My dear Uncle, Taunton July 14th. 1776.

Once more, I date a letter to you from hence, in your office. I thought on, this time to have been in the enjoyment of my Parents & Brothers & Sisters, at my own home, but the small Pox has been hanging about Town ever since we have had it in Possession. As Sister Polly & I were not in very good health twas thought best by all our Freinds for us to tarry in the Country a little while. But now the small Pox is spread; the time for innoculation was limitted to twelve days, they began last thursday was seven’t. and tomorrow is the last day. My two youngest Sisters have gone thro’ the opperation the second day, I beleive it was, & I hope before now my Brother has. But last friday he could not get an officer to release him. I dont know whether any body has informed you that he has been in the army this two months. He is first Leiutenant 246in the Boston artilery, which has been stationed at Nantasket this some time. Tis a good birth, & the heigth of his ambition. I hear with Pleasure that he is in fine health & spirits. My full heart wishes him well thro’ the task he has undertaken, since it is his Choice. I rejoice that I have a Brother that is capable of doing such service to his country, but yet I feel a secret reluctance at Parting with him, to go into so dangerous a post, but I hope kind heaven will gaurd his unexperiencd. youth from the dangers & fatigues; & what is worse than these, the vices of a camp Life, & when the war is ended will Crown him with the Laurels of victory; & return him to his dear friends; in Safety. Several accidents happened, which Prevented Sister & I from going to Town the first week, to be innoculated & since that Pappa & Mamma with the Docters advise think it best for us not to go, at Present, there is vast numbers of Peoples gone from the Country. The Town is very much crowded indeed, & dog days will soon be here. Mamma says she will go with us to the hospital when tis Cooler weather, when she hopes to have the care of your little ones, as no doubt, you will think it best for them to have it in early youth. Their Mamma I beleive will Consent, & Cousin Bob & Sally are Pleased with the thoughts of going with us. I think there is 12 gone from this Green into town all went in one day, under the care of Doctor Cobb.

We are waiting Sir, with great impatience for a letter from you. Tis a long time you forget (when you chide my Aunt for not remembering you oftener,) how seldom you write, & how short your letters are; not that I think it an excuse for our negligance, as your hours of Leasure are very few. We know but we should be very glad to hear of your health much oftener; in half your letters you dont say any thing of it, so we take it for granted you are not sick. Mr. Procter was here a week ago. He said ten days before, you was well.

You ask about our Courts sitting. It adjourned untill September by reason of the great disturbance we had last march; & the great threatnings what was to be done in case they should attempt it again. I beleive my Aunt wrote you this; since which our Court house has been open’d for the reception of a hundred foreign Gentlemen. They sat there four days; the fifth, they dispersed to their destined abodes; all in this County. They are highlanders, Prisoners of war, one Sergeant & a Corporal the others privates. The Committees of the several towns came & divided them, twenty were Put in Prison, because they would not work for the rebels, but after being there 24 hours they came out & were also divided. They went to 247meeting while altogather, guarded by a number of our men, behaved very well. Parson Turner1 Preached. They liked him very much, thought he was a scotch man. I Pittied the Poor fellows at being Parted, without eithers; knowing where the other went in a strange land. One of them had a wife & child. Mr. Adam,2 has them. I think they were the ugliest looking men I ever saw. Their dress is very unbecomeing indeed.

I have sir one story to tell you that I am afraid you will not believe, but I can bring several evidencs of the truth of it, if you desire it. This is the story, My Aunt took Charly & left the house last monday & did not return untill friday noon! She went to swanzy by water & to Freetown. I tarried with my little Cousins the while; I dont know, but I shall be whip’d for letting it, so will leave the Particulars for her letter.

Sister & I thank you Sir for your kind enquirys & rememberance of us. I have wrote a long letter, & hope it will afford you some entertainment. I wish my Pen was better, but my knife is so dull I cant mend it so must beg your excuse for every fault & Subscribe myself dear Uncle yr. obliged & very dutifull Neice,

Abigail Greenleaf

Sister sends her duty.

RC .

1.

Possibly Charles Turner (1732–1818), who had resigned in 1775 after a 20–year pastorate in Duxbury, Mass. ( Sibley’s Harvard Graduates , 13:293–299).

2.

John Adam (1714–1808) of Taunton.

My Dear Sir, Boston July 15th 1776

Being oblig’d to go to Taunton on the 23d ult., at which place I was detain’d ’till last Thursday, has occasioned, not only the omission of my Correspondence, but has depriv’d me of, at least, 400 Guineas, as Inoculations was allow’d of in my absence, when all my Friends & acquaintance were oblig’d to employ other Physicians. This is a part of the same good Fortune that I have always enjoy’d in Life; But as I am determin’d no longer to court or carress her Dame-ship (being plac’d, thank 248God, above her) but to treat her with the Contempt she deserves; I am confident from her known spirit of Ambition, she must soon court my acquaintance. As my Journal contains little else than accounts of the weather, I shall omit sending it; but from this time shall continue it as usual. Their is now in this Harbour two fine prize Ships, sent in by Capt. Johnson1 of this Port, one from Jamaica for London, the other from Antegua for Halifax, the last of which, beside 400 & odd hhds. of Rum, has on board 17 hhds. that were not mentioned in her papers, & which were mark’d on the outside Yams, but contain English Goods, such as pins &c. We are fearfull Capt. Johnson is taken as he meant to come in with the Ships, & ’ho’ the Ships have been in port this week past we have heard nothing from him.

The Men that are to be rais’d in this Colony for New York and Quebec are got with great difficulty, not altogether because they dislike the Service, but they say the Rich Old Farmers shall either take their turns or pay for it; and ’tho’ the Colony have granted a Bounty of 3, for New York & 7£ for Quebec, yet the several Towns have been oblig’d to increase that Bounty from 9£ to 12£ in the first and from 15£ to 20£ in the last, & still the Men are not yet half rais’d; but hope soon to see it effected.

Our General Court have granted Liberty for every County to erect a Hospital for the Small pox; if our County shou’d erect one, I believe, I shou’d take the care of it; if that shou’d be the case you’d have no objection to your Family’s having the Small-pox.

I have receiv’d two Letters from you since I wrote you; in the first of which you enquire respecting Hoberts casting of Cannon. If it is he who undertook to cast ’em in an Air Furnace, he has fail’d in his undertaking; but Cannon are cast in Different places in this Colony, ’tho’ none very large as I have heard; but at Providence they cast as large as 18 pounds.

I shall enclose you Dr. Prices excellent pamplet on Civil Liberty.2 It must give us most sensible pleasure that a person of Dr. Prices Literary Character on that side of the Water, shou’d in such a bold & ample Manner support the Rights of Nature and of Nature’s God in these much injur’d Colonies. Your last Letter came freight’d with the best of News from a far Country, it gives general Joy that at last we have got to a fix’d point. We now know what to do & how to do it; but before all was uncertain.

We have no news from any quarter. Pray has Mr. Dean got back? How was he receiv’d & what does he say? If I am asking questions that we 249Mortals have no business with, don’t answer ’em; but I shou’d be very fond of knowing how matters go on. Adieu Dear Sir,

Your Family are all very well. Our Friends at Taunton in general are well. Jona. Wife has bro’t him another Son. Charles Barstow has had the Small pox in the natural way at Taunton.

David Cobb

RC ; internal address: “To R.T. Paine Esqr.”

1.

Capt. Henry Johnson of the privateer sloop Yankee captured the ship Creighton and the ship Zachariah Bayley. Later in the summer of 1776, Johnson and the Yankee were captured when British prisoners onboard took advantage of the “ill-judged lenity and brotherly kindness of Captain Johnson” and seized control of the ship. The Yankee was taken into London, but Johnson was able to escape from confinement by the end of August (Naval Documents of the American Revolution, 5:969, 6:530–531, 581).

2.

Richard Price (1723–1791), a non-conformist minister in London, wrote an immensely popular pamphlet, Observations on the Nature of Civil Liberty, the Principles of Government, and the Justice and Policy of the War with America (London, 1776). It went quickly through multiple editions in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, and John Dunlap reprinted it in Philadelphia.