Eastham July 31st. 1762 Sir,

I1 received Yours of the 1st: Instant2 & with Satisfaction I peruse the Contents; in Answer to which I would inform you, that the Information you have received, of my unhappy Scituation with regard to Mr: Wormley as his Wife, & my Willingness to be freed from this near Relation to him, is just. Altho' I ever wanted a proper Person to carry on227this my intended Prosecution for a Divorce, I can't enough extoll your Generosity & Kindness in affording of me such an Opportunity, to make Use of your great Skill in such Affairs, & depend on it that you'll Advise nothing but what will be to my Advantage; which I shall ever be ready to requite.

Your are pleas'd to inform me that you expect I shall write all I know about Mr. Wormley's being married to another Woman: which I suppose to import, what I have hear'd of this his Marriage; as I have no other Knowledge of it (except two Letters; I have one wrote by him, to her: & another wrote by her, to him which I can produce.) My Brother Hezekiah3 informs me when he was in Philidelphia he there enquir'd & was inform'd that he was married some few Miles Distant from Philidelphia, but cant remember the Name of the Place; by a Dutch Minister; To a Girl whose name was Mary Peek or Pike; who now lives at Philidelphia; with his Mother. who has married her second Husband one Mr. Hodge. They were married under borrow'd Names. And had one Child before he came here. I was married to him on the 17th Day of May A.D. 1757: the last Letter I ever received from him was dated Feby. 1st. A.D. 1760. He was then in Jamaica. These are the most of the Perticulars I can inform you off. If you think 'tis probable to succeed in this attempt, I would have you not only to send; but if you possibly can to go to Philidelphia, where you may be further inform'd & I will pay you amply for your Expences, Trouble, & whatever other Charges may arise, if it can't be accomplish'd otherwise. If you should proceed be pleased to give Me timely Notice thereof; And if you do not, I desire this may be buried in Oblivion. If you should write again be pleas'd to cover it with a Superscription to my Brother, Elisha Doane,4 that it may have a safer Conveyance. I trust to your Favour in Compliance herewith & with pleasure subscribe myself Your greatly oblig'd Friend & Hume. Sert.

RACHEL WORMLEY

PS My brother Elisha Doane joins with me in Compliment you ut supra5

RW

RC ; addressed: "To Mr. Robert Treat Paine In Taunton. To the Care of Mr. Fleet Boston"; endorsed.

1.

Rachel Doane of Eastham had married "John Wormely residant at Truro" at Eastham, May 17, 1757 (Mayflower Descendant 16[1914]: 196), but she now sought a divorce on the grounds of bigamy. RTP sought the assistance of his friend Richard Smith of Philadelphia to ascertain the legality of the228 first marriage (see Richard Smith to RTP, Philadelphia, Mar. 21, 1763, et seq.). While at Boston on Nov. 7, 1764, Smith deposed on his own knowledge of the case and gave character references for the other deponents (Charles Francis Jenkins Collection, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia). The marriage was eventually annulled in 1765 (Suffolk Files, no. 129744).

Rachel Doane (1734–1806) was a member of a prominent Cape Cod family. Her father, Col. Elisha Doane of Wellfleet, a successful whaler and captain of a company in the Louisburg Expedition, was considered one of the richest men in New England (Adams, Legal Papers, 2:355 n.12). Rachel Doane Wormley later remarried twice; in 1765 she married Edward Bacon, who died in 1783; she later married Dr. Thomas Smith of Woods Hole. Bacon was a prominent citizen of Barnstable and business associate of the Doane family. He served in the House of Representatives, but during the Revolution was accused of Tory sympathies. A resolve to expel him from the General Court was drafted by RTP, and in Jan. 1779 Bacon resigned his seat. Barnstable issued resolves in his support, and reelected him to the next session, but the House expelled him in June 1779. (Alfred Alder Doane, The Doane Family [Boston, 1902], 88; Swift, ed., Barnstable Families, 1:27–28; Journals of the House of Representatives, 54:107, 55:24.).

2.

Not located.

3.

Hezekiah Doane (1730–1808) was active in the whaling trade and was said to own sixteen sail of vessels before the Revolution. He served his hometown of Wellfleet as deacon, selectman, and representative to the General Court (Doane, Doane Family, 140).

4.

Elisha Doane (1725–1783) was a whaler in his early life, and later served as a justice of the peace, colonel in the militia, and state senator and representative. He later became the father-in-law of RTP's friend Shearjashub Bourne (Doane, Doane Family, 147).

5.

As above.

Taunton Augt. 6th. 1762 Sr.,

I have considered your Case1 since I saw you last & am clearly of the mind that by Law you ought not to be hindered giving Any Evidence relating to the assault notwithstanding the Verdict on the Indictment agt. you, especially in Mr. John Usher's Case agt. you at Newport where they will undoubtedly play the same card agt. you endeavour to hinder you as they did in the last Case. But as I suppose it Mr. John Usher's Evendence was used in Support of the Indictment agt. you & I suppose was wt. the Jury principally grounded their Verdict upon. It appears to me intirely clear that you cant by the Rules of Law you cant be hindred from encountering that Verdict & if that Jury grounded their Verdict upon Mr. John Usher's Evidence he can't so much as give it in Evidence in the Case so that I advise you to file yr. Reasons of Appeals at Newport & Bristol according to the Law & enquire of the Jury wt. weight they gave to John Ushers Evidence on the Indictment. Mean while if you can get a New Trial of the Indictment it may be worth yr. while229as it will help you out with yr. other Cases & will also clear you from the aspersion of that Judgement. If any one says that you have no Right to a New Trial in a Criminal Matter, they are mistaken, for the Party Convicted, by Law has the Same Right to a new Trial as in a civil matter & for the same Reasons, Vizt. surprize in The Trial, want of Evidence, a Verdict agt. Evidence or any mismanagement whatsoever, & the Deposition you have of the Jurys dissatisfaction in their Verdict will greatly help you to obtain a new Trial if yr. assembly will consider the matter. Upon the whole it appears to me from what I have seen of yr. Case that you have suffered contrary to Law, & that you ought without any Bodys prejudice in yr. favour to recover in all of 'em. If you propose to have my assistance in the matter I beg of you to let me have timely notice of all yr. proceedings that so no more advantages may be lost agt. a Crafty powerfull Antagonist & you may depend I Shall neglect nothing that will help you in the matter. My Compliments to yr. Lady & wishing you success in this troublesome affair & that you may finally prevail against Ecclesiastical or Political Tyranny I Subscribe yr. hble. Servt.

RTP

LbC ; addressed: "To Capt. Simeon Potter Mercht. at Bristol."

1.

Simeon Potter (1720–1806), a native of Bristol, R.I., who went to sea early and amassed a large fortune chiefly from privateering. He held local and state offices and became well known for his part in the expedition that burned the Gaspée on June 10, 1772. The Gaspée, a British armed schooner stationed in Narragansett Bay to prevent smuggling had run aground while chasing a packet sloop. Potter was hot-tempered and often engaged in law suits. According to Clifford K. Shipton, the Rev. John Usher, pastor of St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Bristol, "undertook to rebuke the mistress of Simeon Potter, one of his leading parishioners, for living in adultery. Potter, a privateersman accustomed to violent action, knocked the parson into the street and would have beaten him further if John Usher, Jr., had not interfered. The mariner was fined 500/ but escaped payment by taking steps to carry an appeal to the Privy Council." (Sibley's Harvard Graduates, 6:344–349; Munro, History of Bristol, R. I., 175–185).