Letter from Benjamin Jennings Seward to William Henry Seward, April 11, 1838

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Letter from Benjamin Jennings Seward to William Henry Seward, April 11, 1838
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transcriber

Transcriber:spp:ahf

student editor

Transcriber:spp:sss

Distributor:Seward Family Papers Project

Institution:University of Rochester

Repository:Rare Books and Special Collections

Date:1838-04-11

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Letter from Benjamin Jennings Seward to William Henry Seward, April 11, 1838

action: sent

sender: Benjamin Seward
Birth: 1793-08-23  Death: 1841-02-24

location: Westfield, NY

receiver: William Seward
Birth: 1801-05-16  Death: 1872-10-10

location: New York, NY

transcription: ahf 

revision: ekk 2015-11-23

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Page 1

Chautauqua Land Office
Westfield April 11. 1838
Dear Henry
Your kind favour of the 7th is to
hand. The account you give of the mode of
spending your time & the demands made
upon you by the public is what might be
expected in the present aspect of affairs.
I suppose you must bear it; a while longer
at least. Nor should you regard it as all
lost time, although it may seem so in com-
parison with office duty. Remember that it
is by this description of wolf racing, [ plitical ]
x

Alternate Text

Alternate Text: political

vagrancy, more than in any other way
you are to get near the people & instruct
them in their duties & their interests.
Amazing! that the Regency should now
pretend a friendship to the Southern tier,
of counties & the Erie & N.Y. R.R.! I do
believe there never existed a set of men
counting so largely upon the gullibility
of the people as these same Regency
Politicians! But they have calculated
once, I think, without their best & will find
Page 2

themselves mistaken. I am glad matters retain a favourable
position for you personally. Plumb
Birth: 1802-06-09 Death: 1877-08-31
was up
a few days since (has his $500) & made
searching inquiries & shewed deep interest.
I notice of late, that men from the South
in the county, speak of you & your prospects
when at the office, quite frequently. From other
parts, I hear little or nothing except from
a few leading whigs of your personal friendship,
I hope all things will work well.
In regard to the schedules, if by the
term you mean, the list of Bonds & M. made
by S.
Birth: 1807-05-13 Death: 1864-07-29
& the lists of articles made by myself
I am certain you have there with you.
The lists of modifications made by Judge
Peacock
Birth: 1780-02-22 Death: 1877-02-21
after the purchase, that were pre-
posed by Mr Humphrey
Birth: 1814-03-15 Death: 1885-06-09
, were observed to be
still here, in the bottom of his desk, & were
carefully put up & sent to the Batavia by
Mr Hungerford
Birth: 1806-01-14 Death: 1867-05-15
, on Monday morning. The copy
of your contract with the H.L.Co, used by you
while here, is also discovered to be here.
But as there ^are^ several copies of it, I have
not thought it necessary to send it after
you.
Page 3

Our business continues small. We have
not recieved five hundred dollars in ten days.
But we have leisure to bring up other
things: of other things beside leisure, favoured.
Haight
Birth: 1799-11-28 Death: 1866-02-23
has applied for a service as a surveyor
in the recent Indian purchase in this state
& on some railroad routes, but & therefore
feels at loose ends, Smith has had an
overhauling, turned all manner of colours
is alarmed & is at work for a few days
for dear life. But he is young, & being
surrounded by bad influences & under
[ Haights ]
x

Supplied

Reason: wax-seal
example & my own which I
am [ s ]
x

Supplied

Reason: wax-seal
orry to say is anything else than
a close confinement to business, he is
not likely to hold out very long.
We are [ threatning ]
x

Alternate Text

Alternate Text: threatening
the men who have
Mortgages here unsigned: with a view to bring
them in to execute their papers:, of which
there are 20 remaining. On examination it
turns out that many discharge Mortgages
have never been prepared, & we propose to
send out 14 foreclosure cases, against delin-
quents of 18 months standing & scatter them
among all the lawyers & all the newspapers.
Tew
Birth: 1804-04 Death: 1875-11-27
sends in his bill for recording, he
has entered almost all the mortgages at $1.15.
I thought I had understood from you that the
Page 4

price had been agreed upon at a dollar.
My health is still feeble. Feeling as I do
that when I am away, little is doing: & that little,
liable to be a little wrong, I seem unable to get
my own consent to leave this office. and although
little is doing at any time, there is yet enough
to keep me talking & talking till my strength
is gone & I am from day to day left with im-
provement, still I think I shall soon get matters
so as to be able to break away & do better.
Jo Whites
Birth: 1813 Death: 1876Certainty: Probable
brother
Unknown
, it is said, has advanced him
money, & he has saved his property but not his rep-
utation or his pride.
Your grateful Brother
B.J.S.
W. H. Seward Esq
Care Am. L. Ins. & Trust Co
New York City.
Westfield N.Y.
APR 12
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Stamp

Type: postmark

Hand Shiftx

William Seward

Birth: 1801-05-16 Death: 1872-10-10
B. J. Seward
April 11. 1838