To my deere and beloued daughters mrs. Elizabeth Winthrop and mrs. Martha Fones at Groton: dd these:
my beloued and dere daughters
the true loue and hartty affection I bare to you both will not suffer me to let slip this oppertunyty of many298fasting the sam unto you though I haue not time to writ to you both as I desier yet I trist your loue to be such as you will excepte of this till I shall haue a furder occation of manyfasting the same unto you in the meane time I pray rest assured that though I am now by the prouidence of god remoued fare from you yet is my loue still the same2 and I may truly say that it is rather incrased towards you then any way lessned by this chang and that yours may be still the same towards me I intreat you that you would remember the dere loue that was euer betwne your dere farther and me and that I could willing haue layed downe mine owne life that you might still haue inioyed his if the lord had seene it to haue bine good for us and now my dere daughters I beseech you know the god of your father serue him with a parfit hart and a willing mind which if you doe as I persawead my selfe you doe he will suerly be found of you in all plases and uppon all occations remember I pray you that gratious promise the 43 of Isaiah the 2. and 3 uerse I am much troubled that I am so fare from you now when I might haue bine of sum use unto you but the lord I trist will be all in all unto you and I shall labore to suplye that want by my dayly prayers for you both I thank you both for your louing letters which I tooke most kindly from you but I haue bine so full of compeny that I could not writ before now and now I am much straited of time so that I must leaue all pertuclares of my selfe to my cosson forth to relate unto you your brother is well and I trist you shall haue much comfort of him and this with the remembrance of my true loue to you both my cosson Jhon my cosson mary and all the rest with you I commit you to our good god whom I beseech to bless you with all blessing both spirituall and temperall fare well my dere daughters your uery louing mother till death
Pris Paynter.
Exeter, aprel 17. 1630
my husban desiers to be kindly remembred unto you and to my cossons and so doth your brothers and sisters and I pray remember me by name to all my good frinds at groton