Polk Place, Nashville, Tennessee, December 23, 1878. 3 pp. on one lined sheet folded to make four pages; 8 x 4 7/8 in. (203 x 124 mm). Intimate autograph letter, signed by former First Lady Sarah Childress Polk, to Mrs. Ransom Hooker Gillet, expressing her deep condolences on the death of her son: "I was not aware of the death of your dear & beloved son...Allow me my dear friend, most sincerely to offer my deep sympathies in this your great sorrow & affliction...You and I my dear Mrs. Gillet are almost alone in this connecting link of the past, of memories most dear. Now in the evening of my life, I often ask myself, why am I here?" Creasing from original folds.