Bruce & others: The original is always better than copies, but the text of that letter appeared in the St. Louis Republic newspaper on November 12, 1893. That paper has a lengthy article on Brownlee's execution and contains the text of his letter to his mother as well as the text of his appeal to General Sanborn. I would be interested in having a scan of the original, if possible. In the newspaper version of the letter, Brownlee addresses his siblings Sarah, Elizabeth, Archibald, and Robert. I am curious if there is really a comma between Sarah and Elizabeth. I found an 1850 census record in Washington County Pennsylvania which lists the family of John & Elizabeth Brownlee with children Charles, Archibald, Robert, and Sarah E. That makes me wonder if his sister was Sarah Elizabeth, not two sisters Sarah and Elizabeth. Further census records indicate Archibald and Robert continued to live with their widowed mother through 1880, but there is no record of an Elizabeth other than the mother in any census record. Sarah "disappears" between 1860 and 1870, possibly due to marriage. For what else it's worth, there is no record of Charles Brownlee as a student at the Washington & Jefferson college in Washington County (at that time separate colleges). The college alumni directory does list law students for the 1850-1859 period with the notation of which local lawyer or judge they were studying under. Some sources describe Charles as a law school graduate. Obviously, he could have attended another school or perhaps just studied until he passed the bar.