The Death of, our little Johnnie.

This is the first page of a handwritten account of the death of John Burnside Williams, the infant son of John M. Washington and Annie Gordon Washington. The infant, not quite nine months old, died on March 2, 1865, at 1:20 in the afternoon. The baby had suffered from "wasteing fevers," according to this narrative written by the grieving father. This account was written several months after the infant's death, and Washington took solace in his Christian beliefs: "For Christ says: 'Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.'"

Citation: John Washington Papers, 1858–1865, 1982, Accession #15000. Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.