Letter from Mahlon Dickerson Canfield to William Henry Seward, September 10, 1838
xml:
Letter from Mahlon Dickerson Canfield to William Henry Seward, September 10, 1838
transcriberTranscriber:spp:keh
student editorTranscriber:spp:atb
Distributor:Seward Family Digital Archive
Institution:University of Rochester
Repository:Rare Books and Special Collections
Date:1838-09-10
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Letter from Mahlon Dickerson Canfield to William Henry Seward, September 10, 1838
action: sent
sender:
Mahlon Canfield
Person
Name: Mahlon Canfield
Birth: 1798-11-26
Death: 1865-01-05
Person
location:
Bargaintown NJ
Place
Name: City: Bargaintown
County: Atlantic
State: NJ
Country: US
Place
receiver:
William Seward
Person
Name: William Seward
Birth: 1801-05-16
Death: 1872-10-10
Person
location:
Auburn NY
Place
Name: City: Auburn
County: Cayuga
State: NY
Country: US
Place
transcription: keh
revision: crb 2016-02-04
<>
Page 1
Bargaintown Sep. 10th. 1838
Dear Sir,
The times have forced me to a confession
from which I have been saved until now by the very
dread of it. My journey to the West, together with
the purchase that I made there, has put me in arrears
about $1000, which I cannot pay without sacrificing nearly
all I have here worth, in reality, three times as much.
I have been strongly tempted to do this, and then to
quietly seek my way to my land in Illinois
Name: Illinois City:
County:
State: IL
Country: US
, and
begin life anew. If I had the happiness of none but
myself to provide for, I would not hesitate a moment.
But it would be a most cruel separation to take
Cornelia
Name: Louisa Canfield
Birth: 1805-10-29
Death: 1839-01-04
so far from her Parents
Name: Mary Seward
Birth: 1769-11-27
Death: 1844-12-11
Name: Samuel Seward
Birth: 1768-12-05
Death: 1849-08-24
, now that they are
visibly in the rapid decline of life.
She writes from Florida
Name: City: Florida
County: Orange
State: NY
Country: US
, that she can scarcely hope to
make them another visit. I am painfully sensible
that I have been the occasion of much trouble to them,
and let what may come I cannot add to it.
Now to the object of my letter. Will you take
all I have, here and elsewhere, and aid me in
raising $1000, for 2 years? I do not come to you
as to a lender of money, but because you have power
and influence and a command of confidence that
commands every thing else. I am not known out of this
secluded quarter of the world. Here nothing in the shape of
Page 2
money can be had, except in small sums and at
enormous usury, and with such accommodations I will
have nothing to do.
I write every word of this with reluctance and
the more I add the worse I feel. I am in debt,
I want money, I can make it perfectly safe and
don't know where to get it.
If I had staid at home, I could have lived
through these crashing times without suffering the
anxieties that now worry me to death.
One word in relation to a letter that Cornelia
wrote you not long since. The application she made
was unnecessary, the small amount required could have
been spared for such an object, if for no other, and
I regret that she hustled you about it.
Yours very truly,
M. D. Canfield
W. H. Seward Esq
Page 3
W. H. Seward Esq
Auburn,
Cayuga Co.
New York
Bargaintown N. J. Sep. 10t
Type: postmark.M. D. Canfield
P.M.
Free
Sept 10, 1838
Bargaintown Sep. 10th. 1838
Dear Sir,
The times have forced me to a confession
from which I have been saved until now by the very
dread of it. My journey to the West, together with
the purchase that I made there, has put me in arrears
about $1000, which I cannot pay without sacrificing nearly
all I have here worth, in reality, three times as much.
I have been strongly tempted to do this, and then to
quietly seek my way to my land in Illinois
Place
begin life anew. If I had the happiness of none but
myself to provide for, I would not hesitate a moment.
But it would be a most cruel separation to take
Cornelia
Person
People
visibly in the rapid decline of life.
She writes from Florida
Place
make them another visit. I am painfully sensible
that I have been the occasion of much trouble to them,
and let what may come I cannot add to it.
Now to the object of my letter. Will you take
all I have, here and elsewhere, and aid me in
raising $1000, for 2 years? I do not come to you
as to a lender of money, but because you have power
and influence and a command of confidence that
commands every thing else. I am not known out of this
secluded quarter of the world. Here nothing in the shape of
money can be had, except in small sums and at
enormous usury, and with such accommodations I will
have nothing to do.
I write every word of this with reluctance and
the more I add the worse I feel. I am in debt,
I want money, I can make it perfectly safe and
don't know where to get it.
If I had staid at home, I could have lived
through these crashing times without suffering the
anxieties that now worry me to death.
One word in relation to a letter that Cornelia
wrote you not long since. The application she made
was unnecessary, the small amount required could have
been spared for such an object, if for no other, and
I regret that she hustled you about it.
Yours very truly,
M. D. Canfield
W. H. Seward Esq
W. H. Seward Esq
Auburn,
Cayuga Co.
New York
Bargaintown N. J. Sep. 10t
Stamp
P.M.
Free
Unknown
M.D. CanfieldSept 10, 1838
date:
Monday, September 10, 1838
receiver:
sender:
year: