Transcription of letter from Henry Jennings to his brother Isaac 1689 – 1942 transcription As of the date of this letter, Henry would have been 47 years old and would have lived in west Jersey for 23 years.
Source: Worcestershire Record Office, England Binyon, Spriggs and other Worcester families
Catalogue Ref. 705:938
Creator(s): Binyon family of Worcester, Worcestershire Spriggs family of Worcester, Worcestershire ref. FILE [no title] - ref. 705:938/8720/1/ii/2-4 - date: 1689[90] [from Scope and Content] From Henry Jennings of New West Jersey [U.S.A.], to his brother, Isaac Jennings of London. With transcription, 1942.
Addressed to:
For my Loving Brother Isaac Jennings in Sandwich Courts in Devonshire Street Nere Bishopsgate London
1. Loving brother & sister my dears, love with my wife is remembered unto
2. unto you & your deare children hoping in ye Lord you are in good
3. health. Through ye Lords great mercy we are indeferenly (indifferently) well at this present
4. wrighting (writing) praises be unto ye Lord for our more hearing this suding (sudden)
5. opportunity[1] I can not inlarge (enlarge) at this time, received 3 letters from
6. you sence last somer. one with N. Ghoen (?) book & one from John
7. Tizark & one by ye way of Maraland. Jo; Tyzark[2] hath another for me,
8. which I have not perused becos I can not conveniently goe to him, but have
9. sent to him for it, but he is gone to Maraland – I have writ also to
10. William David[3] (?) in Pholedelphiah (Philadelphia) to goe to Will; Canter about ye mony (money)
11. and their answer is that they will not pay it until they heare whether
12. ye party that he ordered in England to pay thee hath paid it or no, wich (which)
13. I sopose (suppose) is but a - - --- put of (off) for I can heare no good report of him,
14. but abell (able) anof (enough) but not willing without a grat (great) deal of troubell, so if thee
15. intend I must get it, thou must sent a letter of Aturny (attorney) & witnesses
16. before a publeck noterry (notary), or else it will not stand in court for I heare
17. he is a very shuffling troubsom man to deale with by those that knoweth
18. him very well. So deare heart time being short with me at this time, hearing
19. that Thomas Bud[4] is going for Ingland very spedely (speedily) & hearing that
20. times is something troubilsom in Ingland[5], was willing to inform you
21. something of our outward present condition. We have 2 days before the
22. date hereof lett our plantation[6] & most of our stock for six yeares, & doth
23.intend to live in Salem & doe something of my hans (hands), for my wife & I
24. are grone (grown) very unabell to manidg (manage) a plantation. We have kept it som
25. years ye longer expecting your coming, but now we are out of that hope,
26. for we heard nothing of your coming in your letters wich makes us to
27. think you will not com. We should be very glad you chould give up
28. to send one or to of your children, that they may be our children, for
29. I hope we shall have anof for them & I dout (doubt) not that they will doe very
30. well heare & be a comfort to you & us while we live hearee for we are not
31. like to have any other. Send them by Thomas Bud when he returns back
32. againe for gladly would I see some of your faces & so would my wife Mal (Margaret).
33. Wibrokes is with us still, her time drawes pretty (pretty) near out; she worries a lot
34. from her father & mother that they would have her com to Ingland but
35. she saith she hath no mind to com to Ingland any more. She thrives & is very healthful
36. in this country. Martha Nare is dead. She died in child bed. Here
37. is a letter enclosed from her husband to her father Jo; Berkett. We
38. desiree thee to goe to our sister Clarabut & remember our dear loves
39. to her & to our Cozen Cole & his wife & children & inform them of us, as you
40. heare how it is with us, & tell them we should be glad to heare from them.
41.Remember our deare loves to our sister Ale & husband & to our sister
42. Mary Heilder, husband & children to our cozen An Goldman. No
43. more at present but our deare & tender love to you all & all our deare
44. friends & acquaintances that inquire after us, desiring your safie
45. and prosperity in that unchancabell (unchangeable) truth & power will out live
46. all fading delights in this world. I rest & remain your loving brother till death.
47. Henry Jennings
48. Monmuth river in new
49. ye 1 of ye 2 mo. 1689
50. 2. Mo. 1689
[1] “Sudden opportunity” probably means that Henry had just learned that Thomas Budd was about to leave for England, providing him the chance to send this letter to his brother.
[2] This could be John Tizak, identified as “Merchant of London” and Executor of the will of William Royden (frp, http://www.ancestorspy.com/PA/philwills.asp Will 120 . WILLS PROVED AT PHILADELPHIA, 1692-1697 From volume 1, starting at page 84. (Originally published in the Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Volume II, June 1900.)
transcribed by Donna K. Clark (The spelling is as originally printed by the society.)
[3] A Wiliam David is identified as a landholder in Philadelphia ( PUBLICATIONS OF THE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA Dec. 1898 Miscellany No. 2 Landholders of Philadelphia County, 1734 is identified as a landholder in Philadelphia (ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/pa/philadelphia/land/1734land.txt)
[4] There existed a “Thomas Budd” who was a contemporary of Henry and the first owner of Atlantic City and a Quaker. See http://www.rootsweb.com/~njatlant/documents/budd-thomas-atlanticcity.txt
[5] “Troublesome times” in England probably referred to the following (From http://www.entheology.org/library/winters/QUAKER.TXT) “When Oliver Cromwell took control of English government from 1654 to 1658, he permitted tolerance to all Christian sects--including Quakers-- as long as they did not engage in sedition. (Indeed Cromwell, had several friendly religious discussions with George Fox.) After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, special legislation was again enacted AGAINST the Quakers.”
[6] Henry’s Plantation might be the land he bought in 1681 from John Adams recorded in NJA Vol. 21 - Salem Deeds, No. 2 (1678-1688) “1681-2 March 12. Do. Same to Henry JENJNGS of New Salem, W. J., tailor, and wife Margrett, for 200 acres of the 1,500 a. tract, surveyed out of 2,000 acres, granted to said ADAMS and wife by John FENWICK March 15, 1674-5, near Jacob YOUNG's plantation, on Chohazick River and Abrooke's Creek. 5“