David Avery, letter, to David McClure, 1768 August 14
14 August 1768[1768-08-14]
Call Number768464.3
[note (type: abstract): Avery writes a collegial letter, over a few days and in segments, about the people and conditions at his mission. He notes that he will travel to Canajoharie to recruit an interpreter, and then writes from there as well.][note (type: handwriting): Informal handwriting is largely clear and legible; it is occasionally difficult to decipher punctuation.][note (type: paper): Medium-sized single sheet is in fair condition, with moderate staining, creasing and wear. Large portions of the wax seal remain.][note (type: ink): Dark-brown.][note (type: noteworthy): The authorship of this letter has been determined by 1) the trailer on one verso, and 2) the fact that the handwriting does appear to be Avery's. The letter's date is taken from the trailer on one verso; it is written over the course of at least three days. The undated segments beginning "Monday Morning" and "wrote to you either..." appear to have been written previous to the section dated August 17, and likely from Kanawalohale[place0114.ocp]. It is uncertain to whom Avery refers when he mentions "the Queen," however, she is possibly Molly Brant, William Johnson[pers0292.ocp]'s consort."The Peregrina" or “pilgrim" is likely a reference to Avery himself. It is uncertain whether “little Jonne Williams’s Brother" refers to a little Jonne, William’s brother, or the brother of little Jonne Williams, and so these names have been left untagged. The identity of “Johnson" is uncertain, and so he has been left untagged; however, he is possibly Joseph Johnson[pers0288.ocp] or Jacob Johnson[pers0287.ocp]. The identity of Mr. M– is uncertain and so he has been left untagged.][note (type: signature): It is uncertain whether the signature "G.H.S." is a nickname between two former classmates, an abbreviation for a saying, or something else entirely.][note (type: layout): The letter is written in segments, in several different orientations on the page.]
Persistent Identifier
[Opener]
leg-go-ro-hoh-quon-ye-[Suckeweſat | Suckewesat]SuckeweſatSuckewesat‐
yo-yonnereh..T[above] hhe Indians bear [y.o | your]y.oyour avery[pers0064.ocp]
tender regard— ho [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): !]! yonnereh, quógh!
[y.a | They]y.aThey are very kind to me— [conſtantly | constantly]conſtantlyconstantly bringing
one thing [& | and]&and another—Father Isaac[pers0276.ocp] is a
Father indeed— little Jonne W[gap: tear][guess (h-dawnd): [illi][illiam's Bro
ther often brings [preſents | presents]preſentspresents— it [w.d | would]w.dwould have
made you [laught | laugh]laughtlaugh to see [ye | the]yethe little shaver
[y.s | thus]y.sthus come [w.h | with]w.hwith a small [baſket | basket]baſketbasket of Cucumbers
indian like slung on his head— another
little boy of [ye | the]yethe school about 4 years old
made a [prest | present]prestpresent: [laſt | last]laſtlast saturday of three very
small [shuiners | shiners]shuinersshiners! The Queen is going to
see her Son at [N | New]NNew England[place0158.ocp]= [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): Tuebhuns]Tuebhuns—[& | and]&and hope
to hear from at her return—adieu! adieu!
Yours ut supra
[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): G.]G. H. S.
yo-yonnereh..T[above] hhe Indians bear [y.o | your]y.oyour avery[pers0064.ocp]
tender regard— ho [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): !]! yonnereh, quógh!
[y.a | They]y.aThey are very kind to me— [conſtantly | constantly]conſtantlyconstantly bringing
one thing [& | and]&and another—Father Isaac[pers0276.ocp] is a
Father indeed— little Jonne W[gap: tear][guess (h-dawnd): [illi][illiam's Bro
ther often brings [preſents | presents]preſentspresents— it [w.d | would]w.dwould have
made you [laught | laugh]laughtlaugh to see [ye | the]yethe little shaver
[y.s | thus]y.sthus come [w.h | with]w.hwith a small [baſket | basket]baſketbasket of Cucumbers
indian like slung on his head— another
little boy of [ye | the]yethe school about 4 years old
made a [prest | present]prestpresent: [laſt | last]laſtlast saturday of three very
small [shuiners | shiners]shuinersshiners! The Queen is going to
see her Son at [N | New]NNew England[place0158.ocp]= [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): Tuebhuns]Tuebhuns—[& | and]&and hope
to hear from at her return—adieu! adieu!
Yours ut supra
[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): G.]G. H. S.
[Canajohare | Canajoharie]CanajohareCanajoharie[place0026.ocp]
[Aug.t | August]Aug.tAugust 17[1768-08-17]….
Came here today very much [fatieauged | fatigued]fatieaugedfatigued.—
the [Diſaffection | disaffection]Diſaffectiondisaffection [& | and]&and [Inſenſibity | insensibility]Inſenſibityinsensibility of [ye | the]yethe dutch
[illegible]are enough to provoke [ye | the]yethe righteous [diſpleaſure | displeasure]diſpleaſuredispleasure
of a good man— Give more Love to [Friſbie | Frisbie]FriſbieFrisbie[pers0209.ocp]
for his Letter [y.n | than]y.nthan can be [expreſt | expressed]expreſtexpressed by my old [blunderg. | blundering]blunderg.blundering [Quil | quill]Quilquill—
[Suppoſed | Supposed]SuppoſedSupposed Ripley[pers0444.ocp] non datur or should have wrote him
by [Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Kinne[pers0308.ocp]..— [wiſh | Wish]wiſhWish you all a happy Commencement—
remember an [abſent | absent]abſentabsent friend [above] toto C… Brethren…[yo | you]yoyou will all write
me either by [ye | the]yethe [Miſsionary | missionary]Miſsionarymissionary or [ye | the]yethe Queen..fiat! fiat!….
Came here today very much [fatie
the [Diſaffection | disaffection]Diſaffectiondisaffection [& | and]&and [Inſenſibity | insensibility]Inſenſibityinsensibility of [ye | the]yethe dutch
of a good man— Give more Love to [Friſbie | Frisbie]FriſbieFrisbie[pers0209.ocp]
for his Letter [y.n | than]y.nthan can be [expreſt | expressed]expreſtexpressed by my old [blunderg. | blundering]blunderg.blundering [Quil | quill]Quilquill—
[Suppoſed | Supposed]SuppoſedSupposed Ripley[pers0444.ocp] non datur or should have wrote him
by [Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Kinne[pers0308.ocp]..— [wiſh | Wish]wiſhWish you all a happy Commencement—
remember an [abſent | absent]abſentabsent friend [above] toto C… Brethren…[yo | you]yoyou will all write
me either by [ye | the]yethe [Miſsionary | missionary]Miſsionarymissionary or [ye | the]yethe Queen..fiat! fiat!….
[Canajohare | Canajoharie]CanajohareCanajoharie[place0026.ocp]
[Augt | August]AugtAugust 18[1768-08-18].
The Indians of [y.s | this]y.sthis [Caſtle | Castle]CaſtleCastle[place0026.ocp]
are laden with Iniquity—
drunken [& | and]&and [drinkg | drinking]drinkgdrinking. [con‐
‐ſtantly | con
stantly]con‐
‐ſtantlycon
stantly— [laſt | Last]laſtLast Evening
two [drinken | drunken]drinkendrunken Sober
Gentlemen of [ye | the]yethe [D–l | Devil]D–lDevil
came to make me a
[Viſit | visit]Viſitvisit! however, they
could not [git | get]gitget right of me.
pray for me— —
my hand trembles so
[thro | through]throthrough [weakneſs | weakness]weakneſsweakness am not
able to mend [theſe | these]theſethese [Tera
‐bles | terri
bles]Tera
‐blesterri
bles — Thanks to
[Meſsrs | Messrs.]MeſsrsMessrs. Allis[pers0053.ocp], Dudley[pers0172.ocp]
[& | and]&and Johnson for [y.r | your]y.ryour Letters—.
[ye | the]yethe doctor's [cauſed | caused]cauſedcaused me a
good hearty Laugh! Dud‐
ley[pers0172.ocp] wrote on [ye | the]yethe Lady of
[Friendſhip | Friendship]FriendſhipFriendship!— —
hope to procure some
more [curioſities | curiosities]curioſitiescuriosities for
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr. M. write about [y.[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): m]m | them]y.[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): m]mthem—
if [y.o | you]y.oyou see [ye | the]yethe [D.rs | doctor's]D.rsdoctor's [yo | you]yoyou will see [w.t | what]w.twhat
a [hurleburley | hurly-burly]hurleburleyhurly-burly [ye | the]yethe Peregrina is in.
The Indians of [y.s | this]y.sthis [Caſtle | Castle]CaſtleCastle[place0026.ocp]
are laden with Iniquity—
drunken [& | and]&and [drinkg | drinking]drinkgdrinking. [con‐
‐ſtantly | con
stantly]con‐
‐ſtantlycon
stantly— [laſt | Last]laſtLast Evening
two [drinken | drunken]drinkendrunken Sober
Gentlemen of [ye | the]yethe [D–l | Devil]D–lDevil
came to make me a
[Viſit | visit]Viſitvisit! however, they
could not [git | get]gitget right of me.
pray for me— —
my hand trembles so
[thro | through]throthrough [weakneſs | weakness]weakneſsweakness am not
able to mend [theſe | these]theſethese [Tera
‐bles | terri
bles]Tera
‐blesterri
bles — Thanks to
[Meſsrs | Messrs.]MeſsrsMessrs. Allis[pers0053.ocp], Dudley[pers0172.ocp]
[& | and]&and Johnson for [y.r | your]y.ryour Letters—.
[ye | the]yethe doctor's [cauſed | caused]cauſedcaused me a
good hearty Laugh! Dud‐
ley[pers0172.ocp] wrote on [ye | the]yethe Lady of
[Friendſhip | Friendship]FriendſhipFriendship!— —
hope to procure some
more [curioſities | curiosities]curioſitiescuriosities for
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr. M. write about [y.[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): m]m | them]y.[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): m]mthem—
if [y.o | you]y.oyou see [ye | the]yethe [D.rs | doctor's]D.rsdoctor's [yo | you]yoyou will see [w.t | what]w.twhat
a [hurleburley | hurly-burly]hurleburleyhurly-burly [ye | the]yethe Peregrina is in.
wrote you either [laſt | last]laſtlast night or [y.s | this]y.sthis
[Morg. | morning]Morg.morning be‐
twixt one [& | and]&and four — not being able to sleep—
as Sleep is wont to depart from my Eyes—
am going to [Canajohare | Canajoharie]CanajohareCanajoharie[place0026.ocp] to [git | get]gitget [Joannes | Johannes]JoannesJohannes[pers0282.ocp]
if [poſsible | possible]poſsiblepossible for Interpreter—
twixt one [& | and]&and four — not being able to sleep—
as Sleep is wont to depart from my Eyes—
am going to [Canajohare | Canajoharie]CanajohareCanajoharie[place0026.ocp] to [git | get]gitget [Joannes | Johannes]JoannesJohannes[pers0282.ocp]
if [poſsible | possible]poſsiblepossible for Interpreter—
[Closer]
[Trailer]
[M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. D. Avery—[pers0064.ocp]
[Aug.t | August]Aug.tAugust 14. 1768[1768-08-14]
[Aug.t | August]Aug.tAugust 14. 1768[1768-08-14]
To—
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr. David [McClure | McClure]McClureMcClure[pers0368.ocp]
Lebanon[place0122.ocp]
Connecticut[place0048.ocp]
By [ye | the]yethe Queen}
among thy
[bottom] NonsenseNonsense
[bottom] Nonvo Portu–Nonvo Portu–
[bottom] Coppecticut–smCoppecticut–sm
[bottom] NovangliaNovanglia
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr. David [McClure | McClure]McClureMcClure[pers0368.ocp]
Lebanon[place0122.ocp]
Connecticut[place0048.ocp]
By [ye | the]yethe Queen}
among thy
[bottom] NonsenseNonsense
[bottom] Nonvo Portu–Nonvo Portu–
[bottom] Coppecticut–smCoppecticut–sm
[bottom] NovangliaNovanglia
Document Summary
People identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Role in header | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|---|
pers0064.ocp | avery | writer | Avery, David |
pers0276.ocp | Father Isaac | mentioned | Isaac |
pers0209.ocp | Friſbie Frisbie | mentioned | Frisbie, Levi |
pers0444.ocp | Ripley | mentioned | Ripley, Sylvanus |
pers0308.ocp | M r Mr. Kinne | mentioned | Kinne, Aaron |
pers0053.ocp | Allis | mentioned | Allis |
pers0172.ocp | Dudley | mentioned | Dudley |
pers0172.ocp | Dud‐ ley | mentioned | Dudley |
pers0282.ocp | Joannes Johannes | mentioned | Johannes |
pers0064.ocp | M. r Mr. D. Avery— | writer | Avery, David |
pers0368.ocp | David M c Clure McClure | recipient | McClure, David |
Places identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
place0158.ocp | N New England | New England |
place0026.ocp | Canajohare Canajoharie | Canajoharie |
place0026.ocp | y. s this Caſtle Castle | Canajoharie |
place0122.ocp | Lebanon | Lebanon |
place0048.ocp | Connecticut | Connecticut |
This document does not contain any tagged organizations.
Dates identified in this document:
Standard Form | Text |
---|---|
1768-08-17 | Aug.tAugust 17 |
1768-08-18 | AugtAugust 18 |
1768-08-14 | Aug.tAugust 14. 1768 |
Regularized text:
Type | Original | Regularized |
---|---|---|
modernization | Hanienſt | Hanienst |
modernization | Suckeweſat | Suckewesat |
modernization | y.a | They |
modernization | conſtantly | constantly |
modernization | preſents | presents |
variation | laught | laugh |
modernization | ye | the |
modernization | y.s | thus |
modernization | baſket | basket |
variation | prest | present |
modernization | laſt | last |
variation | shuiners | shiners |
variation | Canajohare | Canajoharie |
variation | fatie |
fatigued |
modernization | Diſaffection | disaffection |
variation | Inſenſibity | insensibility |
modernization | diſpleaſure | displeasure |
modernization | Friſbie | Frisbie |
modernization | y.n | than |
variation | expreſt | expressed |
variation | Quil | quill |
modernization | Suppoſed | Supposed |
modernization | Mr | Mr. |
modernization | wiſh | Wish |
modernization | abſent | absent |
modernization | Miſsionary | missionary |
modernization | y.s | this |
modernization | Caſtle | Castle |
variation | drinkg | drinking |
modernization | con‐ ‐ſtantly |
con stantly |
modernization | laſt | Last |
variation | drinken | drunken |
modernization | Viſit | visit |
variation | git | get |
variation | thro | through |
modernization | weakneſs | weakness |
modernization | theſe | these |
variation | Tera ‐bles |
terri bles |
modernization | Meſsrs | Messrs. |
modernization | cauſed | caused |
modernization | Friendſhip | Friendship |
modernization | curioſities | curiosities |
modernization | y.[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): m]m | them |
variation | hurleburley | hurly-burly |
variation | Joannes | Johannes |
modernization | poſsible | possible |
modernization | M.r | Mr. |
variation | McClure | McClure |
Expanded abbreviations:
Abbreviation | Expansion |
---|---|
y.o | your |
& | and |
w.d | would |
w.h | with |
N | New |
Aug.t | August |
blunderg. | blundering |
yo | you |
Augt | August |
D–l | Devil |
y.r | your |
y.o | you |
D.rs | doctor's |
w.t | what |
Morg. | morning |
This document's header does not contain any mixed case attribute values.
Summary of errors found in this document:
Number of dates with invalid 'when' attributes: | 0 |
Number of nested "hi" tags: (consider merging the @rend attributes, or using other tags) | 0 |
Number of tags with invalid 'rend' attributes: | 0 (out of 55) |
Number of people/places/organizations with unknown keys: | 0 (out of 18) |
Number of "add" tags with unknown 'place' attributes: | 0 (out of 6) |
Mixed case attribute values in header (potential error): | 0 (out of 127) |