Adams Family Correspondence, volume 13
r.
From the 6th. of May to the 23d. We had hot dry Weather with scarce any Rain, Our Pastures
& mowing Lands began to suffer, Barley & other Grain which before lookd
promising began to wither, from the 23d of May to the 9th. Instant the Rains were great, not more than Two or Three
fair Days— At present Your Grass Lands Wear a fine Appearance, Pastures also, Your Barns
will be too small for Your Crop of Hay— Your Meadow on the Back of the House is well
moistned, I fear some of the Corn in it will rot, a few Days of hot & fair Weather
will however with drains discharge the abundant Moisture— I have viewd the Farm lott of
Mr Cranch, & find that the Barn wants shingling, and
think it would be best to shingle it as soon as may be more especially the Back Part of
it, as the Hay cut upon that Place must be deposited there till wanted, there being Room
no where else— this Week went with Mr. Porter to purgatory
Pasture where we have the Cattle, proposed to be fatted— I find it to be a good Pasture,
but much overrun with Bushes, it will be necessary to cut them down in August.
Soule who was hird in the Beginning of the Spring fell sick and was
unable to do Business for 6 Weeks or more, a Brother of his supplied his Place during
that Time, finding him to be an industrious sober Man have hird him for 6 Months @ 10
Dollr. pr Month— I could wish
that the Farms improvd by French & Burrell were in as good a Train as Your
Homestead— I am not fully pleased with the Management of them and wish for some
alterations, which I shall hereafter submit to You, if my Health & Leisure will
permit me fully to digest them, as the old Oxen will be taken from those Farms and
fatted, they will each want a pair of Younger to supply their Place; if possible I
should wish to avoid purchasing any, but I fear it will be necessary— Porter has got a
pretty good Stock of Manure in the Dung Yard and will add to it as Leisure permits— The
wet Season in April did not allow us to sow the Barley so early as was wishd for— I do
not expect a luxuriant Crop especially in the Land bought of Mr. Cranch, which has a sickly appearance, the Drought which came on after it
sprung up has so stunted it, that the Produce will be but small— Our Apple Trees are in
general well loaded, if no Misfortune befalls them we shall a plenty of Fruit—
I am much pleased with the Unanimity that appears to pervade the
United States in Support of their all, I do not however
expect that we shall be in any Degree of Quiet, unless Congress takes effectual Measures
for preventing seditious Practices or the several Legislatures in the United States— The
Return of our Envoys is much wishd for, indeed it would produce great Joy—
Before I close, I must take the Liberty to recommend to You a
Nephew of Mine. Viz, Mr. Turell Tufts, a Son of my Brother
Dr. Tufts decd. Mr. T. T. was bred in the Mercantile Line, has pursued Business
at Hartford in Connecticut for 4 or 5 Years past, like others He speculated in the
Georgia Lands, Losses from this quarter & from French Depredations has thrown him
out of Business, He is well qualified for a Consul, Commercial Agent or first Clerk in
any office, Having spent a Day with him last Week, I found him a person of much
Information and very considerable political Knowledge—1 He informed me that Mr. Goodrich a Member of Congress from Hartford knew him and could give his
Character—2 His Genius may in some
Measure be discoverd from Medford Address, which my Friends at Medford informd me was
his Draught— It would be a Relief to him to ingage in any of the Employments above
mentiond, as he is an exceeding good Penman and has been in much Company & travelld conversant
with the World, should there be an Appointment of any New Minister to a foreign Court, I
think he would not disgrace a Minister as his Secretary— Should there be an Opening for
him He would come on to Philadelphia and present Such Addresses as are usual— This is a
Subject that gives me Pain to trouble You with for I know You have enough to tire You,
and exhaust Your Strength & Patience, but as this is a begging Day (& I fear
will be much more so) I hope for Your Indulgence
Our excessive Prosperity proved fatal to Thousands and the greater
Part of People became intoxicated, even many whose Steadiness and good Sense it might
have been thought would have secured them from the general Distemper, have been
infected—and involved themselves in Ruin— amongst others I pity the Family of Dr. Welch, the Drs. Conduct I fear
will not admit of any Apology, Time however will throw light upon it—and fix the real
Character. I more & more see the Wisdom & Propriety of Agurs Prayer and think it
best to jog on in a State of Mediocrity and as far as possible to keep Possession of
one’s self—3
Be pleased to remember me with affection to Mrs. Adams and 128 May Heaven indulge You with Health of Body &
Mind and crown Your public Labours with Success—
Your Affectionate Friend & H Servt
RC (Adams Papers); internal address: “The President of the United States.”
Turell Tufts, of Medford, Mass., was the son of Dr. Simon Tufts
and his second wife, Elizabeth Hall Tufts. On 10 Jan. 1799 JA nominated
Turell to serve as consul to Suriname; the Senate confirmed the appointment on 14
Jan., and Tufts remained overseas for a number of years (LCA, D&A
, 2:472;
Eliza M. Gill, “Turell Tufts and His Family Connections,” Medford Historical Register, 18:54 [July 1915]; U.S. Senate, Exec.
Jour.
, 5th Cong., 3d sess., p. 305).
Chauncey Goodrich (1759–1815) was a Hartford, Conn., lawyer who
served as a Federalist in the House of Representatives from 1795 to 1801 (
Biog. Dir.
Cong.
).
Agur’s prayer requested: “Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me” (Proverbs, 30:7–8).
15] June 17981
I have been at hard work this morning & my hands tremble So, I can Scarcly hold my Pen, but if I do not write now I may be hindred as I was last post day & So not finish my letter to send till too late
I was in the chaise for Boston Yesterday at 5. a clock. I found
my Friends well, & Doctors Welsh’s Family gratified by your attention to Thomas.
mr Smith Was bound for the payment of Tomas’ College Bills when he enter’d & now
finds himself oblig’d to pay them, So he will have his Degree. I saw the Doctor—he
looks very pale. my own Sensations were bad enough. I long’d to have the first time
over I am Sure I should not feel half So bad cloth’d in rags & my Scanty meal
before me the earnings of my daily labour—as I know he does to see his Friends to whom
he ows thousands of dollars which he will never be able to pay. he has fail’d I am
told for 20 30 Thousand dollars. can you conceive
what is become of the money? what can have Swallow’d it up!— Daughters had better be
educated in Such Strickt oconemy as our dear & venirable mother taught us— even to
the importance of Saving an apple pearing than never to know a want but of their own
creating— to this habit of accomidating your expences to your circumstances in early
life is now to be ascrib’d the elegance with which you Support your exalted Station
feed the hungry—clothe the naked—take under your Maternal care so many children of
distress & even prevent the wishes of your Friends with less than half the real
Sum that left your Pred—er in debt— your children will have many reasons to rise up
& call their 129 Parent’s blessed—& may they be Strict
immitators of their virtues— econimy I do think is the most important part of a womans
education I am Sure without, it is very imperfect
Turrel Tufts a nephew of Doctor Tufts was the writer of the medford address I have not seen it I am told he is a Smart Youth & has acquir’d Much Political information
Mr Nath. Appleton the Loan officer is dangerously Sick with a billious fever if alive he was So ill yesterday that it is not probable he liv’d the night out he will be an irraparable loss to his Family— but the plan is the result of infinite wisdom—
I hope Mr Adams will not be a looser by Docr welshs failing but I fear I think we are lucky to have receiv’d what he ow’d
us up to about Seventy dollars but that is more to us than to many others to whom he
owes large debts. he sent his mother back to us. I do not believe her therds will pay
her board— Mr Smith had a Deed of all his land—but when he sent to harvard to have the
Deed of one peice regersterd, he found it already done by Some other person who had a
Deed of it before him— I am Sorry he had not the whole2
Mrs welsh is greatly oblig’d to you for the Ribbon, & sends her respects. you could not have notic’d her in a better time. her Spirits were greatly depress’d but her real wants not many & no woman makes less
Tis Said our Envoys have left Paris I hope tis true their remaining there So long must destress the Goverment & their Families also—3
we have just open’d the Box. I had forgot the Passenger & She quite Surpris’d me She is arriv’d in perfect health & in good order She is very genteelly dress’d & tho her passage was long She was so well receiv’d that She had nothing to pay. Cousens dress is beautiful & by your having it made now I Should think, She had been more communecative to you than to any of her other connections If it was her desegn to be married Soon [. . .] She left me I think Betsy Shaws sickness if it [. . .] not prevent it at present it will cast a gloom upon her mind which will ill suit with wedding garments She had not done the least thing in the world that I know of to prepair for house-keeping & it did not use to be the custom to begin with wedding clothes She must make hast or they will be out of Fashion tho always I think pretty— I Shall deliver the caps & not let the others be seen by any one—
Your Grandsons were well, but want new clothing I hope caroline is better & that Mrs Smith will make us a visit when you return
130your Building will all be done the workmen dismis’d in a little time before you return. your kitchen Floor must wait another Season for paint Mrs Porter cannot move out Soon enough to have it dry for there must be a New Floor. every thing else I think will be done. the clover before your house would make the Presidents heart glad & regale his Senses
I hope my dear Sister it will not be long before you both will inhale its Sweets with your / ever affectionate Sister
Nabby Hunt lives with Mrs Porter So you see she has no thought of living but in your Family in some place or other mrs Porter says she does better for her than any other person she c[an] get. She has not found So good living as she expected I believe at home4
RC (Adams Papers); addressed: “Mrs / Adams /
Philadelphia”; endorsed:“Mrs Cranch / June 10th / 1798.” Some loss of text where the
seal was removed.
The dating of this letter is based on internal evidence and AA’s reply of 23 June, below.
In February Thomas Welsh conveyed to William Smith land in both Boston and Charlestown. On 25 May Samuel Bartlett, the register of deeds for Middlesex County, provided Smith with notes on all of Welsh’s sales and purchases recorded in that office (MHi:Smith-Carter Family Papers).
Boston newspapers reported in June that the envoys had been
preparing to leave France in April; see, for example, the Boston Independent Chronicle, 31 May – 4 June, and Columbian Centinel, 9 June. The Columbian Centinel, 16 June, reported that Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and
John Marshall had departed Paris on 16 April, intending to embark for the United
States at Bordeaux.
The postscript was written vertically in the margins of the second and third pages.