be saved. I shall go to Philadelphia tomorrow morning where ^direct^ communications can reach me till the Respectfully, D. A. Payne May 15th 1879
My dear sir, Yours of the 28th ult is before me and this is to say that I have left drafts in the 2d National Bank at Xenia to the amount of two hundred and seventy one dollars, the certificate of which is placed int eh hands of our Secretary Mr. John A. Clarke.
A draft for the balance of four dollars which I collected before leaving Philadelphia, will be forwarded to him for you, so that on the day in which you may finishg the Museum, you will receive the 1st cash payment. I am here in Newport with
the hope of raising more, but I find it a very difficult thing to approach the rich men who are here in their summer palaces, so full of pleasure hunting and so formal are they. But I still hope to reach some of them and to run the [1st] such payment above four hundred. Respectfully, Payne
My dear sir, Before I left home at Xenia O I mailed 220 of these Circulars to gentlemen of the highest social position in the Country, hoping to have received generous contributions from them, but in vain have I hoped and waited.
on my arrival in Philadelphia I employed [6?] of the leading Journals to lay the claims of WIlberforce before the public without realizing a single dollar. Up to the present hour, by personal contract, I have realized two hundred & nineteen dollars in small sums of fives and tend. I do not beleive I can raise more than seven hundred dollars by Commencement. Are you willing to receive that sum then and take my note for the other seven hundred, maturable 6 months from that date? Please let you answer reach [text runs along left edge of page] me at Philadelphia, Pa 535 Lombard Street Respectfully yours, D. A. Payne
Wilberforce University Evergreen Cottage First EPiscopal District A. M. E. Church East Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and New England _______187 My Dear _______ We take the liberty of sending you the accompanying Circular, in hope that you may be induced to aid us in procuring the Museum of Natural Science offered us by Prof. Ward. The fact that we are brought into daily contact with NATURE and touched every moment at some point of our varied being by her powerful fingers, ought to lead us to study her manifestations, in order that we may be able to interpret her utterances, and reduce to practice the useful lessons she teaches every one of her diligent students. Moreover, inasmuch as the knowledge which natural science imparts has power and tendency to increase the usefulness of the individual, both to the Church and to the State, we beg that you aid us in procuring this NEEDED Museum for the enlarged usefulness of Wilberforce University. Any sumthat you may give will be thankfully received and faithfully applied to this noble charity, by Your obedient servant, ___________