Transcription
Mount Fordham Oct 27, 1843
My Dr Boy
I most gratefully acknowledge last week having rec’d / your long and very interesting Letter peculiarly interesting as you / have been on the [Bed] of [??] sickness and that we are favoured by / your hand the best evidence of your complete recovery we have / all [were/been?] peculiarly favoured that as you from facts have been / extraordinarily Ill an immeasurable Blessing that we all have had / no knowledge of it until by your Hand of a perfect recovery / what pains and heart rending anxieties have [?been?] spared your / fond parents sisters and all the rest of us, a very grateful since / of Gratitude is felt and exprefsed by us all for this kind and all / most affectionate attention your [committing?] [^ by] [Re–??] at the / Hands of your ??-erable native Citizenry, there really appears a / fostering Benificent Hand of a Kind providence and as they / have been the Instruments in his Hands an affectionate / gratitude on our part at all times and occasion when so / happy as [^ to] offered an opportunity while on the subject of your / immediate family, you I promise know that your Father has put / his Farm from off his shoulders and am informed is now engaged / at the instance of George Schuyler in some way with the proprietor / of one of our Eastern Rail Roads has [^ or] for what you will execute / my Ignorance, Your Mother the two Girls Uncle + Aunt Tom I believe / in the Dream Earley in this month jaunted North spent two / Days at [10?] Point then visited every acquaintance on both sides of / the River to Hudson there dropped your Mother and the two Girls / they having business at Albany but finding a card stating / the short time in going to the great Falls Buffalow [sic] by the way of Troy / they go and attend to the Albany business on their return, but / during their absence a [marauding boat ferried?] at night Broke open / his Carriage House and carried off the splendid English Carriage / Harnice, and all his Coachmans cloths leaving him nothing / in but what he stood in, the Thieves have been detected some where / in our Western Country and the Harnise recovered, but the / Coachmans clothes found a more [??] [??] [sale?] and not so / conspicuous We have not seen your Mother an unusual length /
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Of time but hear of her good health and Spirits every few days / we saw Mary and [Lecky?] at Uncle Toms but a few Days ago / Tom and Fan are now in Town we are informed [lefsing?] their / Town House for I know not how long
This day and tomorrow our County knowing ones are at the / [Plains?] Commemorating in great nouse, expense, + splendor, the / memorable Foughts [^ battles] there between the British + our Army it must / however be but a [lefthanded?] Rejoicing as it [^ is] admitted that we / got the worst of it, your Uncles and Aunts of my family are all / as usual well, your Uncle Bobs wife excepted who is [^ as] you left her / and probably will never be less troublesome Rob’t is in good / Health and spirits all things considered, will of choice [??] or his / office in the Spring, we spent 3 Weeks with James and two with / W’m this last summer and all my grand children as promifsing / as Heart could wish, Uncle Phil and Bride are comfortably at / House Keeping and as that subject is probably a Hobby with / Mary and [??]’g you will be silent, your sister Fan + George who / suffered much with a City Fever called Tiler Grip have spent / much of their summer with your Mother and Eliza who is quite / snug in her little Cottage, George however [^ h]as been much away / medling in Steam Boats and Rail Roads of all which however / true I am unable at present to throw more light upon / I will now come Home Your GrandMother injoys a good / Health as best few of her Age 77. Lew and Emm[e/a]? are as well as / almost every day going some where will permit, they have / been in Town now this evening most of 3 days but last the / least Master Fordham is certainly unequaled in his generation, / if exprefsion means anything it means every thing that / can with confidence be built upon as amiable, he begins / to step and say some few words and at this early period / shews all [Horse?] Lewis is improving his farm and / out Building with much Taste, he has [now?] [Housed?] [rising?] / 800 BUshels of first [red] potatoes, and his Corn Crop far
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Exceeds in extent and quality anything previous our high Bridge / crossing the [He–m?] will when finished far exceed any thing in this / new world. Lewis has so managed with that institution who from / necessaty make an abundance of manure that he is making a / perfect garden of his 109 [c–s?] which excepting his actual garden / will be splendid mowing ground, promising at this distance from / Town that produce will be much cheaper made and find at all times / a better and a more ready Market more particularly as our City is / extremely growing in every direction and [^ in] importance and the daily / increase of Rail Roads and Steam Boats can abundantly glute our / markets with every species of produce with more [commonsence?] and less / expense and Risque than that ever requested article Hay but I forget / that all this Rigmarole story is not in your line, no less would yours be / in mine, but as I am out of my [path?birth?] permitt me to [???ese] you / with something new in both our lines, this last summer a Clerical / State Convention was held and d-[??]-full to state that our Clerical and / Lay Members generally took opposite sides / with some warmth and which as might be / expedited was a [briech?] not easily [handed?], our / Bishop saw fitt to Ordain a young man / Educated regularly in our Theological Seminary who from / unquestionable evidence had a strong leaning to Catholic principals / and has since made confessions confirmative of that fact and who / is now ordained to preach in our Church and who now admitts / that he has acted and been governed under the advice of Bishop / [Haws?], under the Idea that in that situation he could be of more / service to send [Hi-?s] Catholic Institution, now this I consider a / serious division and a [remedy] quite our of the question our / Bishop was previous in Convention informed of this state of things / by brethren and Smith the Bishop persevered and those two Clergy / left the Church, now my son I have spun a long story and our / very remote situation is the only apology my aged [??-ious] can devise / Lew Emma + [Boy?Bow?] are still in Town and your aged grandmother the / only joint Inhabitant with me
Affectionately your +c Rob’t Morris
A Hamilton Jr.
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[ADDRESS]
Alexander Hamitlon Esq’r
To the care of our Minister
Washington Ervin Esq’r
To Spain _
Madrid
[REVERSE OF ADDRESS]
From Grandpapa
October 27th 1843
Received Dec 7th
[POSTMARK - black ink, large rectangle with rounded corners]
RECEIVED
AND FORWARDED BY
Y. ?. ?.
R. G. BENTLEY
U.S. CONSUL
HAVRETranscriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
English
