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Mentioned in Letter to Nathaniel Bloom

Bloom, Nathaniel

Little is known about Nat Bloom outside of his affiliation with what was known as the "Fred Gray Association," a group of young men at Pfaff's whom Ed Folsom and Ken Price characterize as "a loose confederation of young men who seemed anxious to explore new possibilities of male-male affection" (Re-Scripting 62).

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Chauncey, Charles (1838-1863)

Little is known about the specific details of Charles Chauncey’s early life. We know that, along with Walt Whitman, he was one of several men who made up the Fred Gray Association, "a loose confederation of young men who seemed anxious to explore new possibilities of male-male affection" (Folsom and Price Re-Scripting 62). Stephanie Blalock, when describing the Fred Gray Association, lists Chauncey as one of the many members of the group that were later included in Whitman’s memory book (179).

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The Fred Gray Association

Details about the Fred Gray Association are sketchy at best, and the extant historical documents provide only the most basic details. Ed Folsom and Ken Price characterize the group as "a loose confederation of young men who seemed anxious to explore new possibilities of male-male affection" (Re-Scripting 62).

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Kingsley, Charles

Charles Kingsley was one of several men who were associated with the Fred Gray Association, "a loose confederation of young men who seemed anxious to explore new possibilities of male-male affection" (Folsom & Price “Walt Whitman”). E. Miller explains that “during this period Walt [Whitman] was intimate with a group he called the Fred Gray Association. Not much is known about this circle. Gray, the son of a noted New York physician, took a medical degree after the war. Nathaniel Bloom became a successful merchant. Hugo Fritsch was the son of the Austrian consul.

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Knower, Ben

Ben Knower was one of several men who were associated with the Fred Gray Association, "a loose confederation of young men who seemed anxious to explore new possibilities of male-male affection" (Folsom & Price "Walt Whitman"). E. Miller explains that "during this period Walt [Whitman] was intimate with a group he called the Fred Gray Association. Not much is known about this circle. Gray, the son of a noted New York physician, took a medical degree after the war. Nathaniel Bloom became a successful merchant. Hugo Fritsch was the son of the Austrian consul.

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Perkins, S. Lee (1827-?)

Little is known about Perkins outside of his affiliation with what was known as the "Fred Gray Association," a group of young men at Pfaff’s whom Ed Folsom and Ken Price characterize as "a loose confederation of young men who seemed anxious to explore new possibilities of male-male affection" (62). Edwin H. Miller explains that most of the members “are only names: Charles Chauncey, Charles Kingsley, Ben Knower, Charles Russell, Perkins, and Raymond.

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Raymond, Henry Jarvis (1820-1869)

Henry Jarvis Raymond was born in Lima, New York to a farm family that had migrated from Connecticut. Raymond distinguished himself at the University of Vermont where he was graduated with high honors in 1840. During his college career he developed strict work habits and began submitting pieces to Horace Greeley’s New Yorker. He moved to New York City after college and pursued freelance writing until he earned a job with Greeley. Thus began a lifelong enmity between the two men whose views of the role and utility of journalism differed greatly.

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Russell, Charles

Little is known about Charles H. Russell outside of his affiliation with what was known as the "Fred Gray Association," a group of men whom Ed Folsom and Ken Price characterize as "a loose confederation of young men who seemed anxious to explore new possibilities of male-male affection" (62). According to Stephanie Blalock, the Fred Gray Association met fequently at Pfaff's, in addition to other establishments located throughout New York City (50).

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