Adams Family Correspondence, volume 14

Abigail Adams to Cotton Tufts, 22 November 1799 Adams, Abigail Tufts, Cotton

Abigail Adams to Cotton Tufts

Dear sir Philadelphia Novbr 22 1799

I received Yesterday Your favour of Novbr 8th and thank You for the information containd in it.

The weather has been uncommonly fine through the whole of this Month; I wish You had used Your own judgment respecting the putting up the frame this Winter. I had not any expectation of its being so early ready, or of the winters being so mild, but it is now so far advanced that it may be best to defer it untill early in March, and the carpenters as they proposed can make windows doors &c so as to get every thing in readiness

I wish You to pay Fowle, so that he shall be no looser, even tho the Labour should amount to 10 or 15 dollors more than was agreed for—1 God forbid that I should grind the face of the poor—2 the cellar will be large enough, I think it was best to proceed safely—

If the weather keeps off, and mr Porter can get up some sea weed, it would be very agreable.

I expect when Congress meet there will be warm work. a Clerk of the House and a speaker are to be Chosen. there will be a great struggle to get in Beckly again, and unless our northern Members are here by the first Day, it will be effected. the southern are already comeing. a more voilent Jacobin does not exist than Beckly but the Election of McKean has raised them so Much that they think to carry all before them— the conduct of G Britain towards our Commerce gives us great reason to complain and puts weapons into the hands of the Jacobins. yet strange to tell, no official complaint of any Merchant, has ever been presented to the President; or any officer of the Government, which leaves Room to believe, that many of the captures which have been made, would not bear an Examination; they serve to make, and keep up a Clamour; but our Merchants, 56 will Many of them cover any property, and trade with any Nation where there is a prospect of gain— I believe fully with mr Tufts, that ~~they~~ Britains are sufficiently Jealous of our increasing prosperity; and that they do not wish to see our quarrel Setled with France: they are as Proud, as they are powerfull. I am told that at the Southward, they pretend to believe the President strongly attached to the British— this falshood is propogated to answer Political purposes— I wish there next President may be as Independant of foreign attachments. to do Justice to all is the Rule; and to be partial to none—

I wrote to you and inclosed three hundred dollors, which I hope You have received.3

My kind regards to mrs Tufts and all other Friends from your affectionate

A Adams—

RC (Adams Papers); addressed by Louisa Catharine Smith: “Dr. Tufts / Weymouth / Massachusetts”; endorsed: “Mrs. Abigl Adams / Nov. 22. red Dec. 2d. / 1799–”; notation: “18.”

Probably Quincy shoemaker Jacob Fowles (Sprague, Braintree Families ).

Isaiah, 3:15.

In addition to enclosing $300 in her 13 Nov. letter to Tufts, AA reported on her travels to Philadelphia and requested an update on construction work at Peacefield (MQHi).

Mary Smith Cranch to Abigail Adams, 24 November 1799 Cranch, Mary Smith Adams, Abigail

Mary Smith Cranch to Abigail Adams

My Dear Sister November 24th 1799

I receiv’d your kind Letter of the 15th yesterday & am glad to find you able to receive so much company tho I fear it will not be advantagous to your nightly repose

I was in Boston last week & find the appointment of the Envoys is growing to be a very popular action Some extracts from Joel Barlows Letters has made the appointment appear an act of wisdom— these extracts were in John Russels paper close at the heels of those peices you sent me1

I have given Mrs Black the list of the Fashions I am fix’d for the winter & Shall have nothing to do with them

The weather is delightful I want to see your Building going on People have been ploughing eighteen Days at one of the Islands without interruption from Bad weather

mr Beal has painted your Floors as you desired & they look very Well— Mr Porter has kill’d the Hogs 2 of them weigh’d 20 score 57 apeice & the other 15— the Legs shoulders &C are in our cellar, & shall be attended too

28th

I have been prevented from finishing this Letter till this evening you may remember tis our thanksgiving day & had you been here been highly entertain’d such Prayers & Such a Sermon oh! what a feast they are; so devoted & So truely evangelical! If I can prevale I Will send you the Sermon If possible I admire him more than ever If this People knew how to estmate Such Talents a hundred dollars Would not part us. next monday we are to have a meeting what will be the result I cannot conjecture2 He din’d with mr Black to day & is gone to Hingham this evening.

Sister Smith & miss Betsy Apthorp din’d with us to day. Sister was very well & went to meeting with me we cannot get Mrs Apthorp out yet—but I sent her some dinner. the Turkey was very good The raisons made a fine Pudding—& the Flour is exellent the Sugar corrected the acid of the Craneberry & we drank our wine with thankful hearts & did not forget the channel thro which these Blessings flow’d

mrs Apthorp behaves very properly, but the Family always do something different from other Folks When they bury their Friends— after Mr A was put into his Coffen, the young Folks thought the Head of it would look better lin’d with white Flannel so the Son & Daughter went to work with a Hammer & nails one held up his head & the other tack’d it on Mr A’s wife got her Brush & Paint & painted the edge Black, then the widow & all the People in the house were call’d to see what an addition to the beauty of the Coffen it was had I been present I should have proposed puting a little rouge on his Face— I am sure it would have look’d as much better as the coffen did for the Flannel & paint. They were not children of Sorrow. how could they be, but they Should not have made a Baby house for him3

I went to see uncle Quincy Twice last week. he is very well I never saw him look better. I call’d upon Mr Wibird both times he look’d more like a dirty Beast than any thing else I was affraid to set by him—

mr Nortons Family & Mr Greenleafs were well yesterday. I saw mrs Foster last week sh[…] & hers were well Except herself She had a cold which settled in her Breast but it was better Mr Smiths Family were well Mrs Smiths children were very well when Mr 58 Smith was at atkinson John perform’d at the exhibition as well as any one in the Schooll Sister will not make us a visit this season, but I hope we shall all meet in the Spring the antisipation of it cheers in your absence / the Heart of your affectionate Sister

Mary Cranch

I have receiv’d the five dollar Bill inclos’d in your last Letter

your Friends all send Love4

I have receive this day a Letter from Mr shaw & one for Doctor Tufts5

RC (Adams Papers); addressed by Richard Cranch: “Mrs: Adams / the President’s Lady / Philadelphia”; endorsed: “Mrs Cranch / October 24 1799.” Some loss of text where the seal was removed.

The Boston Russell’s Gazette, 21 Nov., featured a piece by “American Independence” that was reprinted immediately in pamphlet form as American Independence, in Vindication of the President’s Nomination of a New Embassy to France, Boston, 1799, Evans, No. 35103. The writer supported JA’s decision to dispatch the second mission to France and criticized Joel Barlow to His Fellow Citizens, of the United States of America: Letter I, Paris, 1799, as being “written by the express order of the Directory” to obtain favorable terms for France (p. 10).

On 17 Oct. acting governor Moses Gill proclaimed a thanksgiving day for 28 November. The Quincy sermon was given by Rev. Peter Whitney Jr., who would be offered the pastorate of the First Church on 2 Dec., for which see Descriptive List of Illustrations, No. 2, above, and Cranch to AA, 8 Dec., below (Gill, Proclamation [naming 28 Nov. 1799 as a fast day], Boston, 17 Oct. 1799, MHi, Evans, No. 35790).

James Apthorp (b. 1731) died in Quincy on 10 Nov. and was interred at Trinity Church in Boston. The Massachusetts Mercury, 12 Nov., reported that his funeral was to take place the next day in Quincy. Apthorp’s widow was Sarah Wentworth Apthorp, and their surviving children were Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton, Charles Ward Apthorp, Elizabeth “Betsy” Apthorp, Lucy Ann Apthorp Nash Winbolt, and George Henry Apthorp (vols. 6:376–377, 12:263; John Wentworth, The Wentworth Genealogy: English and American, 3 vols., Boston, 1878, 1:519–526). JQA also claimed the family was eccentric, for which see JQA, Diary , 2:267.

This line was written vertically in the left-hand margin.

This line was written on the address page. AA’s letter to Cotton Tufts was probably that of 13 Nov., for which see AA to Tufts, 22 Nov., and note 3, above.