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 —
*Judith Saunders Sargent, Judith's mother
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Notes:
"Little Village" is JSM's name for Chebacco Parish, Ipswich, later, Essex.
“Father” is Winthrop Sargent (1727–93). His “business” was serving on Gloucester’s Committee of Safety and later, by 1776, as the Massachusetts government's agent in Gloucester during the war.
“Our Sea Port” refers to Gloucester.