Westfield 21 Dec. 38
Dr H.
Supposing you to be overburthened with
cares, I have omitted to mention many of
my own, about which I should have been
glad to consult you. But a crisis has come
in regard to a single point about which
it is needful to have your judgment.
McClurg has some months since asked
his house & now sends Dickson to demand
it, with the purpose as I suppose of proceeding
to put me out. I have no means of buying
and without buying I know not where to
get in. Rumsey, Huse, Rockwell and
Rignolds will sell, but their fixtures do
not well suit the size of my large family
and they only offer on terms (except Rum-
sey, whose establishment has sad defects)
where the extravagance of the price is to
make up for a bad bargain or be an in-
ducement to be at the inconvenience of
turning out for my sake.
Thus situated I rode out to Fre- donia yesterday to find a house. Abell

offers me, the house he built for himself
& showed me through it. I did not ask
his price, for I was not able to buy,
but the house suits me [ prety ] well, it is
much such a house as I left in Cin- cinnati, plain & good, & I would be con-
tent with it. And Mullet tells me that
he had himself the offer of it & came
near buying it at about half of what
Abel was says it cost him, says it is
remarkably cheap & the [ tittle ] clear.
I have heard you speak of get-
ting a house in Dunkirk or St.Clairs- ville, and if you are so obliging as to buy
me a house, it is due to you to deter-
mine when & where. Nor would I take
any such step as the removal of the
land office, without your concurrence.
Seeing Since I could not see you to ask your
judgment, I thought it proper to con-
sult your friends. Mullet[ , ] French [ , ]
Dixon, Plumb & others are of opinion
that nothing need be feared in regard to

public opinion, by such a step, & Plumb
took occasion to give the opinion again
that it would be unwise to give the col-
lection of your B&M. to the Bank, since
it is, to use his phrase, engineered by Com-
missioner Davies.
I have never felt myself authorized
to divert a dollar of the receipts of the
office from the Trust Co, beyond the an econom-
ical expenditure, & therefore cannot
be without leave, & any purpchase
e for you. But I have suf-
[ ficient ] that if you would allow it
for $2,000. Cary & S. for $1000 each &
Say for $500, to be taken out of the
receipts of the office for a time necessa-
ry to turn property, my purpose [ coud ]
be answered & that too without an ultimate
diversion of a dollar. Perhaps less than
this, would answer, perhaps part of
the payments might not be required at
once. I wish to do this & all things
else with care & by advisement, pray
tell me what you think?

I have your line, can have the papers up
to any day in readiness at any time you
will appoint. Fix the day, notify your copart-
ners & inform me of it & I will be with you.
Mullet has just this moment arrived, is anxious
offers me his own house, says, anything, since the
settlements of the L. O. have become with pol-
iticks, anything to make it go smooth. Is much
in favour of my plan of collecting B&M. But
more of this when we meet.
Thank you, thank you, for your affectionate
regards for me & mine. Believe me to be devo-
tedly yours in gratitude
B.J.S.
W H Seward Esq
Albany
N.Y.
Westfield N.Y. DEC 22
B. J. Seward Westfield
Dec 21. 1838