I have every hope that it will not fail me in my need. Yet the
difficulties which I have to overcome are great, and I acknowledge to
you that my prospects depend very much upon getting together a
subscription list previously to the first of December. If by this day I
can obtain 500 names, the work cannot fail to proceed, and I have no
fears for the result. The friendship you have always evinced, the near
relationship which exists between us, and the kind offer in your last
letter, all warrant me in hoping that you will exert your whole
influence for me in Augusta. Will you oblige me by acting as my agent
for the _Penn Magazine_ in your city, this letter being your authority?
If I am not mistaken, you already act in that capacity for the
_Messenger_.
I will write a few lines also by this mail to your brother Robert, with
a Prospectus, as you suggest—and also to Washington [Poe] at Macon.
Mrs. Clemm, my aunt, is still living with me, but for the last six weeks
has been on a visit to a friend in the State of N. Jersey. She is quite
well, having entirely recovered her health. Respecting the letter from
Mr. Bayard I am quite at a loss to understand it. It is however possible
that the letter was written by Mr. B. at a period when we were all in
much difficulty in New York and that Mrs. C(lemm) concealed the
circumstance from me through delicacy.
Yours truly,
E. A. P.
AUTOGRAPH LETTER OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN
[Relating to a soldier who had deserted. An interesting memento of the
traditional kind-heartedness of the great President, even in such a
serious matter as the desertion of a soldier in time of war, the
almost invariable penalty for which is death. This letter sold for a
high price in New York lately.]
EXECUTIVE MANSION
WASHINGTON, _July 25, 1864_.
Thomas Connor, a private in the 1st. Veteran New York Cavalry, is now
imprisoned at hard labor for desertion. If the Colonel of said Regiment
will say in writing on this sheet, that he is willing to receive him
back to the Regiment, I will pardon, and send him.
A. LINCOLN.
LETTER OF WASHINGTON
[Ordering the execution of a soldier. In marked contrast to Mr.
Lincoln’s. It is addressed to Col. Tucker at Albany.]
HEADQUARTERS, _20th May, 1782_.
Sir:
I have rec’d your Letter of the 11th instant and another without date
the former inclosing the proceedings of a Court Martial held for the
Trial of Shem Kentfield,—
Inclosed you have copy of the General Order approving the proceedings
and a Warrant for the Execution of the Prisoner—the place of Execution
is left to you.
The necessity of the Contractors furnishing Lard Bread when required has
been represented to Mr. Morris[48] who will doubtless take measures
accordingly.
I am Sir Your very humble Servant
G. WASHINGTON.
LETTER OF COLONEL BARNARD BEEKMAN, S. C. ARTILLERY (STATE TROOPS.)
[He was taken prisoner at the capture of Charleston in 1780. Zubley’s
Ferry was across the Savannah River to the Georgia shore. As General
Moultrie was then the senior officer in South Carolina this letter
was probably meant for him.]
CAMP AT SHELDON (S. C.)
_23d October, 1779._
DR. GENERAL
I arrived at this Post on the ev’ning of yesterday; with the Army &
Stores.—I left Capt. Hale of the 2d with a command of Fifty men at
Zubly’s, to cover the removal of the Corn Meal, &c., under the Direction
of Col Wylley D. Q. M. General. I am sorry to observe that that
Gentleman overtook the Army at Alleston’s on the march, where he
inform’d me that he could not obtain the Ox teams & carts, and doubted
of means to bring the Corn Meal on.—I have sent off Capt. Spencer (of
the Q’r master’s Department) with orders to collect what carriages
[carts] he can on his way to Zubly’s ferry and Directed him to bring off
the Corn Meal if possible so far as Mr. Heyward’s plantation, from
whence it may after be brought to camp. I have posted a strong Picquet
at Port Royal ferry & such other Guards as our safety required & number
would afford. The large Boats at Zubly’s ferry are sunk in a deep lagoon
on the So Car’o. side a little higher up the River—have decided that the
Boat which brought the Corn meal be sunk in like manner.
The prisoners are this hour brought by an officer of Col. Garden’s,
taken at Hilton head & General Bull’s Island; the officer reports that
the Enemy have removed the Sick from a board the Vessells to the last
mentioned place, that they[49] * * * * * * (Pendarvisses)—that on the
night of the 21st five white men and four negros landed upon the main,
about 3 miles above Colo Garden’s command of Militia (and) took off 5
Hogs & some cows.
I have now to renew my request for your leave of absence from Camp, I
could add many reasons to those before offer’d; as the necessity for the
good of the Service, I hope it will suffice when I assure you it is not
to withdraw myself from Duty. Your compliance will oblige
Sir, Your most obedient
B. BEEKMAN.
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES
THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY.—At a stated meeting held March 7 a
letter was read from Governor Higgins, acknowledging his election as an
Honorary Member of the Society. The paper of the evening, entitled
“Unpublished Papers of the Revolutionary War,” by Baron von Closen, Aide
to Count de Rochambeau, with stereopticon illustrations, was read by Mr.
Clarence Winthrop Bowen. Several views showing the progress in the
erection of the new building of the Society were shown.
At the April 4th meeting the Peter Marié Collection of Miniatures, 284
in number, was presented to the Society by the residuary legatees under
the will of the late Peter Marié. A daguerreotype of Washington Irving
was presented by Mr. Walter L. Suydam.
The thirteenth of the illustrated series of papers relating to the City
of New York, entitled: “Memorials of the Revolution Within Our Gates,”
was read by Mr. Albert Ulmann, author of a “Landmark History of New
York.”
At a stated meeting held on Tuesday evening, May 2, an oil painting of
the Dutch School, the “Sacrifice of Abraham,” was presented to the
Society by Mrs. Peter Gerard Stuyvesant Ten Broeck; a crayon portrait of
Prof. Samuel F. B. Morse was added to the collection by the Dürr Gallery
Fund.
The silver medal presented by Congress November 3, 1780, to David
Williams, one of the captors of Major John André, September 23, 1780,
was presented to the Society by Mrs. Eugene A. Hoffman.
Resolutions, on the death of Mr. Edward Floyd de Lancey, late Chairman
of the Executive Committee and Domestic Corresponding Secretary,
1879–1899, were adopted.
Mr. Oswald Garrison Villard read the paper of the evening entitled:
“Wall Street, 1653–1789.”
COMMUNICATIONS
THE FIRST BRITISH PRISONER TAKEN IN THE REVOLUTION
Silvanus Wood of Woburn, Mass., on the alarm of the 19th of April, 1775,
left his home at Kendall’s Mill and hastened to Lexington where he
joined Capt. Parker’s company of thirty-seven minute-men on the Common
at the time the British regulars fired upon them. He assisted in
removing the dead and wounded from the field to the meeting-house and
then followed the British troops to Concord, accompanied by a companion
who was unarmed. When about a mile beyond the meeting-house, near
Parkhurst’s Hill in Lexington, Wood observing a British soldier who had
left the ranks and was resting by the roadside, ordered him to
surrender, which he did, and taking from him his musket and equipment
gave them to his companion. They then marched their prisoner to
Lexington and delivered him into custody. Wood later enlisted in the
army formed by Washington at Cambridge, and was at New York and in New
Jersey, at the battle of Trenton [and was wounded at the battle of
Pell’s Point (Pelham), Oct. 18, 1776. He was then an Ensign in Col.
Loammi Baldwin’s regiment, the 26th Massachusetts.—ED.].
HERBERT W. KIMBALL.
BOSTON.
MINOR TOPICS.
JOHN PAUL JONES RELICS
There are but three articles in the National Museum which serve as
relics of the great naval hero of revolutionary times, whose remains
were recently unearthed in Paris by Ambassador Porter. The three
articles are in a case containing mementos of the Revolution, and they
consist of an old flag which flew at the masthead of the _Bon Homme
Richard_, an old flintlock musket, and a fierce-looking cutlass, both of
which were captured from the _Serapis_ when Jones took that ship in the
famous engagement of September, 1779.
The flag of the _Bon Homme Richard_ is an interesting relic of the
period. It was originally sixteen feet long. It has twelve white stars,
and four red and four white stripes. During the battle between the
_Richard_ and the _Serapis_ this flag was worn by Jones’ ship, and it
was saved by Jones when he and his crew left his sinking vessel for the
_Serapis_—WASHINGTON STAR.
BOOK NOTICES.
DESCENDANTS OF JONATHAN TOWLE, 1747–1822, of HAMPTON AND PITTSFIELD,
N. H. By ALVIN F. TOWLE, assisted by his son, HERBERT C. TOWLE, J.
M. MOSES, A. M., and G. C. SELDEN, A. B., LL. B., FEL. COL. UNIV.
BOSTON, MASS.: C. W. CALKINS & CO., Publishers, No. 52 Purchase St.
12mo. pp. 312. Ill. Maps. Price $3.00 net, postpaid.
The four divisions of this work comprise, respectively, first, a series
of six tables giving in brief the principal facts relating to Jonathan
Towle and his five children; second, a historical narrative, beginning
with the O’Toole family in Ireland; third, the genealogy proper; fourth,
a part consisting almost wholly of the portraits of descendants of
Huldah (Towle) Chase, and Daniel and James Towle, followed by a copious
index. The family history involves customs and personages of colonial
life in New England more or less worthy of record, and such as a
novelist could well utilize. The book is printed and bound in good
style, and is well illustrated.
* * * * *
GENEALOGY OF THE DESCENDANTS OF JOHN DEMING OF WETHERSFIELD,
CONNECTICUT. With Historical Notes. Compiled and edited by JUDSON
KEITH DEMING, DUBUQUE, IOWA. Press of MATHIS-METS CO., Dubuque,
Iowa. 8vo. pp. VIII.+694. Ill. Price $7.50. Apply to Author or
Publishers.
The most noticeable feature of this genealogy is the abundance of
biographical matter, in which are embodied the “Historical Notes”
mentioned on the title-page. The twelve years’ labor of the author has
produced such a mass of information respecting the Demings that, in
order not to make too large a volume, the female lines are indicated
simply by the record of marriage, with no attempt at tracing them
further. The coat-of-arms of the Cole type used as frontispiece, the
author himself disclaims as being authentic, and will hardly be regarded
by the heraldic connoisseur as wholly in keeping with the other
beautiful half-tone embellishments. The book is thoroughly indexed, and
printed and bound in superior style.
* * * * *
GENEALOGY OF THE ANTHONY FAMILY FROM 1495 TO 1904. Traced from WILLIAM
ANTHONY, Cologne, Germany, to London, England, JOHN ANTHONY, a
Descendant, from England to America. With photographs and
biographical sketches of the Lives of Prominent Men and Women. 1904.
Compiled and published by CHARLES L. ANTHONY. Sterling, Ill. 8vo.
pp. 379. Ill.
It is stated in the preface that, though many circumstances render it
probable, yet the connection between the German William and the English
John Anthony has not been established as certain. John was the grandson
of Dr. Francis Anthony, the celebrated physician and chemist, whose
“potable gold” was proclaimed by him as a cure for all diseases. Another
famous person connected with the Anthony family was Gilbert Stuart, the
artist, of whom a biography of considerable length is furnished.
Biographical sketches, indeed, are frequent, one of Susan B. Anthony
being particularly noticeable. Appended to the genealogy are extracts
from the Vital Records of Rhode Island relating to the Anthonys,
followed by a chapter on the Nova Scotia branch. The illustrations are
chiefly portraits, among them, however, being a coat-of-arms in color.
There is a good index, and typographically the volume is fine.
* * * * *
HISTORY, GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL, OF THE MOLYNEUX FAMILIES. By
NELLIE ZADA RICE MOLYNEUX. Syracuse, N. Y.: C. W. BARDEEN,
Publisher. 1904. Square 8vo. pp. 370. Ill.
Robert Molyneux, known as the “Comte de Meulin,” is the ancestor whose
descendants are recorded in this volume. “The Lineage of the English
Branch,” “Lineage of the Irish Branch,” “Molyneux of the West Indies,”
“Staffordshire and Sussex Branches,” and “Unclassified”—these sections
together with one entitled simply “Molyneux,” form the principal
divisions of the work. The last-named chapter contains the Molyneux of
America. The name is associated with aristocracy, and persons and places
of high degree are frequently described. The list of authorities
preceding the genealogy shows a large proportion of works on the peerage
of Great Britain. The genealogy possesses, therefore, much historical
interest, the narrative portion of the work equalling in extent that of
the vital statistics. The appendix is a specimen of the literary talent
of a Molyneux, entitled “Gleanings After a Harvest of Twenty Years in
Roman Fields.” The index is full, the print beautifully clear, and the
margins wide.
* * * * *
LASHER GENEALOGY. In three parts. Edition of two hundred copies. New
York: C. S. WILLIAMS. 1904. 8vo. pp. 270. Ill. Map. Price $3.60.
Apply to Publisher, 16 Rivington St., New York City.
Of the three parts of this work the first comprises the descendants of
François Le Seur, who came from Normandy to Kingston, N. Y., the second,
those of Sebastian Loesher, an early German settler at West Camp, N. Y.,
the third, those of John Lejere, the record of whose marriage in the
Dutch Reformed Church, N. Y., is dated 1723. Church and family records,
old papers, tombstones, public documents and historical works, and
information received from members of the family are the sources of a
well-indexed compilation which will be highly prized by those of the
name. Heavy paper, wide margins, remarkably clear print, are the
typographical features of the volume. Corresponding in quality to these
are the illustrations and binding.
* * * * *
LIFE OF JEFFERSON DILLARD GOODPASTURE; to which is appended a
Genealogy of the Family of JAMES GOODPASTURE. By his sons, A. V. and
W. H. GOODPASTURE. Nashville, Tenn.: CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN
PUBLISHING HOUSE. 12mo. pp. 308. Ill.
Judge Goodpasture was born on Buffalo Creek, near Hilham, Tennessee, in
1824. His extensive law practice and his State Senatorship, though
receiving a due share of the biography, are subordinate in interest to
what proved to be the principal enterprise of his career, the
importation of jacks. The description of his travels in Europe when in
search of the animals he had determined to introduce into Tennessee
occupies a large portion of the book, and is very interesting reading.
The James Goodpasture whose genealogy forms the appendix, was one of the
pioneers of Abingdon Settlement, Virginia, whence he emigrated to
Tennessee. Though not written for the public, this memoir of an
unusually busy man will give pleasure to all who like to trace a career
of deserved success.
* * * * *
THE NANCE MEMORIAL. A History of the Nance Family in General, but more
particularly of CLEMENT NANCE, of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and
descendants, containing Historical and Biographical Records with
Family Lineage. By GEO. W. NANCE. 1904: J. E. BURKE & CO., Printers,
Bloomington, Ill. 8vo. pp. XVI.+354. Ill.
The plan of this genealogy being original and very peculiar, we will
quote the author’s own description of it: “As far as known to the author
no work has ever been published following the plan of this work....
Beginning with the ancestral head of Part I., he is called the trunk.
The trunk divides into limbs, the limbs into branches, they into twigs.
The twigs bear buds which bring forth blossoms, and the blossoms grow
into fruit. So the seven parts of the tree answer to the seven
generations of Part I.” While it gives what one must call a bizarre
appearance to the page to head its columns of names “twigs,” “buds,”
“blossoms,” “fruit,” it may be that such an arrangement, when
understood, is as simple as any commonly used. Mr. Nance claims that it
has advantages over others. Be that as it may, the genealogy is an
excellent one, very abundant in biographical facts, forming thereby a
detailed history of the family, profusely illustrated, well printed, and
handsomely and substantially bound.
* * * * *
THE TENNEY FAMILY, OR THE DESCENDANTS OF THOMAS TENNEY OF ROWLEY,
MASSACHUSETTS. 1638–1904. Revised, with partial records of PROF.
JONATHAN TENNEY. By M. J. TENNEY. Concord, N. H.: THE RUMFORD PRESS.
1904. 8vo. pp. 691. Ill.
The original edition of this work was published in 1891, containing a
little more than half of the material of the present one. The praise
which was accorded to it as a full and precise record is in a greater
degree merited by this volume. The arrangement of the contents of this
is the same as that of the other edition, the opening section being “Our
English Home,” to which succeed the ten “generations” of the genealogy,
an appendix having been added relating to Deacon William Tenney, brother
of Thomas. An index of more than sixty pages is a thorough guide in the
use of the book. The letterpress is clear, the illustrations nearly all
full-page portraits, and the binding of cloth. A colored coat-of-arms
serves as frontispiece.
* * * * *
WOODHULL GENEALOGY. THE WOODHULL FAMILY IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA.
Compiled by MARY GOULD WOODHULL and FRANCES BOWES STEVENS. Published
by HENRY T. COATES & CO., Philadelphia. 1904. 8vo. pp. 366+ LVI.
Ill.
The first part of this book, entitled “The Woodhull Family in England,”
consists of “A Record of the Descendants of Walter Flanderensis,”
otherwise called Walter de Wahulle. The second part is a “Record of the
Descendants of Richard Woodhull I., of Brookhaven, Long Island,” to
which is added an appendix containing notes on allied families, the work
concluding with seventy-eight pages of biographical sketches. The
frontispiece is a brilliantly colored copy of an heraldic painting on an
oaken panel, called “The Wodhull Achievement,” and now in the possession
of the Woodhulls of the State of New York. The few other illustrations
are principally portraits. Paper and print are of good quality; the
binding is of dark green cloth. The index is full, and in connection
with it should be mentioned a long list of “References to the Woodhull
Family in America” in books and periodicals. Blank leaves follow the
index lettered “Births,” “Marriages,” and “Deaths.”
-----
Footnote 1:
THE REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS OF REDDING, CONN.
And the Record of their Services—with mention of others who rendered
service or suffered loss at the hands of the enemy during the struggle
for Independence, 1775–1783, together with some account of the
Loyalists of the town and vicinity; their organization, their efforts
and sacrifices in behalf of the cause of their King, and their
ultimate fate. By William Edgar Grumman. Hartford, 1904.
Footnote 2:
See _Magazine of American History_, 1883–84.
Footnote 3:
Jones, _Diary_, Vol. I, p. 114. North Carolina alone had contributed
more—$325,000.
Footnote 4:
Clark, _Education in Alabama_, p. 90.
Footnote 5:
Acts of Ala., Dec. 7, 1863.
Footnote 6:
The State authorities considered it inexpedient to levy heavier State
taxes. The people had always been opposed to heavy State taxes, but
paid county taxes more willingly. So the gift of $500,000 to the
Confederate government in 1861, and the $2,000,000 war tax of the same
year were assumed by the State and bonds were issued.—Stat.-at-Large,
Prov. Cong., C. S. A., Feb. 8, 1861; Acts of Ala., Nov. 37, 1861.
Footnote 7:
Another measure aimed at the speculators.
Footnote 8:
Acts of Ala., Dec. 8, 1863.
Footnote 9:
Acts of Ala., Dec. 13, 1864.
Footnote 10:
Pub. Laws, C. S. A., 1st Cong., 1st Sess., Apr. 21, 1862.
Footnote 11:
Pollard, _Lost Cause_, p. 427.
Footnote 12:
Pub. Laws, C. S. A., 1st Cong., 3d Sess., Apr. 24, 1863.
Footnote 13:
See, also, Curry, _Confederate States_, p. 110.
Footnote 14:
Pub. Laws, C. S. A., 1st Cong., 4th Sess, Jan. 30, 1864.
Footnote 15:
Pub. Laws, C. S. A., 2d Cong., 1st Sess., June 10 and 14, 1864.
Footnote 16:
Miller, Alabama, p. 190.
Footnote 17:
_New York Times_, Feb. 2, 1864.
Footnote 18:
Fitzgerald Ross, _Cities and Camps of the Confederate States_, pp.
237, 238.
Footnote 19:
Miller, p. 230.
Footnote 20:
Acts of Ala., Nov. 19, 1862.
Footnote 21:
Acts of Ala., Nov. 17, 1862.
Footnote 22:
Acts of Ala., Oct. 31, 1862.
Footnote 23:
O. R., Ser. II, Vol. III, p. 933; G. O., No. 86, A. and I. G. Office,
Richmond, Dec. 12, 1864; Miller, pp. 198, 199, Beverly, _Hist. of
Alabama_; A. C. Gordon, in _Century Magazine_, Sept., 1888; David
Dodge, in _Atlantic Monthly_, Aug., 1886.
Footnote 24:
Pub. Laws, C. S. A., 1st Cong., 3d Sess., Mar. 26, 1863.
Footnote 25:
A Conference of Impressment Commissioners met in Augusta, Ga., Oct.
26, 1863. Among those present were Wylie W. Mason, of Tuskegee, Ala.,
and Robert C. Farris, of Montgomery, Ala.—See O. R, Ser. IV, Vol. II,
pp. 898–906.
Footnote 26:
Schwab, p. 202; Saunders, _Early Settlers_. Schedules were printed in
all the newspapers, and many have been reprinted in the Official
Records.
Footnote 27:
Jones, _Diary_, Vol. I, p. 194; Miller, _Alabama_, pp. 198, 199;
Pollard, _Lost Cause_, pp. 487–488.
Footnote 28:
Acts of Ala., Nov. 25, 1863.
Footnote 29:
Jones, _Diary_, Vol. I, p. 301.
Footnote 30:
Pub. Laws, C. S. A., 2d Cong., 1st Sess., June 14, 1864; Saunders,
_Early Settlers_.
Footnote 31:
Resolutions of General Assembly, Nov. 26, 1864.
Footnote 32:
Ball, Clarke County, p. 501.
Footnote 33:
May, Constitutional History II, p. 103.
Footnote 34:
Collier, Essay on the Law of Patents, and General History of
Monopolies.
Footnote 35:
12 Eliz. 15 Eliz. 18 Eliz. 21 Eliz. 25 Eliz. 26 Eliz. 31 Eliz. and 43
Eliz.
Footnote 36:
11 Eliz.
Footnote 37:
25 H. VIII, c. 15, Sect 1.
Footnote 38:
1 R. III, c. 9. Sect. 12.
Footnote 39:
State Trials, Vol. I, p. 1263.
Footnote 40:
Mar. 9, 1642; June 14, 1643; Sept. 21, 1647.
Footnote 41:
Areopagitica, II, 55.
Footnote 42:
13 and 14 Car. II, c. 33; 16 Car. II, c. 8; 16 and 17 Car. II, c. 7;
17 Car. II, c. 4.
Footnote 43:
Carr’s Case, State Trials VII, 929.
Footnote 44:
Macaulay, Hist. Eng. Chap. xxi.
Footnote 45:
Rex v. Sullivan, II Cox. C. C. 52.
Footnote 46:
A. V. Dicey, The Law of the Constitution, p. 242.
Footnote 47:
Read before the Am. Scenic and Hist. Pres. Soc’y. N. Y.
Footnote 48:
Robert Morris.
Footnote 49:
Illegible.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in
spelling.
2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed.
3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.