Washington Nov 19th 1820
My dear friend,
Your hind letter of the 8th has just come to hand; for which
I tender you my most sincere acknowledgments. Altho' it has been
sometime on its passage it communicates the agreeable intelligence
that you and the family were well, at least one week later than
I had heard from you; and I pray God that among the unavoida-
ble troubles my absence must necessary subject you to, that your
health may be preserved, and that of our dear children. As to my own
I have very little to apprehend, more than trifling indispositions, &c
with which I am sometimes troubled, which never give me any con-
cern as to their consequences. It is true as you heard by Mr Gibb
that I had something of the prevailing cold or influenza by the time
I reached Burlington, but in its mildest form, which continued until
I arrived at this place; but it has entirely left me. I have received
much more trouble from an ugly bile which formed on the back of
my right hand soon after I left home, and continued to inflame &
increase for several days - it has at last broke and discharged a
great deal of matter & is now free from pain and is fast healing.
It was so painful for a number of days, as to prevent me from
sleeping. Otherwise my health has been perfectly good.
I gave you an account of my journey as far as Albany in
a letter written from that place, which I presumed reached you on
the 12th, and from there to this place, which in a letter written on
the 12th, and which I expect will reach you before this. After arri-
ving in Washington I put up a tavern, as is usual, until I had
an opportunity to look round among the different boarding houses
to select a suitable place. And after spending two days, we came to
to a conclusion that we could not be so well accommodated,
all things considered, as to taken our old lodgings at Capt Burches - So we formed a
mess, consisting of Mr Richards & myself, Judge Palmer & Col. Rich of Vermont,
Judge Livermore of N.H. Mr Phelps & Mr Stevens of Connecticutt, with 3 from
South Carolina, one from Virginia & one from Kentucky - Mr Richards &
myself have taken a room together as usual, and we agree to pay
the same price for board that we gave last winter - which is the common
price at all the boarding houses. There are some indications that
the present session, like the last will not be a very pleasant one.
In the very outset it took us almost three days to choose a speaker; the
contest was not so much about the qualifications of the persons voted for,
as whether he should be from the free, or slave states - the free states
have at last succeeded. I should expect that we should now proceed
with the common business with considerable harmony through the ses-
sion, if it were for the Missouri question being again to be agi-
tated. Missouri has formed a constitution which not only tolerates slav-
ery in its fullest extent; but it excludes any free person of color from
even living in the said state. They have sent on their Senators &
Representative to take their seats in Congress, I believe the Northern
members are determined not to admit them; I have not learned the
sentiments of the Southern members particularly on the subject; they
will be probably disposed to admit them - how the subject will be
decided I am not able yet to predict.
I wish you would ask Mr Corbin when he returns from Bos-
ton to select 3 or 4 hundred of as good pork as he shall take in at
his store and let you have it & I will forward to you the money
to pay for it next week, and also to pay for what butter you may
think necessary to purchase - I think pork will not be over 5 or 6 dollars
the hundred; this is considerable over the New York
prices, where pork will not bring only from three dollars & an half
to four dollars; and the best of fall butter only from 10 to 12 cents the
pound, while firkin butter is considerably less. I expect as Mr Corbin
will take in pork, in payment of store debts, he will be willing to let
us how it at the same price for money - I spoke to him before
he went to Boston upon the subject and he told me he would like to
accommodate us in that way. As he was then pretty much engaged in
purchasing his drove, he may have forgot the conversation. But if
he has I have no doubt that he or Mr Clarck would either of them be
very willing in that way to turn their debts into money & avoid any
[ ]
I have received a letter from Samuel dated the 11th in which
he writes me that his health is good and that his cold, which was con-
siderably troublesome when I saw him, had left him. I have written
to him this day & have sent him some papers, & shall continue to
send the papers to him until he returns home - Samuel writes me
that the snow fell at Burlington on the 12th 7 or 8 inches deep; I ex-
pect you have plenty at Craftsbury also - It fell about 8 inches in New-
York, a foot in Hartford, and as much at Boston, so that there has
been good sleighing from Boston to New Haven during the last week.
It snowed here all day on the 11th but in the evening it turned to rain &
continued the greater part of which carried off what snow had
fell, the weather was cold for two or three days, since which it has be-
come quite pleasant. I am pleased to hear that Mr Kendall
has finished the roof - I began to fear the weather was so bad that
he would be obliged to leave it as it was - I think from your
accounts of the new society at Craftsbury, that the town will soon
be well peopled - I am rather sorry for [ [ Young, that his wishes
should not be fully gratified - But I would advise him not to despond
that the present fortunate event ought to inspire him with a
belief, that his next efforts will prove successful.
You ask me to burn your letter after I have read it. This is asking
a favor I am, under my present circumstances, very unwilling to grant.
I have pretty much determined not to come to a conclusion upon the
subject until I see you again, when perhaps you may persuade me
to do it; but until that occurrence shall take place, I shall preserve
it, with many others which I hope you will write me, as memorials
of the good wishes of one, who holds the first place in my affections.
Wishing you and our dear children all possible happiness,
I subscribe myself your affectionate &
faithful friend,
Saml C Crafts
S. C. C. To E.C.
Nov. 19. 1820
Mrs. Eunice Crafts-
No 8 1820