Adams Family Correspondence, volume 8

Mary Smith Cranch to Abigail Adams, 1-4 November 1789 Cranch, Mary Smith Adams, Abigail
Mary Smith Cranch to Abigail Adams
Braintree November 1d 1789 Dear Sister

The dull weather of Last week has prevented sister Shaw from making her visit or she would have been here mourning with me the absence of our dear sister. I hope she will be here on Teusday if she is not I fear she will not come this fall— She has already put it of too long—the fine weather is all over. Doctor Tufts has taken the advantage of it & brought home his wife as snug as can be— Mrs Quincy & Miss Nancy are going with us to make the wedding Visit this week. Mr Wibird is too unwell to preach to day has got I suppose the Washington cold— every body who was at the parade the Day the President enter'd Boston took a cold. People stood at the windows some of them Six hours, waiting for his arrival— Having got a good situation they were affraid to leave it least they should not be able to recover it again; The day was dreadful raw & uncomfortable Lucy & Miss Hazen are gone to weymouth to meeting & to see the Bride. Lucy has not yet seen her aunt but both of them have such colds they were not fit to go out— Here is your son Tom confin'd with it he has been threaten'd with the Rhumatism but I hope he will not be bad—

Mr Adams was here last evening & was well, I wish'd him to stay here but he was so busy picking out Books to send by Barnard that he could not. When Mr Brisler leaves him he will come— I am sorry too hear that cousin Louisia & the little Boy did not take the Small Pox it is a pity to have so much anxiety for nothing: but I hope the will do well yet

I have seen Ruth Ludden she says she shall not be eighteen till next fall— she will then come if you are not supply'd Mrs Feild is spining your thread

What is become of Betsy Crosby Miss Soper desir'd me to ask you to give me the true situation She is in if you had seen or known any thing of her1

The dull circle in which I move furnishes me with so little to intertain you with—that I find it difficult sometimes to muster up matter for a Letter—

Mr Brisler has felt a little diffident about returning without your further orders— he hopes he has not do[ne] wrong— I assur'd him you would be glad to recc[ommend] him if he was convinc'd that he could not do so [well?] in any other way

434

I hope I shall receive a Letter from you before I close this. if I should I may add more than that.

I am with Love to all my Freinds your / affectionate Sister

Mary Cranch

Mr Cranch desires his Love may be presented

Novb. 4th

no Letters from you— We are all indisposed with colds but nobody quite sick— old mrs Thayer is here upon her mendicant visit She is in her ninety second year & can walk a mile or two yet. & has knit 5 pair of stockings with in five weeks three pair of which were for men!

RC (Adams Papers). Some loss of text where the seal was removed.

1.

For Elizabeth Anne Crosby, see vol. 5:187–188. Miss Soper was probably one of her maternal aunts (Pattee, Old Braintree , p. 156).

Abigail Adams to John Adams, 3 November 1789 Adams, Abigail Adams, John
Abigail Adams to John Adams
Newyork Novbr 3. 1789 my dearest Friend

I did not write to you by the last post. I was in hopes to have received a Letter from your and to have known from under your own Hand how your Health was. Tommy wrote me by your direction;1 and I heard by other Hands of your safe arrival and the News papers inform us that by desire of his Honour the Leiut Govenour you was in the procession to accompany the President to his Residence.2 there is a vile mischevious junto in Boston, but I shall lose the whole chain. the Printers have not sent on the papers Sinc you left here; pray order them continued. But now with regard to our own affairs Brisler sends me word that he proposes to return & bring on his Family, & I have engaged two Rooms for him in the House at the End of our Land, adjoing to the corn Feild which will be very near and convenient for him. I am not at all satisfied with the Hand I have with me and with Regard to the coachman, you will not confide in him further than you can see, him Brisler will tell you that with Liquors he cannot be trusted. I mention this least Brisler should be obliged to come away before you. the Porter which is in the cellar you will either have sent on, or dispose of as it will freeze, the red wine & any other you chuse you will direct Brisler to put on Board Barnard, 200 weight of cheese & all the Butter which can be procured. I hope you will conclude to return sooner than you talkd 435of. the Trunk of cloaths which you had sent by Barnard you can leave without any inconvenience till Spring.

we have no News here except the expected return of the commissoners from Georgia who it seems have been very unsuccessfull, & concequently must expect many unfavourable reports with respect to them, some of which are already in circulation;3 the district court meet this day the Marshal is qualified and attends. the Rank & presidence was yesterday setled & the Marshal is to take Rank of the district Attorney.

our little John has had the small pox finely & is quite recoverd of it Louissa is innoculated from him— pray present my duty to your good mother Love affection where due. congratulation to our New married Friends, for me, and accept the affectionat Regard / of Your

A Adams

Suppose the horse cart Horse sled & one sadle which the dr has in his care & the Saw should be put on Board Barnard we shall find them very usefull

RC (Adams Papers); addressed: “To / The vice President of the / united states / Braintree”; docketed: “Mrs Adams to / John Adams. / November 3rd 1789.”

1.

Not found.

2.

The New York Daily Advertiser, 31 Oct., reported, “a Correspondent observed with great pleasure the Vice-President in the Procession from the State House; who at the request of the Lieut. Governor proceeded with the Procession to the Residence of the President.”

3.

In the fall of 1789, in an attempt to resolve land disputes between residents of the state of Georgia and the Creek Nation, George Washington sent commissioners to Rock Landing, Georgia, to open negotiations with the Creeks. The Creeks, however, pulled out of the discussions because of the commissioners' support for Georgian land claims, and the commissioners came back to New York without an agreement (Francis Paul Prucha, The Great Father: The United States Government and the American Indians, 2 vols., Lincoln, Neb., 1984, 1:54–55). A report of the commissioners' return appeared in the New York Daily Advertiser, 29 October.