JSM Timeline

 Judith Sargent Stevens Murray Timeline

ca. 1640 — Thomas Saunders of England, Judith’s maternal ancestor, settles at Cape Ann, Gloucester, Massachusetts.

1678 — Earliest record of JSM's paternal ancestor, William Sargent of England, in Gloucester.

1727 — JSM's father, Winthrop Sargent, is born in Gloucester.

1731 — JSM's mother, Judith Saunders, is born in Gloucester.

1750 — JSM's parents marry in Gloucester.

1741 — JSM's first husband, John Stevens Jr., is born in Gloucester.
1741 — JSM's second husband, John Murray, is born in Alton, England.

1751 — May 1: Judith Sargent is born in Gloucester.

1753 — JSM's brother, Winthrop, is born in Gloucester.

1755 — JSM's sister, Esther, is born in Gloucester.

1757–8 — JSM's sister, Catherine, is born and dies in Gloucester.

1758–9 — Another sister named Catherine is born and dies in Gloucester. 

1759 — (The Rev. James Relly of Wales publishes Union: or a Treatise on the Consanguinity and Affinity between Christ and His Church, the founding document of Universalism.) JSM writes poetry and letters to family.

1765 — (British Parliament issues the Stamp Act; colonists in Boston form Sons of Liberty in protest.)

1765 — JSM’s sister, Sarah, is born in Gloucester, and dies within the year. JSM begins to use the Sargent family library at about the age of fourteen.

1766 — (The Stamp Act is repealed.)

1767 — (Townshend Acts are levied by Parliament to tax colonial imports.)

1768 — JSM's brother, Fitz William, is born in Gloucester.

1769 — Judith Sargent marries John Stevens Jr., at age eighteen.

ca. 1769-70 — JSM's father, Winthrop Sargent, reads James Relly’s book, Union, and begins to gather “adherents” to Universalism in his Gloucester home.

1770— (In Boston, British troops and colonists clash in an episode that was dubbed “The Boston Massacre.”)

John Murray sails from England to America.

1770–2 — Judith Sargent Stevens sits for her portrait by John Singleton Copley; it is titled "Portrait of Mrs. John Stevens."

1771 — Another sister named Sarah is born in Gloucester; she dies four years later.

1772 — JSM's sister, Esther, marries John Stevens Ellery of Gloucester.

1773 — (Many Townshend Act duties are repealed, but Parliament passes the Tea Act  granting exclusive profit to the East India Company; “Indians” dump tea into Boston Harbor.)

1773-5 — (An "arms race" is on; colonists make every effort to secure and hide what they might need to defend themselves against the British.) 

1774 — (The British close Boston’s port and pass more “intolerable acts” as punishment; representatives from the twelve colonies meet in Philadelphia and support Massachusetts’ resistance to the intolerable acts [this group is considered the first Continental Congress]; calls for limits to Parliament’s authority grow; General Thomas Gage, the military English governor in Massachusetts, calls for 10,000 British troops to quell anticipated rebellion; George III sends 3,500 troops; African Americans in Boston sign Negro Petition for Freedom.)

1774 — John Murray arrives in Gloucester. JSM probably begins to create her first letter book this year, at age twenty-three.

1775 — (February 25: In an incident now known as "Leslie's Retreat," British troops arrive  in Salem in search of canon and gun powder; April 19: Still searching for arms and powder, British troops march to Lexington and Concord and engage in the first battles of the war; June 17: Battle of Bunker Hill; second Continental Congress assembles at Philadelphia where George Washington is named Commander in Chief of the Continental Army; he takes command of the New England militia units at Cambridge; war commences.) 

British vessels off the coast of Gloucester. General Washington appoints John Murray as chaplain of the Rhode Island Brigade despite objections by the established clergy. JSM's brother, Winthrop, enlists in the Massachusetts Artillery at Cambridge; he serves as a lieutenant in Gridley’s Regiment, then as captain-lieutenant under General Henry Knox; Judith’s father serves on Gloucester’s Committee of Safety, as a government agent, and co-owner of privateeringv vessels; her uncle Paul Dudley Sargent enlists in the patriotic cause and earns the rank of colonel; her uncle Epes Sargent and aunt Catherine Osborne Sargent are forced to leave Gloucester for their Loyalist beliefs; they eventually return; her Loyalist uncle John Sargent moves his family to Halifax. Judith’s sister, Sarah, dies; Judith pens an essay defending Loyalists and    decrying mob rule although it is not published until 1794.

1776 — (July 4: Declaration of Independence is signed at Philadelphia; it is soon published and read publicly throughout the colonies; Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense; Washington’s army drives the British from Boston; war activities move west and south.)

John Murray’s health fails; he returns to Gloucester where he raises money for the relief of the poor; JSM has herself inoculated against the small pox.

1777 — (French supplies help Americans win the Battle of Saratoga; the two countries form an alliance that will be pivotal to victory over England.)

JSM's brother, Winthrop, is captain of the 3rd Continental Artillery; he is appointed aide-de-camp to General Robert Howe until the close of the war; he takes part in the New Jersey campaign and spends the winter at Valley Forge.

1778 — (France enters the war.)

Brother Winthrop Sargent in Battle of Monmouth. Judith Stevens, Winthrop Sargent (JSM's father), Judith Saunders Sargent (JSM's mother), Epes Sargent III (JSM's uncle), Catharine Osborne Sargent (JSM's aunt), and ten other Universalists are suspended from First Parish in Gloucester for not attending.

1779 — (Spain enters the war.)

Universalists sign Articles of Association in defiance of First Parish creating their own organization, the Independent Church of Christ; Judith’s name is included in the document. JSM writes “On the Equality of the Sexes” but publishes it in 1790.

1780 — The first American Universalist meeting house is built in Gloucester and dedicated on Christmas Day. JSM agrees to adopt Anna and Mary Plummer, her husband’s orphaned nieces; Anna lives with her for several years; JSM also takes in Polly Odell, a young orphaned Saunders cousin.

1781 — (Americans win the Battle of Yorktown; the colonies agree to sign Articles of Confederation.)    

1782 — First Parish seizes goods from the Universalists in lieu of the church taxes they refused to pay, including silver plate and a ship’s anchor from the Sargents. JSM publishes her Universalist catechism in Norwich, Connecticut, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire; she moves into her new house in Gloucester (today, the Sargent House Museum).

1783 — (September 3: Britain, France, Spain, and the Americans sign treaties ending the war; as a result of two law suits, slavery is now illegal in Massachusetts.)

John Murray and the Universalists bring a case against First Parish before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court for their right to support their own minister and their own church—not First Parish. Winthrop Sargent commissioned brevet major before he musters out; he joins the Society of the Cincinnati.        

1784 — As Constantia, JSM publishes poetry in the Gentleman and Lady’s Town and Country Magazine; October: she publishes “Desultory Thoughts Upon the Utility of Encouraging a Degree of Self-Complacency, especially in Female Bosoms” in the same magazine.  

1785 — Universalists publish An Appeal to the Impartial Public by the Society of the Christian Independents, Congregating in Gloucester to explain their legal position; JSM’s name is among the signers; An Answer to the appeal follows; John Murray responds with a strongly-worded broadside. Universalists meet in Oxford, Massachusetts, to draft a Charter of Compact to serve as a model of legal rights and duties for other Universalist societies to follow. JSM spends the winter barricaded in her Gloucester home with John Stevens to avoid his arrest and incarceration in debtors’ prison.

1786 — (Shay’s Rebellion in western Massachusetts threatens law and order in the new nation; Benjamin Rush publishes Thoughts Upon Female Education.)
    
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules in favor of the Universalists and in favor of freedom of religion. JSM's brother, Winthrop Sargent, is appointed by Congress as a land surveyor in Ohio; clashes with Native Americans ensue.

1786 — JSM's husband, John Stevens, escapes Gloucester for the West Indies.     

1787 — (The Convention in Philadelphia begins the process of drafting and ratifying the Constitution.)

Winthrop Sargent, Manasseh Cutler, and others form the Ohio Company to open up the Northwest Territory; Winthrop appointed secretary of the Company and the Territory, acting as governor in Arthur St. Clair’s absence. JSM receives word that John Stevens has died; she is now widowed and poor.

1788 — (February 6: Massachusetts ratifies the Constitution and formally joins the Union as a state.)

Winthrop Sargent in the Northwest Territory; he marries Rebecca/Rowena Tupper; she dies in childbirth within a year. January: The legality of marriages performed by John Murray is challenged; he sails to England for his safety; July: the Massachusetts legislature rules in favor of John Murray; he returns to Gloucester; October 6: Judith marries John Murray in Salem, Massachusetts, at age thirty-seven; on their honeymoon journey, she meets John and Abigail Adams in Braintree. Christmas Day: John Murray is ordained as pastor of the Independent Christian Church of Christ in Gloucester.

1789 — (The new American government is launched from New York; George Washington is inaugurated as the first President of the United States on April 30.)
    
JSM's brother, Fitz William, marries Anna Parsons. August: Judith’s son, Fitz Winthrop Murray, is born but dies at birth; Judith nearly dies; using the pen name "Constantia," she publishes poetry in the Massachusetts Magazine until 1794.

1790 — (Congress votes to make Philadelphia the capital city for ten years while the construction of a new capital city begins on the Potomac River.)
    
March and April: As "Constantia," JSM publishes “On the Equality of the Sexes” in the Massachusetts Magazine; May: Constantia publishes “On the Domestic Education of Children” in the Massachusetts Magazine; May: JSM journeys to Philadelphia with John Murray for the first national Universalist convention; in New York, she meets President George Washington, Martha Washington, and their granddaughter, Eleanor (“Nellie”) Custis, and renews her acquaintance with Vice President John Adams and Abigail Adams.    

1791— (The Bill of Rights is ratified; rise of Jefferson’s republican party.)

Massachusetts Magazine declares "Constantia" one of its ablest writers. August 22: Judith gives birth to Julia Maria Murray.    
    
1792 — (Mary Wollstonecraft of England publishes Vindication of the Rights of Woman.)
    
February: JSM assumes a male persona to publish “The Gleaner” column series in the Massachusetts Magazine through December 1794; September: "Constantia" publishes “The Repository” column series in the Massachusetts Magazine through December 1794.

1793 — (The British seize American ships trading in the French West Indies; the “Reign of Terror” begins in France; in America, a Fugitive Slave Act is passed; the ban on theatrical entertainment in Boston is lifted.)
    
John Murray is called to serve the Universalist church in Boston; he divides his time between the Gloucester and Boston congregations. June: JSM's mother dies; December: Her father dies.

1794 — John Murray decides to serve the Boston church exclusively; the Murray family moves to Franklin Place, Boston (also known as the Tontine Crescent), a new townhouse development designed by Charles Bulfinch in the European style.

1794 — JSM develops “The Reaper,” a column for the newspaper the Federal Orrery; only five installments appear.

1795 — (Jay’s Treaty is signed, clarifying trade regulations with Britain and providing free travel along the Spanish-held Mississippi River but causing conflict with France; the Treaty of Grenville is signed, opening up land in Ohio; Pinckney’s Treaty is signed, further solidifying American sovereignty over lands won from Britain in 1783.)

March 2: JSM's first play, "The Medium: or, Happy Tea-Party" (later renamed "The Medium, or, Virtue Triumphant") is performed at the Federal Street Theatre in Boston; her daughter, Julia Maria, almost dies from a recurring “throat  disorder.”

1796 — (John Adams is elected president; angered by America’s favoritism of England in trade, France seizes American ships and breaks off diplomatic relations.)
    
JSM meets the Marquis de Lafayette in Boston; she hopes to adopt Caroline Augusta, her brother Winthrop’s illegitimate daughter, but Winthrop is unable to gain custody; March: JSM's second play, "The Traveller Returned," is performed at the Federal Street Theatre; she decides to self-publish a book, The Gleaner, and begins to solicit subscribers.

1797 — (French corruption is exposed in the XYZ Affair; American and French vessels fight an undeclared war at sea for the next two years; real war is imminent.)
    
JSM continues to solicit subscribers to The Gleaner.  
 
1798 — (American negotiations with France are failing; there is public clamor for war with France.)
    
Winthrop Sargent is appointed the first governor of the Mississippi Territory; he moves to Natchez, marries Mary McIntosh Williams of Natchez, and begins to send his step-children and then children to Massachusetts and New Hampshire for their schooling; JSM oversees, corresponds with, or boards her nieces and nephews. Julia Maria, age seven, begins to study with Francis Nichols.

1798 — JSM publishes The Gleaner, in three volumes, and dedicates the book to John Adams.

1799 — (George Washington dies; President Adams negotiates a peaceful settlement with France and avoids war.)

John Murray is close to death from a “tumor” in his side; her own health failing, JSM makes plans for Julia Maria to live with her cousin Epes Sargent IV of Hampstead, New Hampshire.

1800 — (Thomas Jefferson is elected president; many of Judith’s friends and relatives are removed from political office; the seat of American government moves to the new capital Washington.)  

American novelists Henry Sherbourne and Sally Sayward Barrell Keating Wood praise The Gleaner and predict its timeless importance.

1801 — Under the Jefferson administration, Winthrop Sargent is replaced as governor of the Mississippi Territory; he retires in Natchez, and sends his step-daughter, Anna Williams, to live with JSM and pursue her education in Boston.

1802–3 — JSM helps Clementine Beach and Judith F. Saunders (a cousin) open a female academy in Dorchester, Massachusetts; she publishes poetry in the Boston Weekly Magazine as "Honora Martesia" until 1805.

1803 — (President Jefferson doubles the size of the United States by “purchasing” Louisiana; Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explore the western part of the country; resumption of hostilities between Great Britain and France begins.)

Julia Maria attends Bury (or Berry) Street Academy.

1804 — (Napoleon is proclaimed Emperor of France; Alexander Hamilton is killed in a duel with Aaron Burr.) 

1805 — (Napoleon is victorious in Austria and Russia; the British begin to interfere with American vessels in the French West Indies; Mercy Otis Warren publishes History of theRise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution, Interspersed with Biographical, Political and Moral Observations.)

JSM writes her third play, The African; the manuscript has not been found.    

1806 — Judith’s nephews enroll at Harvard College one by one; she gives permission to the Rev. Robert Redding of England to reissue The Gleaner in that country; it is not clear if he did.

1807 — (The American frigate USS Chesapeake is seized and boarded by the British; Jefferson calls on Congress to pass an Embargo Act banning American ships from foreign ports; the port of Boston is deeply affected; federalists hope to oust Jefferson.) 

JSM’s widowed sister, Esther, moves to Franklin Place; JSM makes a second trip to Philadelphia with John Murray and Julia Maria.

1808 — (James Madison is elected president.)
    
Judith’s future son-in-law, Adam Lewis Bingaman of Natchez, arrives at Franklin Place to board there briefly before commencing his studies at Harvard College.

1809 — (Congress repeals the Embargo Act; diplomacy with Britain fails.)
    
At age sixty-eight, John Murray suffers a paralyzing stroke.
   
ca. 1810 — JSM sits for her portrait by Gilbert Stuart; she is one of very few women to be painted by both Copley and Stuart.

1811 — (President Madison reestablishes “non-intercourse” with Britain.)
    
JSM’s sister, Esther, dies in Boston.

1812 — (America declares war against Great Britain.)
    
JSM's nephew, George Washington Sargent, is living at Franklin Place; Julia Maria Murray and Adam Lewis Bingaman marry secretly; Adam returns to Natchez. JSM publishes Letters and Sketches of Sermons with John Murray.    

1813 — June 10: JSM's granddaughter, Charlotte Bingaman, is born in Boston.

1814 — (Napoleon is defeated; the British send more troops to America to burn down the city of Washington; American troops arrive in Boston to protect the city; in December, Britain and the United States sign a treaty to end the war.)

1815 — (With improved internal transportation, westward expansion increases; so does the confiscation of Native American land and the systematic "removal" the people.)
    
JSM's nephew, William Fitz Winthrop Sargent, is living at Franklin Place. John Murray dies and is buried at Granary Burying Ground in Boston; his body is moved in 1837 to Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. JSM completes and publishes John’s autobiography, Records of the Life of the Rev. John Murray.

1816 — (James Monroe is elected president.)

1817 — Winthrop Sargent journeys to Cambridge to have his son William reinstated at Harvard; JSM's young cousins David Urquhart and Winthrop Sargent Harding arrive at Franklin Place to board while attending Harvard.

1818 — Adam Lewis Bingaman sends for his wife (Julia Maria) to join him in Natchez. JSM pens the last letter included in her letter books; she moves with Julia Maria and Charlotte to the Natchez plantation called "Fatherland."

1820 — Winthrop Sargent dies in New Orleans. June 9: JSM dies at the Natchez plantation "Oak Point" but is buried at "Fatherland;" Charlotte Bingaman dies and is buried at Fatherland.

1821 — Nov. 7: Judith’s grandson, Adam Lewis Bingaman Jr., is born.

1822 — JSM's brother, Fitz William, dies in Newton, Massachusetts. Julia Maria Murray Bingaman dies and is buried at Fatherland, next to her mother and daughter.

1865 — The only child of Adam Lewis Bingaman Jr. dies, leaving no direct descendants of Judith Sargent Murray and John Murray.

1881 — Richard Eddy, in a biographical sketch of JSM written for The Universalist Quarterly and General Review, first reports the incorrect information that JSM's papers were, after her death, “utterly rotted and spoiled by the mildew"; this oft-repeated statement discouraged further research on her. 

1917 — JSM's final home in Gloucester opens as a museum—the Sargent-Murray-Gilman House; later, the name “Hough” is added making it the Sargent-Murray-Gilman-Hough House; eventually, the name is shortened to the Sargent House Museum.

1931 — The University Press of Orono, Maine, publishes Vena Bernadette Field’s master’s thesis, “Constantia: A Study of the Life and Works of Judith Sargent Murray, 1751–1820” in the Maine Bulletin.

1974 — Alice Rossi includes JSM's essay “On the Equality of the Sexes” in the landmark women’s studies book The Feminist Papers.

1984 — The Rev. Gordon Gibson, a Unitarian Universalist minister, discovers JSM's letter books in Natchez at the antebellum mansion "Arlington"; he persuades the owner to donate them to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History at Jackson; he also locates the Bingaman family Bible, which remains in private hands.

1989 — Under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Mississippi Department of Archives and History conserves and publishes JSM's letter books on microfilm — making the letter books accessible!

 

1776: While visiting Boston, Judith plans her small pox inoculation

 

2 June 1776
Judith Sargent Stevens to Esther Sargent Ellery

 

Letter 45   To my Sister   Boston   June 2d 1776

My Dear Sister

   

Perhaps you never saw a more pleasing situation than the present residence of my Uncle — Although in the midst of the Metropolis it yet in a great degree combines the beauties of the Country — It is in a retired part of the Town — the parade of military arrangements reach us not, and of the progress of hostilities we hear much less than at Gloucester.  

 

This dwelling is entered through a neat gate, shaded, on either hand, by tall trees, cloathed with the most beautiful verdure, which, uniting at top, form over the head a delightful shade — you are first introduced into a long entry, the extremity presents an avenue, leading to a garden, abounding with fruit trees, flowers, and vegetables, at the bottom of the garden you have a handsome summer house, neatly finished, and enchantingly shaded by woodbines, honey suckles, &c &c [—] 

 

The atmosphere is highly perfumed, and we are ready to fancy ourselves in one of the bowers of Elysiums so fancifully described by Swedenborg — Seats erected in various parts of the garden are highly ornamented and umbrageous.  The Parterre is in great perfection — the whole plat laid out in serpentine walks pretty little knots variously displayed, and fringed with box — 

 

The apartments of the Mansion, in which were left many valuable pieces of furniture, are very elegant. I sigh for the original Possessors, and my heart bleeds for four sweet innocents, whom the Parents have left in this Town, and who, it is too probable, will be subjected to every hardship which caprice, and ill Nature can induce.  

 

My Aunt and her sister Harriot, are in fine spirits [—] they suffered very little from the Small Pox, and are earnestly solicitous that I should submit to inoculation — Would it please heaven to carry me through this disorder, how useful might I be to my beloved parents, to my sister and many other dear friends, who might chance to receive, by accident, this cruel despoiler — you know whoever is known to have caught the small pox is dragged from his or her dwelling, without respect of persons, and rudely conveyed to some inconvenient, desolate spot, nor is the attendance of any friend, who has not passed through the small pox, permitted — how comfortless, how forlorn the idea — a Father, a Mother, suffering agonies beyond description and surrendered to strangers, to mercenaries — The idea is truly shocking [—]  

 

Say, my sister, can I be censured for wishing to purchase liberty to watch around the suffering authors of my being — should they be thus tried? — you know many persons, much less exposed, have been suddenly seized with this calamity! — Let me whisper you — but you must be silent — It shall not be my fault, if I do not quality myself to share the sorrows of my friends —

 

Notes:
• JSM had herself inoculated in Boston in complete secrecy. She wanted to be able to care for her parents in case they caught small pox. Her father, Winthrop Sargent, whose frequent travels to Boston for political work, did, in fact, catch the disease and Judith was able to nurse him back to health.

 

1776: Gloucesterians' refuge in Chebacco Parish, and British intentions

 

Jan 1776
Judith Sargent Stevens to Judith Saunders Sargent

 

Letter 28th    To my Mother    Little Village    January — 1776

My Dearest Mother

 

It was, you will not doubt, a very considerable disappointment to me, to find, upon my arrival here, both yourself, and my sister — absent — I am, however, pleased you could command health sufficient for the little excursion, which I hope will be attended with much pleasure.  My Father advises us, by all means, to take the house belonging to Mr G— — we have been to look at it, and if Mr W— will relinquish a promise, which he hath obtained of one of the apartments, we shall place our furniture there as we are under an absolute necessity of removing it — Mr G— engages to render his house tenantable and we rather conclude to deposit our goods there, indifferent as the place appears, as we indulge a hope that we shall not be under the necessity of yielding our present residence — 

 

An opinion has now become generally prevalent, that it is far from the design of the british to spread unnecessary devastation, that still regarding American Property as their own, they can have no inducement to lay our Sea Ports in Ashes — By tarrying in Town, I can be of more consequence to my Father, his business will often carry him thither and he has it in contemplation to shut up the mansion, from which you have flown, and to reside with us during those intervals which he is necessitated to be absent from this Village — 

 

Alas!  my Dear Mother what days of sorrow have arisen upon us — Gloomy is the morning of my Life, and I am ready to wish the warrant for my release, had already past the great seal of heaven —

 

Notes:
• "Little Village" refers to the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich, Mass. The Sargents, and other early Universalists (including John Murray) moved there temporarily for their safety while British war ships patrolled the coast of Gloucester.
• JSM's father, Winthrop Sargent, was a member of Gloucester's Committee of Safety in 1775. He remained a "Government agent in Gloucester throughout the war; in 1788 he was one of the delegates to the State Convention for ratifying the Federal Constitution.

1775: What is a Tory? A Whig? JSM defends her Uncle

17 June 1775
Judith Sargent Stevens to John Murray

Letter 18    to Mr Murray    Gloucester    June 17th 1775

 

You demand an account of our last week's peregrinations, and solicitous to evince my readiness to fulfil the duties of a punctual Correspondent, I hesitate not to meet your wishes — We commenced our little tour on this day, the morning was beautifully serene, and the earth was cloathed in its richest verdure — At a short distance from Gloucester, we were accosted by a person of a decent appearance.  You will conjecture his character, from the ensuing conversation — as our party consisted only of my sister, and myself, I suppose he felt authorized to address us very familiarly 

 

"Ladies your most obedient — You ha[v] it very pleasant" — Rather warm we think Sir — "Pray where are you from Ladies?" — From Gloucester Sir — "Pray are you driven from thence?"  No Sir, we drive — "Ah — Pray are not most of the people driven from that Town?" The females I believe have pretty generally left that place — "Pray is Mr S— gone, or doth he remain there?" — He remains there Sir — "Does he intend to remain there?" — I believe he does — "Perhaps he thinks himself safer than any other person" — I fancy not. — Why should he Sir? — "His principles you know."  What are they Sir? — "Why he is a Tory."  I believe it would be difficult to prove Mr S— a Tory, Sir.  True, he is a friend to peace and he is a Lover of Order — But, if an invariable attachment to the interests of America constitute a Man a Whig, then I believe that title belongs to Mr S— as much as to any of the Congressional Members. 

 

"Pray do you not suspect your self of being a Tory."  I am a Woman Sir and therefore do not pretend to constitute myself a judge of the contest so unhappily subsisting — but I may be allowed to assert a fact,  I sincerely rejoice when I hear of the prosperity, freedom, and welfare of my country — With regard to the terms Whig and Tory  I am free to own I do not understand them — I have heard they are of various signification — but I am not soli[ci]tous to define them — "If you were to talk so favourably  of Mr S— among Whigs, you would be called a Tory" — Possibly — but having the honour to be nearly allied to  Mr S— I have listened to him in the most confidential moments, and I admire his integrity, the universal benevolence of his character — Sir, Mr S— is a Citizen of the World, and it is only necessary to know him, and you will assuredly love, and honour him — 

 

Fortunately, the parting of the road, separated us from this disagreeable associate — We reached Byfield about the hour of dining, and were received by our relatives, who are sheltered there, with every possible mark of the most cordial affection — My Aunts are situated in the midst of a woody Vale, surrounded by tall oaks, and hills almost perpendicular — Early on friday morning we pursued our way to Salisbury, over a beautifully level road, and, if I held the pen of description, I would assay to sketch the fascinating views, which, as we passed along on either hand seized, and commanded our admiration — 

 

Nature is now in her prime, the vegetable, and flowering World, clad in gay variety, the air breathes perfume, and every object seems calculated to inspire the heart of the enraptured beholder, with unbounded gratitude.  At one time we were presented with a view of wide extensive Lawns skirted by venerable Woods, which seemed to reach the heavens — On either hand finely flourishing grain, in rich variety, with expressive oratory seemed to proclaim — "we will, when hoary Winter puts on all her horrors, afford you a wholesome, and plentiful repast when the storms are abroad, when the fields are white with snow, we will support, and invigorate, the sons and daughters of infant industry, and they shall experimentally know, how sweet is the bread of the Labourer["] — 

 

So variegated was the scene before us:  Hills, Vallies, woods, plains, rich meadows, flourishing fields, streams, rivulets, and all so enchantingly interspersed that our hearts could not but be attuned to pleasure[.] Thus, amid a thousand delightful sensations we reached the dwelling which affords a temporary residence to my Uncle D— where our reception corresponded with our most sanguine expectations — 

 

My Aunt is, you know, a truly amiable Woman, and their residence is uncommonly pleasant — The house is built upon an eminence, you would imagine, while seated at the parlour window, that you were upon a speck of earth in the midst of the sea, but the view from the back room exhibits a striking contrast — trees of different growth and the most refreshing verdure, thick woods interspersed as far as the eye can reach with little romantick dwellings, The prospect is sweetly rural, and, as I said beautifully contrasts the front view — There the extensive River is out spread before you — boats continually passing, and repassing, for the various purposes of business, and pleasure — Musick solemn, plaintive, or gay, according to the disposition of the passengers in the barge, is not unfrequently wafted upon the kindly breeze — 

 

Upon the whole, during this hostile period, the retreat of my Uncle is indeed a delightful refuge — The voice of war reaches it not, neither drums, nor fifes, nor instruments of death molest, or deform the calm serenity of the peaceful scene — 

 

Passing a few hours in this peaceful Elysium, we took leave of our friends, who greatly regretting our departure, justly observed, that the pain of parting, overbalanced the pleasure of meeting.  We returned to Byfield in the evening, and on saturday afternoon commenced our journey homeward, reaching Gloucester about sunset — The heat was intolerable — We called upon Mr S— and Lady, at Ipswitch, and were welcomed with marks of friendship. 

 

 Notes:
• Uncle D— might be Peter Doliver of Gloucester, who married Esther Goldthwaite Rogers, a Sargent cousin.

 

1775: "In the midst of warlike preparations"

 

11 Nov 1775
Judith Sargent Stevens to Judith Saunders Sargent

 

Letter 23    To my Mother    Gloucester    November 11 1775 

My heart was greatly set upon seeing you this day — but it must not be, the roads are so heavy, the weather so precarious, and my health so indifferent. 

My situation is truly unpleasant — in the midst of warlike preparations — Soldiers flocking in from the adjacent Towns — frequent alarms, drums beating, bells ringing, and not a single female associate, to whom I can resort for consolation — To the mind attached to show, military parade may be pleasing, although, even amid its most potent fascination — if the gentler vision pervade the soul — martial appearances in time of war, must be attended with melancholy presagement, and surely, Peace is the kindly soil, from which the social virtues must derive their fairest growth. 

 
In these days of apprehension, I am happy that my Mother and Sister, with their Fitz William, have obtained a sequestered spot. Thither, in imagination I shall often follow them, for my sincere affections are ever Theirs.

 

Notes:

• JSM's mother is Judith Saunders Sargent of Gloucester (1731-93); she married JSM's father, Winthrop Sargent, in 1750 in Gloucester
• JSM's sister is Esther Sargent Ellery (1755-1811); she was married to John Stevens Ellery (1748-97)
• Fitz William is JSM's youngest brother, Fitz William Sargent (1768-1822)
• the "sequestered spot" they obtained was in the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich, Mass., away from the coast and British war ships

• In total, JSM had seven siblings; only three survived to adulthood. JSM was the first born. Of the three surviving siblings, their birth order was: Winthrop Jr. (1753-1820), Esther, and Fitz William. Winthrop Sargent Jr.'s papers are housed at the Mass. Historical Society.

1775: Wartime, financial implications, the Almshouse, and preparing to flee

 

1 Oct 1775
Judith Sargent Stevens to John Murray 

Letter 22d.  To the Same   Gloucester.  October 1st 1775

 

Take now, my dear Sir, an account which will, I have no doubt, interest your humanity.  My Mother being in want of a domestic, conceived that it would be beneficial to the Community, were she to receive a female, from the house which stands among us, a shelter for the indigent, and unfortunate people — and, for the purpose of selecting a proper person, she commissioned me to pay a visit to this temporary prison of Penury. 

 

Our Almshouse is occupied by unsuccessful industry, destitute vice, miserable Old Age, and helpless infancy — This miscellaneous receptacle of suffering, is romantically situated at the foot of a steep declivity — Huge rocks form a semicircle, enclosing every part of the house except the front which is washed by a copious river [—]  Its appearance was in no sort descriptive of the wretchedness it sheltered — A peregrination through the several apartments, cannot fail of lacerating the heart — Here deformed childhood, and there decrepid years — On one hand the forlorn infant, whose mingled hues betray the aggravated crime of its miserable parents, on the other, the degenerate female, her party coloured rags seeming fit emblems of her guilt[.]      

 

I passed through many divisions of this abode of wretchedness, in pursuit of an ancient Woman, from whom I received the rudiments of reading, and who I had lately learned had fled to this last resort of wretchedness — I sought and at length found her — As I was formerly a favourite, she rejoiced to see me, I went prepared, not like the son of….with a little balm, and a little honey — but with what was much better calculated to exhilarate the fleeting spirits such as a bottle of wine, and many &c’s, to which the good Woman b[e]lieved she had bid a final adieu — How unconcerned are the children of opulence — How scant is the provision which is made for the suffering part of our species — Benevolence, it should seem, is fled from our globe, and compassion no more inhabits the breast of Man.   

 

The present unnatural contest hath, augmented the miseries of our little Town, to an almost incredible degree — Persons formerly in easy circumstances, are now greatly depressed, while the poor are involved in every species of suffering, to which the sons and daughters of indigence can possibly be subjected — 

 

Say, Dear Sir, you who are at the fountain head of intelligence, is there no hope of an accommodation, will not the rich blessings of peace again illumine our Land?  Or is the peerless Goddess fled forever from our borders? — 

 

I had yesterday the pleasure of entertaining a large circle — among the rest a Mr Walker introduced by my Uncle S— The sufferings of this gentleman, in our cause, have rendered him conspicuous [—] Although a native of Great Briton, his language proclaims him a true American, he is surprise[d] to learn that anyone speaks lightly of the paper currency, the public faith — being pledged to insure its value, Mr Walker affirms, it must be coeval with our liberties and he pertinently adds, if Liberty be subjugated, where then will be Property?  

 

According to Mr Walker’s account, our affairs are in a very flourishing situation, and every Devotee to the present system, must, if they credit his observations, be flushed with the most sanguine hopes.  The countenance of my Aunt shone with its accustomed benignity, my Uncle was solemn, and reserved, while their Son adored the Speaker — and, let me own, that, in this respect, I am a perfect Chameleon, every individual who appears to understand his subject, has them forming my political creed, as I listened to this gentleman, I became positive success would crown our efforts, while my ear is loaned to his opposite, I tremble, with apprehension of subjugation, and all its Tremendous consequences — Happy that such a….is of no consequence, to the [public weal] — I will, however, aim at such information as shall give stability to my sentiments. 

Upon a supposition that we shall be compelled to abandon our Sea Ports Mr Stevens has provided a little asylum — It is I confess a dreary spot, yet it will answer for a temporary retreat — the tenement consists of a dining room, and two bed chambers — it is in the vicinity of the dwelling secured for my Mother, not far from my Aunt B— and I am not without hope that my sister will be situated in its neighbourhood — Yet I trust we shall not be forced to fly, but if we should, and your inclination should ever lead you to traverse the wilds of Chebaca, you will be received with every demonstration, of that regard which you so well merit.

 

Notes:
• "Chebaca" refers to the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich, Mass.; later, this area became the town of Essex
• "Uncle S—" is most likely Epes Sargent III

 

1775: British ships off the coast of Gloucester

28 Jul 1775
Judith Sargent Stevens to John Murray 

 

Letter 20   To Mr Murray   Gloucester.  July 28th 1775 

You wish for some particulars relative to our publick affairs, and indeed they have somewhat varied since you left us — Upon the day of your departure, the arrival of a schooner belonging to his Britannick Majesty, threw our people into great alarm — Immediately the drums beat to arms, the [bells] sounded portentously, and the streets were filled with the goods of the terrified inhabitants — [Families] running up and down, throwing abroad their hands, the most heart affecting distress visible in their almost frantic gestures, when to heighten the misery of the scene, the Captain of the schooner dispatched a special messenger to the family of the Sargents, soliciting permission to visit them, and begging that some fresh provision may be sent on board, for which he will make ample payment, and disavowing at the same time all intention of hostility — 

 

"No, no, no" was the purport of the answer, worded in as strong terms as language could embody.  We continued in a state of distressing suspense, through the whole of friday, saturday and sunday — all our men bearing arms even to their place of worship, but Monday confirmed our direful apprehensions — ... maneuvers on board the schooner, it was believed the war was coming up to the landing, Words are inadequate to describe the panic which took possession of the bosoms of the more timid sex, while our Men bravely prepared for opposition — 

 

Captain Dawson, however, again dropt Anchor; this in some measure quieted the minds of the people, but toward the close of the day, an event took place which hath alarmed the most judicious among us, Some of our ill advised Townsmen have very indiscreetly fired on the schooner, as she lay in the road, and we have great reason to fear that the Town will fall a sacrifice to their imprudence, indeed it is not improbable, that we may be devoted to destruction — the innocent may too possibly be involved in one common ruin with the Guilty!!    

 

Since writing the above Captain Dawson hath addressed the Town as follows

 

            "Hope Schooner Cape An [sic] Harbour   June 29 — 1775

           "To the Committee of Safety in The Town of Gloucester"

 

"Gentlemen

 

"The reason of my sending you this, is to inform you that yesterday, after his Majesty's schooner,

under my command, anchored in this harbour, in the place where she now lies, she was fired at

from the shore, by some armed Men, which you must be sensible might have been attended with

the worst consequences, especially, when I heard and saw nothing but what gave the justest reason

to believe, that hostile intentions, were intended to his Majesty's schooner, from your Town, or why

did the people assemble in arms, which, I saw by my own eyes, and what did the meeting bell ring,

and the drums beat for? — I will leave you to judge, and to complete the scene properly, some of your armed Men fired at his Majesty's schooner without the least provocation, or cause for so doing — 

Surely I must conclude that the greatest part of these proceedings must be the [scare] of the Town — 

I am informed this morning that two of the Men, which fired at the schooner, are put in gaol, and are deserting from his majesty's service and from his majesty's schooner, that I now command, and I do

now demand them in his majesty's name of the Town, which I have a right to do, and it is your duty

to deliver them up — such proceedings would give the Admiral, and Governour, the most favourable opinion of the Town, you cannot suppose that I have orders to molest any person on shore, or any

where else, without I am fired at, or molested in doing my duty!  The Governour's proclamation

which I am informed the people here are acquainted with, __________ indicates the contrary — 

I am gentlemen your most obedient

                                   humble servant

                                  George Dawson

Captain Dawson's information deceived him, the offenders were never in his majesty's service — Neither were they under confinement.  I believe they are rather [applauded] than otherwise — Captain Dawson's requisition was peremptorily refused, he however revenged himself by capturing no less than 15 vessels, among which was one belonging to my Father, when, to the no small joy of the inhabitants of the place, he took his departure.