Papers of the Winthrop Family, Volume 3
1631-03-04
Thy deare husband John Winthrop
I cannot write the any long narration of our iorny but in breif both on Wednesday and Thursday we came to our iourneys end as wet as drounded rats but came safe and in good health God be praised Me thinks I want thy company much already which maketh me much greiued to thinke of a month or six weeks My Aund Downing expected to haue seene the an
All our freinds heare salute the. heere is none yet come for my sister Vrsula but last weeke there was one mr. Harris asked for her two or thre tymes and he had promised them to goe downe with her. So I rest with my love to all our freinds my sister winthrop sister mary (whose things I will shortly send downe) vncle and aunt Gostlin mr. Lee and the rest of our frends Thy loving Husband
W. Au. 57.
The letter to this point, with the exception of the date line, is in cipher.
1631-03-15
my humble deuteye remembreid vnto you trusteinge in god you are in good hellthe and I pray remembr my loue vnto my Brother Joseife, and thanck him for his kindnes that I found at his hand at London wich wase not the ualleu of fardin I knowe Louinge father and do confese that I wase an undeuteyefull Cheilld vnto you when I liueied withe you and by you for the wiche I am muche sorrowfull and greueid for it trusteinge in god that he will so geide me that I will neuer offend you so aney more and I truste in god that you will forgiue me for it and my wreightein unto you is to lete you vndurestand what a cuntrey theis new Eingland is whar we liue her ar but fewoe eingeines and a gret sorte of them deyeid theis winture it wase thought it wase of the plage thay ar a craftey peple and thaye will cussen and cheat and thay ar a suttell peple and whareas we ded expect gret stor of beuer her is littell or non to be had and thar Sackemor John waiethe it and maney of us truck withe them and it leyethe us maney tymes in 8s a pound thay ar proper men and clen Jointeide men and maney of them go nackeid withe a skein abought thare loines but now sli preise and a goote is worthe 3li a gadene gote her is teimbur good store and ackornes good stor and her is good stor of feishe If we had botes to goo 8 or x leges to sea to fishe in her ar good stor of weield foule but thay ar hard to cs a bushell and pese xs and mault xs and eindey seid wheat is xvs and thare other wheat is xs buttr xiid a pound and chese is 8d a pound and all kind of speyseis uerey der and allmoste non to be got and if theis ship had not cume when it ded we had bine put to a woondurfule straighte but thanckes be to god for sendinge of it in I resayueid from the shipe a hogseite of mell and the gouerner tellethe me of a hundreid waight of chesse the wiche I haue resayueid parte of it I humbley thancke you for it I ded expecte too coues the wiche I had non nor I do not arenestly deseyer that you shoold send me aney becauese the cuntrey is not so as we ded expecte it tharefor Louige father I wolld intret you that you woolld send me a ferckeine of buttr and a hogseit of mault onground for we dreinck notheinge but walltre and a corse clothe of fouer pound preise so it be thicke and for the fraute if you of youer Loue will send them I will paye the fraute for her is notheinge to be gote withe ought we had cs a payer for me and that clothe that is woorthe 2s 8d a yard is woorthe her 5s so I pray father send me fouer or fiue yardes of clothe to mack us sume parell and Lou
her cam ouer xxv passeingares and thare cume backe agayn fouer skore and od parsones and as maney more wolld a cume if thay had whare withe all to bringe them hom for her ar maney that cam ouer the laste yere wiche wase woorthe too hundreid poundes afore they cam ought of ould eingland that betwine theis and myckellmes wille be hardly worthe xxxli so her we may liue if we haue suppleyes euerey yere from ould eingland other weyse we can not subeseiste I maye as I will worck hard sete an ackorne of eindey wheat and if we do not set it withe fishe and that will coste xxs and if we set it witheought fishe thay shall haue but a por crope so father I pray consedre of my cause for her will be but a uerey por beinge and no beinge withe ought Louinge father youer helpe withe prouisseyones from ould eingland I had thought to a cam home in theis sheipe for my prouisseyones ware all moste all spente but that I humbley thanck you for youer gret loue and kindnes in sendinge me s
we ware wondurfule seick as we cam at sea withe the small Poxe no man thought that I and my leittell cheilld woolld a liueid and my boye is lame and my gurell too and thar deyeid in the sheip that I cam ine xiiij parsones.
W. 1. 84; 2
Proceedings
, VIII. 471–473. According to Governor Winthrop’s letter to John Winthrop, Jr., July 23, 1630 (Winthrop Papers, II. 307), two sons of William Pond of Edwardstone, Suffolk, came to Massachusetts in 1630. From the same source it is known that one was named John, while James Savage says that the other may have been the Robert Pond who subsequently lived in Dorchester. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, III (Boston, 1861), 452–453. From the nature of Winthrop’s reference to John Pond in the letter cited, it seems likely that John was the writer of the letter printed here. Much credit for the deciphering of this exceptionally difficult manuscript is due Mr. Julius H. Tuttle, former Librarian of the Society.