Letter from Mahlon Dickerson Canfield to William Henry Seward, February 19, 1842
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Letter from Mahlon Dickerson Canfield to William Henry Seward, February 19, 1842
transcriber
Transcriber:spp:nds
student editorTranscriber:spp:sss
Distributor:Seward Family Digital Archive
Institution:University of Rochester
Repository:Rare Books and Special Collections
Date:1842-02-19
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Letter from Mahlon Dickerson Canfield to William Henry Seward, February 19, 1842
action: sent
sender: Mahlon Canfield
Birth: 1798-11-26
Death: 1865-01-05
location: Trenton, NJ
receiver: William Seward
Birth: 1801-05-16
Death: 1872-10-10
location: UnknownUnknown
transcription: nds
revision: ekk 2016-02-04
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Page
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Trenton, Feby, 19,– 1842,
My Dear Sir,
I am ever reluctant to
trespass upon your time, & would not, if I
could possibly avoid it. From what passed
as Boston, unfortunate as I was, on that occasion,
I felt assured of your willingness to do me a
particular service, if I should need it.
It would distress me to death to believe there
could be any doubt or misunderstanding on the
subject, but, perhaps, there may be, & if so, in what
a position, have I placed myself, by referring
Govr Lincoln
would be most satisfactory to him. He wrote to you,
some 3 or 4 weeks since, & on the 13th..– I am very sure,
he has not heard from you. I hope you will not
withhold an answer to his letter from any tenderness
to me, for I would much rather you would
speak unfavorably of me, than be silent. Thus I
might explain, but, what there can be to explain,
after having been well known to you & to Mrs Seward
so many years, & having recieved from both innumer-
able evidences of regard, I cannot imagine.
There is nothing. —
I wishll to go to Boston, on the 20–,
& in the present state of things, I can hardly
anticipate a pleasant visit. I hope it may be
Page
2
otherwise, & that you will save me from this
great embarrassment, which I must suffer, if I
find Gov. Lincoln's letter still unanswered.
Very truly yours:
M. D. Canfield
Page
3
Trenton, Feby, 19,– 1842,
My Dear Sir,
I am ever reluctant to
trespass upon your time, & would not, if I
could possibly avoid it. From what passed
as Boston, unfortunate as I was, on that occasion,
I felt assured of your willingness to do me a
particular service, if I should need it.
It would distress me to death to believe there
could be any doubt or misunderstanding on the
subject, but, perhaps, there may be, & if so, in what
a position, have I placed myself, by referring
Govr Lincoln
Birth: 1782-10-25 Death: 1868-05-29
to you. I did it because I thought itwould be most satisfactory to him. He wrote to you,
some 3 or 4 weeks since, & on the 13th..– I am very sure,
he has not heard from you. I hope you will not
withhold an answer to his letter from any tenderness
to me, for I would much rather you would
speak unfavorably of me, than be silent. Thus I
might explain, but, what there can be to explain,
after having been well known to you & to Mrs Seward
Birth: 1805-09-24 Death: 1865-06-21
,so many years, & having recieved from both innumer-
able evidences of regard, I cannot imagine.
There is nothing. —
I wishll to go to Boston, on the 20–,
& in the present state of things, I can hardly
anticipate a pleasant visit. I hope it may be
otherwise, & that you will save me from this
great embarrassment, which I must suffer, if I
find Gov. Lincoln's letter still unanswered.
Very truly yours:
M. D. Canfield